Charlton Bruce G
Med Hypotheses. 2009 Oct;73(4):465-7. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2009.06.048. Epub 2009 Jul 26.
The psychological attributes of intelligence and personality are usually seen as being quite distinct in nature: higher intelligence being regarded a 'gift' (bestowed mostly by heredity); while personality or 'character' is morally evaluated by others, on the assumption that it is mostly a consequence of choice? So a teacher is more likely to praise a child for their highly Conscientious personality (high 'C')--an ability to take the long view, work hard with self-discipline and persevere in the face of difficulty--than for possessing high IQ. Even in science, where high intelligence is greatly valued, it is seen as being more virtuous to be a reliable and steady worker. Yet it is probable that both IQ and personality traits (such as high-C) are about-equally inherited 'gifts' (heritability of both likely to be in excess of 0.5). Rankings of both IQ and C are generally stable throughout life (although absolute levels of both will typically increase throughout the lifespan, with IQ peaking in late-teens and C probably peaking in middle age). Furthermore, high IQ is not just an ability to be used only as required; higher IQ also carries various behavioural predispositions--as reflected in the positive correlation with the personality trait of Openness to Experience; and characteristically 'left-wing' or 'enlightened' socio-political values among high IQ individuals. However, IQ is 'effortless' while high-C emerges mainly in tough situations where exceptional effort is required. So we probably tend to regard personality in moral terms because this fits with a social system that provides incentives for virtuous behaviour (including Conscientiousness). In conclusion, high IQ should probably more often be regarded in morally evaluative terms because it is associated with behavioural predispositions; while C should probably be interpreted with more emphasis on its being a gift or natural ability. In particular, people with high levels of C are very lucky in modern societies, since they are usually well-rewarded for this aptitude. This includes science, where it seems that C has been selected-for more rigorously than IQ. Indeed, those 'gifted' with high Conscientiousness are in some ways even luckier than the very intelligent--because there are more jobs for reliable and hard-working people (even if they are relatively 'dumb') than for smart people with undependable personalities.
较高的智力被视为一种“天赋”（大多由遗传赋予）；而个性或“性格”则由他人进行道德评价，前提是它主要是选择的结果。所以，比起拥有高智商，老师更可能因孩子高度尽责的个性（高“C”）——一种有长远眼光、自律努力工作并在困难面前坚持不懈的能力——而表扬他们。即使在高度重视高智力的科学领域，可靠且稳定的工作者也被视为更有道德。然而，智商和个性特质（如高“C”）很可能同样是遗传的“天赋”（两者的遗传度可能都超过0.5）。智商和“C”的排名在一生中通常是稳定的（尽管两者的绝对水平通常会在整个生命周期中增加，智商在青少年后期达到峰值，“C”可能在中年达到峰值）。此外，高智商不仅仅是一种按需使用的能力；较高的智商还带有各种行为倾向——这体现在与经验开放性的个性特质呈正相关；以及高智商个体中典型的“左翼”或“开明”社会政治价值观。然而，智商是“轻松得来的”，而高“C”主要出现在需要非凡努力的艰难情况下。所以我们可能倾向于从道德角度看待个性，因为这符合一个为道德行为（包括尽责）提供激励的社会体系。总之，高智商可能更应经常从道德评价的角度来看待，因为它与行为倾向相关；而“C”可能更应被解释为一种天赋或自然能力。特别是，在现代社会中，高度尽责的人非常幸运，因为他们通常因这种能力而得到丰厚回报。这在科学领域也是如此，似乎“C”比智商被更严格地筛选。事实上，那些具有高度尽责性“天赋”的人在某些方面甚至比非常聪明的人更幸运——因为适合可靠且努力工作的人的工作（即使他们相对“愚笨”）比适合个性不可靠的聪明人的工作更多。
