Interesting thread. When time allows, I'll see what I can find to support either notion.
Would it follow, then, if we are adherents to the notion that a poor environment can permanently make one less intelligent, that a good environment can make a child who is bright into a gifted person (i.e. raise IQ to the gifted level when it was not otherwise destined to be there)?
The only study with which I am immediately familiar regarding ability changing over time does not specifically look at environmental influences on that ability if I recall correctly. I also am not sure if it was published or peer reviewed:
http://faculty.education.uiowa.edu/dlohman/pdf/Gifted_Today.pdfThen there was that study, Project Bright IDEA, out of NC that found that kids who were taught as if they were gifted were significantly more likely to test as gifted later:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2014636532_webgifted01.html Finding the original study data, though, is not something I've been able to do.
