32 "Racial" differences in intelligence

Question 1

Who was Samuel George Morton?

Answer 1

Phrenologist from Upenn who believed caucasians superior because larger skull capacity.

Question 2

What were the flaws in Morton’s research?

Answer 2

Brain size was assumed to be an indicator of intelligence. Wrong.

Caucasians were said to have larger cranial capacity. Untrue. (Most of his Ethiopian sample were women).

Question 3

Why does brain size not correlate with intelligence?

Answer 3

Because most of the brain dictates functions such as movement, appetite etc. Larger people will have larger brains, but aren’t more intelligent.

Question 4

What was the name of Arthur Jensen’s landmark 1969 paper and what did it imply?

Answer 4

“How much can we boost IQ and scholastic achievement?”

Question 5

What did Jensen’s landmark paper say?

Answer 5

1. There is a genetic component to intelligence
2. There are mean differences in intelligence between races
3. These differences (1 SD difference in IQ between whites and blacks) are genetic rather than environmental in origin

Question 6

What was the idea behind Hans Eysenck’s 1971 paper “Race, Intelligence and Education”?

Answer 6

High IQ whites and low IQ blacks should not study together - blacks won’t understand, will disrupt class, no one will learn anything

Question 7

What are the average IQs across race in the US?

Answer 7

Asian: 105
White: 100
Hispanic: 93
Black: 85-90 (may be smaller now)

Question 8

Who wrote “The Bell Curve” and when was it published?

Answer 8

Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein in 1994

Question 9

What are the 3 premises of The Bell Curve?

Answer 9

1. US is social darwinist meritocracy
2. Racial differences in IQ are mostly determined by genetic causes.
3. As group difference are genetic, they are unchangeable

Question 10

What is the meritocracy argument of The Bell Curve?

Answer 10

US is Social Darwinist society, so there will always be low IQ underclass. The high IQ people ascend – cognitive elite. Paradox of egalitarian society: people who fall to bottom of the pile are genetically inferior.

Question 11

What social problems are associated with low IQ in The Bell Curve?

Answer 11

IQ relates to social problems (poverty, unemployment, crime, teenage mothers).

Question 12

What is the difference in IQ between races according to The Bell Curve?

Answer 12

IQ differs between race and is lower for immigrants. Low-IQ races and immigrants have more children, create more social problems and are less successful.

Question 13

What are the three ways to augment cognitive ability according to The Bell Curve?

Answer 13

1. Adopt out children of low-IQ mothers.
2. Put more money into gifted programs, less into remedial
3. Abolish affirmative action in favour of a colour-blind system

Question 14

What proportion of variance in work/school success is accounted for by IQ?

Answer 14

25% (r = .5)

Question 15

What other factors predict academic achievement?

Answer 15

A metaanalysis showed that when secondary academic performance was controlled for, Conscientiousness added as much to the prediction of tertiary academic performance as did intelligence.

Question 16

Who are Terman’s Termites?

Answer 16

1528 children of around 10 years old with IQs of more than 135 tracked by Lewis Terman from 1921 to today.

Question 17

How do Terman’s Termites compare to the norm?

Answer 17

Earn more money, more undergraduate degrees. Women have fewer children.

No differences in social indicators: levels of suicide, alcoholism, divorce etc.

Question 18

What’s the problem with the Termite sample?

Answer 18

Almost all white. Picked out for program initially by teachers – so behavioural factors would have influenced the choice.

Question 19

What are current estimates of heritability of IQ?

Answer 19

Current estimates between 40% and 70%.

Question 20

What is heritability?

Answer 20

Ratio of genetic variance to phenotypic variance.

Question 21

What is phenotypic variance?

Answer 21

Genetic + environmental + error variance

Question 22

What test of intelligence was used in The Bell Curve and what does it actually measure?

Answer 22

The Bell Curve is based mostly on data from the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). Eight subtests – Science; Arithmetic; Word Knowledge; Paragraph comprehension etc.
ASVAB measures crystallised intelligence.

Question 23

How might heritabilities of IQ be identical in groups in enriched and poor environments?

Answer 23

The differences between individuals in each group will be genetic, but the differences between groups will be environmental. Just because heritability within each group is 1, this does not mean differences between groups are due to genetic variance.

Question 24

In what year was White IQ at the level of Black IQ, and what does that imply about environment?

Answer 24

Black IQ is the same as White IQ in the 1950s, suggesting Black environment today is equivalent to White environment in the 1950s.

Question 25

Who wrote “IQ and the Wealth of Nations”?

Answer 25

Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen

Question 26

What are the two arguments of “IQ and the Wealth of Nations”?

Answer 26

1. Differences in IQ between countries have genetic basis.

2. Differences in IQ cause the differences in wealth between nations.

Question 27

What is the correlation between national IQ and GDP?

Answer 27

r = .71-.76

Question 28

What is the smartest country according to Lynn and Vanhanen?

Answer 28

Hong Kong –IQ = 107
Australia – IQ = 98
Sierra Leone –IQ = 64

Question 29

What are the criticisms of “IQ and the Wealth of Nations”?

Answer 29

1. Estimation of IQ.
   For 56% of countries they didn’t have IQ data, so estimated from surrounding countries. They used old data and didn’t adjust for Flynn Effect.
2. Unsophisticated statistics
   Simple correlations were calculated - financial data is skewed by rich people. Data not normally distributed.
3. Invalid logic: cause of within-group differences NOT necessarily the cause of between-group differences.
4. Causal direction is not clear. Wealth may cause IQ. Wealth and IQ may be caused by other factor.
5. Neglect of other important variables
   Motivation, infrastructure, education system, political system.