Revenge of the preteen nerds

Many people get an education because they want good careers that earn good money. Being studious may not make you cool but it should set you up to meet that goal; students who party instead of studying may not be so successful:

This quotation is actually from Bill Gates, even if Actual Advice Mallard seems to be stating it here. Did Bill Gates get it right? Are today's nerdy kids likely to be well-employed and financially stable as adults?

Spengler, Brunner, Damian, Lüdtke, Martin, and Roberts (2015) examined data from a large-scale, longitudinal study done in Luxembourg, a small country in Europe. In 1968 the MAGRIP study collected data on Luxembourgish youngsters around age 12. This included measures of the children's IQs, their parents' levels of wealth and education (SES), ratings from teachers on how studious the children appeared to be, and self-reports about feelings of inferiority, being a responsible student, defying their parents' rules, and talking back to their parents.

In 2008, the second wave of MAGRIP followed up with 745 of these same individuals when they were in their 40s. At that time the participants were asked about their educational attainment (years of education after elementary school), their current or most recent jobs, and their yearly incomes. In their analysis, Spengler et al. wanted to know what traits at age 12 were associated with greater educational attainment, occupational success (as measured by prestige and social class), and higher incomes in middle age.

In line with past research, the participants who had higher IQs and higher SES families when they were 12 attained higher amounts of education by middle age. However, even when those two variables were accounted for, three other attributes predicted educational attainment: feeling that you are not as good as others; studiousness; talking back to parents and not always following the rules. Two of these are not surprising: self-reported feelings inferiority at age 12 were related to lower levels of education by one's 40s; while teachers' higher ratings of studiousness at age 12 predicted higher levels of education by middle age. Interestingly, reporting at age 12 that you talk back to and do not always obey your parents was also related to higher educational attainment in adulthood.

Likewise, more occupational success in middle age was predicted by having a higher IQ and coming from a higher SES family at age 12. Even when those two variables were held steady, seeing yourself as a responsible student at age 12 predicted occupational success in your 40s. Higher teacher ratings of studiousness during childhood also predicted occupational success, however this relationship played out through the amount of education that the participants experienced. Spengler et al. clarified that being seen as studious by your teachers in childhood suggests that you have traits that might lead you to choose more years of and more challenging levels of education. In fact, educational attainment was the best predictor of occupational success.

The analysis revealed an unexpected finding related to personal income. The participants who at age 12 admitted that they talked back to their parents and did not always follow their rules were more likely to have higher incomes during their 40s! This was true even when childhood IQ, family SES, and lifetime educational attainment were taken into account. Spengler et al. caution us that this finding needs to be replicated in future research - so this is not a green light for preteens around the globe to sass back at their parents. They also offer two explanations: these individuals may be more likely to argue to get higher wages; it is also possible that these individuals broke the rules as adults to get this higher income.

I would add that it is also possible that they were raised by good, Authoritative parents. These parents express love to their children and raise them with the correct amount of fair discipline; they are also willing to discuss household rules with their children, conversations which may start off with "talking back." Authoritative parents want their kids to be able to reason about their behavior choices instead of simply showing obedience to authority. So, it would stand to reason that their children may not always follow even their own rules to the letter. Authoritative parenting also prepares children for white collar jobs that require independent decision making and less emphasis on following orders; these jobs may also offer higher levels of pay.

Another possibility that I can imagine is that some of these individuals are Gifted. In general, higher IQs are related to higher incomes and Gifted children have IQs that are at least twice as different as we would expect from an average child. Parents of Gifted children often joke about them being "little lawyers," because they can be argumentative even with adults in authority. So Spengler et al.'s surprising finding may simply reflect a variable that is related to unusually high intelligence.

The authors admit that the predictive powers of pre-teen Luxembourgish children's behavior in 1968 may not generalize: it may be that educational attainment, occupational success, and income level are predicted by different traits today and these traits may vary from culture to culture. On the other hand, the Spengler et al. analysis demonstrated that personal factors like being a responsible student, coming across to teachers as being studious, and how you relate to people in positions of authority can predict achievement beyond their relationships with general intelligence and social class. In that case, being a studious (and perhaps argumentative) nerd may be enough: you don't have to be a genius like Bill Gates or have a wealthy parent like Bill Gates to become an adult with a good job and a good income.

Further Reading:

The Spengler et al. (2015) article can be accessed through your local college library.

Clinical Psychologist Kelly Flanagan blogged for The Huffington Post about why he thinks "...Every Kid Should Talk Back to Their Parents."

Serious students may have a good chance of landing a job found in U.S. News and World Report's list of "The 100 Best Jobs" of 2015.

BONUS: Watch an amusing promotional video titled "Is it true what they say about... Luxembourg?" made by the Luxembourg National Tourism Board. Spoiler Alert: no volcanoes; yes happy dogs.