South African parents of both African and Indian origin estimated their own intelligence (on seven factors) and that of their first three children. Parents of Indian origin gave higher self-estimates than isiZulu-speaking parents, and fathers gave higher self-estimates than mothers. The results indicated that parents of Indian origin showed a greater gender difference discrepancy than isiZulu-speaking parents on spatial, musical and bodily kinaesthetic intelligence. Estimates of the intelligence of all the first-, second- and third-born children showed a similar pattern. While there were few sex differences in the estimations, parents of Indian origin tended to give higher estimates than isiZulu-speaking parents. The results obtained are discussed in terms of the educational and political history of South Africa.
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