Gould Flashcards
What was the aim of Gould’s study?
To examine the historical context and methodological flaws in Yerkes’ 1917 intelligence testing of army recruits and to highlight the biases in intelligence testing.
What was the historical context of Yerkes’ IQ tests?
Yerkes, a psychologist, developed intelligence tests for the U.S. Army during World War I to classify soldiers. The results influenced immigration policies and reinforced racist ideas about intelligence.
What type of study was Gould’s research?
A critical review and reanalysis of Yerkes’ study rather than an original experiment.
What were the three types of tests used by Yerkes?
Army Alpha – A written test for literate recruits.
Army Beta – A pictorial test for illiterate or non-English speakers.
Individual Examination – A spoken test for those who failed both Alpha and Beta.
How were Yerkes’ intelligence tests culturally biased?
The tests included questions that required knowledge of American culture (e.g., baseball, famous figures), which disadvantaged non-American and lower-class recruits.
How did language barriers affect the fairness of Yerkes’ tests?
Many recruits spoke little or no English, yet were still required to take tests with English-based instructions, leading to lower scores for non-native speakers.
How was the administration of the tests unfair?
Many illiterate recruits were mistakenly given the Army Alpha test (which required reading and writing), instead of the Beta test, which was designed for illiterate individuals.
How did time constraints affect test performance?
The tests were time-limited, causing rushed answers and increased mistakes, particularly among recruits unfamiliar with written exams.
What environmental factors impacted test performance?
The stressful wartime setting, large testing groups, and unfamiliar conditions negatively influenced recruits’ ability to focus and perform well.
What did Yerkes conclude about the average mental age of White American males?
Average mental age of white American males was 13 years.
Why did Gould argue that Yerkes’ study had flawed methodology?
The tests were poorly designed, culturally and linguistically biased, and unfairly administered, making the results invalid.
How did ethnocentrism and racism influence Yerkes’ conclusions?
Yerkes assumed intelligence was hereditary and ranked racial and ethnic groups based on biased test results, reinforcing racist stereotypes.
What important factors did Yerkes ignore in his conclusions?
He overlooked the impact of education, economic background, and access to resources, falsely attributing differences in test scores to innate intelligence.
How were Yerkes’ test results used to justify racist policies?
The results influenced the 1924 Immigration Restriction Act, which placed strict quotas on Southern and Eastern European immigrants and reinforced racial discrimination.
How did Yerkes’ findings influence U.S. policy and society?
His study contributed to anti-immigration laws (e.g., 1924 Immigration Act) and reinforced racial discrimination in education and employment.
Why were Yerkes’ conclusions about intelligence flawed?
His analysis ignored the effects of education, language barriers, and socio-economic background, falsely assuming that intelligence was purely hereditary.
How did Black Americans score in Yerkes’ tests, and what did he conclude?
Black Americans scored the lowest, and Yerkes falsely attributed this to genetic inferiority rather than social or educational inequalities.
How did Yerkes rank European immigrant groups based on IQ scores?
Northern and Western Europeans scored higher, while Southern and Eastern Europeans (e.g., Italians, Poles, and Russians) scored lower, reinforcing xenophobic stereotypes.
What were the ethical concerns raised by Gould?
Lack of informed consent.
Psychological harm due to discriminatory conclusions.
Negative societal impact, reinforcing racism and eugenics.
What is the main lesson from Gould’s critique?
Intelligence testing can be misused when biased methods and cultural assumptions shape the results, leading to harmful social consequences.
What was the significance of Gould’s study?
Challenged the validity of early IQ tests.
Highlighted the dangers of scientific racism.
Led to greater scrutiny of intelligence testing methodologies.
What were the ethical concerns raised by Gould?
Lack of informed consent.
Psychological harm due to discriminatory conclusions.
Negative societal impact, reinforcing racism and eugenics.
