Gould

Question 1

Area

Answer 1

Individual differences

Question 2

Background to Yerkes’ work

Answer 2

Yerkes: initially implemented IQ tests and analysed what they showed.
Gould: Who reviewed Yerkes’ work and provided a criticism of it.
Binet-Simon test (1905): first intelligence test designed to identify school children who wouldn’t benefit from regular schooling because of their inferior intelligence and should be placed in ‘special schools’. A few years later this was adapted to test school children in the USA.

A key debate at the time was whether intelligence was inherited or if it could be learned.
Yerkes said intelligence is determined by our genetics (hereditarianism argument) and would therefore not be affected by nurture.

Question 3

Yerkes’ aims

Answer 3

• To produce a reliable and valid measure of intelligence.
• To prove that psychology (intelligence testing) could be as objective and quantifiable as other scientific disciplines.

Question 4

Research method (evidence from study to justify).
Experimental design.

Answer 4

Quasi experiment because the independent variable was the participants’ ethnic origin which is naturally occurring.

Independent measures

Question 5

Yerkes’ sample and sampling method

Answer 5

• 1.75 million US military men.
• Recruits included white Americans, ‘Negroes’ and European immigrants.
• Varying educational levels of men meant multiple tests had to be designed.

-Opportunity sampling
Tested who was in the camp at the time.

Question 6

Army alpha tests

Answer 6

-A written examination for literate recruits.
-Made up of 8 parts that took less than one hour.
-Tasks included number sequences, unscrambling sentences and analogies.
E.g. Crisco is a: patent medicine, disinfectant, toothpaste, food product.
Washington is to Adams as first is to…

Disarranged sentences:
The soldiers were given two minutes, ten seconds to complete 20 questions.
Unscramble sentence in their head and say if it’s true or false.

Arithmetical problems:
Soldiers given 5 minutes to solve 20 word problems.

Question 7

Army Beta tests

Answer 7

-Series of tests designed for illiterate recruits and those that failed alpha.
-e.g. maze running, cube counting and translating numbers into symbols, picture completion.
Instructions were written in English and in 3 of the 7 parts the answers had to be given in writing.

Cube analysis: soldiers were given 2.5 mins to calculate number of cubes in 16 drawings.

Question 8

Individual examination tests

Answer 8

A spoken test. If you failed Beta you’d be called back in for individual examination (third test).

Question 9

Problems with the way in which Yerkes’ mental tests were administered.

Answer 9

• Conditions were very chaotic.
• Data was analysed subjectively. One of Yerkes’ followers carried out the analysis and conclusions were made to fit hereditary argument.
• Requirements for alpha were lowered but not consistently across camps (some were a 3rd grade level and others were anyone who could read).
• Many took alpha when they should’ve took beta.
• Black recruits were recent immigrants and most likely to be taking the wrong test. This is because they often couldn’t read or use a pencil but due to demand they had to take whatever test was available.
• Only 1/5 of those who failed beta were allowed to take the individual examinations.

Question 10

Findings from Yerkes’ mental tests

Answer 10

Before the war there were 4,000 officers and at the end there were 200,000. 2/3 of which came from camps where the tests were done.
Results led to 3 facts:
1. Average mental age of white American adults (13) was just above that of a moron (standard score was set at 16).
2. Darker people of Southern Europe and Slavs of Eastern Europe were less intelligent than fair people of western and Northern Europe (Russians had a mental age of 11.34 and poles had a metal age of 10.74).
3. Black recruits scored lowest (10.41). Some camps furthered this by separating black individuals into 3 groups based on intensity of skin colour. Lighter individuals scored higher.

Question 11

How the results from Yerkes’ tests were interpreted/ explained.

Answer 11

Facts provided evidence for genetic explanation for the differences (some groups were naturally less intelligent).

Question 12

How Yerkes’ tests could have been interpreted/ explained.

Answer 12

Gould argued there were systematic biases in the way the tests were designed and administered which meant black people and Europeans did worse.
It was really measuring their level of schooling and familiarity with US culture rather than intellectual ability.

Question 13

How the findings from Yerkes’ study were applied.

Answer 13

Results were used to suggest some racial groups were superior to others (eugenics argument).
This helped inform political policy and in particular was used as evidence to restrict immigration (Immigration Restriction Act 1924).

Question 14

Problems with how the findings from Yerkes’ study were applied. (Socially sensitive).

Answer 14

Estimated that 1 million people from southern, central and Eastern Europe (areas who scored low on test) tried to enter America 1924-1939 but were denied. Many of these people suffered as they weren’t allowed to enter.
One of the groups that were fount to have low intelligence was Jewish
people.
Many tried to leave Europe before WW2 but were unable to due to immigration restrictions.

Question 15

What Yerkes concluded about his own research vs what Gould concluded about Yerkes’ research.

Answer 15

Yerkes:
Intelligence is an innate quality with a hereditary basis and it’s possible to grade individuals by the colour of their skin.
The average man of most nations could be considered a moron.
Mental testing of this kind is a valid, scientific technique with wider implications for society.

Gould:
There were systematic errors in the design of the tests and how they were administered which led to black recruits and immigrants scoring lower.
Intelligence testing of this kind is culturally biased and if interpreted incorrectly can lead to racial discrimination.

Question 16

Quantitative data in this study.

Answer 16

Number of correct answers in the tests and then a grade were given by army psychologists. This would’ve yielded an average mental age of people from different ethnic backgrounds.
E.g.
Black individuals: 10.41
Russians: 11.34
Poles: 10.74
White Americans: 13

Question 17

Qualitative data in this study.

Answer 17

‘Yerkes had overlooked or consciously bypassed something of importance’- recruits tests relying on pencil work.
Gould also criticised the conditions in which the tests took place saying that they would’ve been ‘either utterly confused or scared shitless’ and that he struggled to see how ‘recruits could have been in a frame of mind to record anything about their innate abilities’.

Question 18

Gould’s review research method.

Strengths and weaknesses

Answer 18

Review
A process of subjecting an authors scholarly work, research or ideas to the scrutiny of others who are experts in the same field.

Strengths:
Able to reassess research as it offers a fresh perspective on what was found originally.

Question 19

Ethics upheld and broken.

Answer 19

No consent- soldiers ordered to take part.
No right to withdraw- may be punished by officers if they tried to withdraw.
Protection from harm- may have caused emotional distress to the soldiers (segregated by race, embarrassment, study also led to the restriction on immigration which stopped millions of people entering the USA, men were sent to the front line based on test results).
No debriefing- tests were administered in chaotic conditions.
No confidentiality- recruits had to fill in name, age and level of education on tests.

There was no deception but they didn’t know how the results would be used.

Question 20

Ethnocentrism

Answer 20

• The tests themselves assumed knowledge of American culture so were ethnocentric.
• The men came from a wide range of backgrounds so it could be argued to not be ethnocentric.

Question 21

Internal and external reliability.

Answer 21

Internal: The tests were standardised because they had the same questions.
There were clear instructions as to how the tests should be administered but these weren’t always followed as there were so many recruits and not enough time for the procedure to be controlled.

External: a very large sample (1.75 mill) which should provide consistent results.

Question 22

Internal, population and criterion validity.

Answer 22

Internal: the tests weren’t a valid measure of intelligence but were affected by a range of other factors ( how long they lived in the USA, how much schooling, knowledge of US culture).

Population: population represents a fairly wide set of cultural backgrounds (Eastern Europe, white, black) and a very large sample so should be generalisable.

Criterion: tests were used to predict if recruits were intelligent enough to be considered for roles as officers.