Gould Flashcards
What is Goulds study on
Bias in IQ testing
Background of Gould
Yerkes believed that intelligence was inherited and therefore could not be changed (nature)
WW1 outbreak came up with the idea to test intelligence of American army recruits
Aim of Goulds Review
To highlight fundamental issues with intelligence testing
To show how Yerke’s research was used to discriminate against people based on race
Research Method of Gould
Review article that looks at history of Yerke’s intelligence testing of recruits for US army in WW1
review article - summarises + critiques research previously conducted, highlights strengths and weaknesses of it
Sample of Gould
how Yerkes tested 1.75 million army recruiters in USA in WW1 for intelligence
= white Americans
= black afro Caribbeans
= European immigrants
Review findings
ARMY ALPHA + BETA TESTS
alpha = literate recruites (analogies, filling in sequence)
= required good understanding of english langauge skills
beta = illiterate/failed alpha
= picture completion tasks, but these were culturally specific, instructions were written in English, answers in writing when some never held a pencil before
critisisms
= people given alpha test when shouldbe have beem, many men failed beta but didnt get individual examination due to time constraints
= disporoportionally affect men were black/immigrated > systematic biases
Negative impacts of yerkes research
found average mental age of white, american man was 13 yrs olf wheras IQ of black male was 10.4yrs
Reported that results affected military roles of soldiers
IMMIGRATION RESTRICTION ACT
= people from europe who scored poorly on army tests were no longer welcome in USA
= many jewish couldnt escape nazis in WW2
Why did gould say yerks conclusions were invalid
yerkes said intelligence is an innate quality + possible to grade individual by the colour of their skin
gould argues that cultural bias in IQ tests + way tests administered means Yerkes’ conclusion are not true
gould points out that research led to racist beleifs and practices
Generalisability of Gould
1.75 million men in IQ testing so large sample
= androcentric
not an ethnocentric sample
= US population, immigrants from range of backgrounds
tests ethnocentric/culturally biased
= disadvantaged those who were less familiar with American culture
Reliability of Gould
standardised + different versions so equivalent difficulty (different literacy levels)
adminsitration reduced reliability as not the same for each person
> not enough time
> not given beta test when shouldve been
> not given spoken exam when shouldve been
Applications of Gould
highlights problems with intelligence testing
should be careful using intelligence testinf on its own to assign job roles/ put children in streams of education / coming up with social policies (immigration)
Validity of Gould
Lacks internal validity - doesnt really measure IQ
instead they measures
1) education - literacy skills
2) Familiarity with american culture
Poor construct validity
1) tests poorly designed/constructed
Ethics of Gould
NO RESPECT
= no informed consent
= no right-to-withdraw
NO RESPONISBILITY
= no protection from harm - stressful to take IQ when illiterate + cant understand langauge
= affected army recruits’ job roles
Gould link to Socially Sensitive Research
Yerkes led to different ethnic groups being wrongly judged as low intelligence
> soldiers given lower ranks even though culturally biased
led to immigration act which stopped immigration from S+E Europe
> jews couldn’t flee at start of WW2
Gould and Individual Differences Area
focuses on how different people are unique
Gould relates as it reviews Yerkes work on IQ testing, which was looking for differences in intelligence between people
