DOCSLIB.ORG

How Skewed Is" the Bell Curve"?

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
How Skewed Is DOCUMENT RESUME ED 379 382 UD 030 310 AUTHOR Haynes, Norris M. TITLE How Skewed Is "The Bell Curve"? PUB DATE Jan 95 NOTE 24p.; Reviews "The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life" by R.J. Herrnstein and C. Murray, 1994. PUB TYPE Book/Product Reviews (072) Reports Evaluative /Feasibility (142) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Cognitive Ability; Environmental Influences; *Genetics; Heredity; *Intelligence; Intelligence Differences; *Nature Nurture Controversy; Political Influences; Public Policy; *Racial Differences; Scientific Methodology; Social Class IDENTIFIERS *Bell Curve (Herrnstein and Murray) ABSTRACT Fe,; books have generated as much controversy as the recently published "The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life." The tremendous polarization on the issue of the relationship between intelligence quotient (IQ) to race and social class, reinforced by the book, and the potential this book has for undermining social programs designed to help the poor and disenfranchised make it worthy of attention. It is a pseudo-scientific treatise that must be considered in the sociopolitical and philosophical contexts within which it is written. Evidence suggests that "The Bell Curve" is a philosophically skewed attempt at revising and reviving the idea that nature is more significant and important in determining intelligence and survivability than is nurture. The author analyzes the book's hypotheses, which are often convincingly presented, and considers its social policy implications for the disadvantaged and children's programs. Herrnstein's and Murray's thesis of genetic inferiority and inherited cognitive deficiency is without scientific merit, and is contrary to tie spirit of the American constitution. (Contains 27 references.) (SLD) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** How Skewed Is The Bell Curve? Norris M. Haynes, Ph D Associate Professor Yale Child Study Center Director of Research School Development Program PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY OF 'ZOUCATION IlalY112.0 U S DEPARTMENT Peses prve^.e,' a.r.Ai.p^A om.u.lico, RE SO0C.CESthe ED,ICIV-)NA.,CEATEP Qt: (Lid Ct4. teer 'ep,o0.AeC as OD.: ,,,ert has " tr:Ir Cs; vtl-t .q",- pf.SC.. January 1995 :rece.veC TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES tee- -.a `.en eahbvt. INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) rporoducbon openly sla,r: ,:s P.v.s nP:eSS.11".' I wish to acknowledge the contribution of Michael Ben-Avie in assisting with the identification of relevant material in my preparation of this manuscript. BEST COPY AVAILABLE [Not to be duplicated without author's permission] r 1 How Skewed Is The Hell Curve? A storm of controversy developed following Arthur Jensen's 1969 article in which he attributed 80% of the variance in IQ to heredity, suggesting genetic inferiority of Blacks compared to Whiteson IQ. There have been other turbulances since then which have swirled around the nature versus nurture influences on IQ, but none compares with the hurricane unleashed by the recentbook The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life ( Herrnstein andMurray, 1994). My analogy to a hurricane is not a mere indulgence in hyperbole or rhetoric,but is based on the tremendous polarization on the issue of the relationship of IQ to race and social class, reinforced by the book, and also on the unprecedented potential the book has for undermining important social programs designed to help the poor and disenfranchised, among whom are many innocent children. It is an 845page (including index) pseudo- scientific treatise, that on the surface, appears impressively steeped in abundant data. The book must be considered within the socio- political and philosophical context within which it has been written, as well as in view of the policy biases of its authorsregarding social programs for the disadvantaged poor in this society. It mustalso be considered on the merits of its theoretical framework, the research evidence in which it is grounded and the social policy implications and suggestions it offers. The Socio-political and Philosophical content Before the Bell Curve. Herrnstein was most remembered for his article on IQ which was published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1971, and for his book titled: IQ In The Meritocracy, published in 1973. Charles Murray is well known for his 1984 book, Losing Ground: American Social Policy 1950-1980 in which he criticized the welfare system, a- many of us do, but with venom and angstagainst those poor among us who are the beneficiariesof welfare, and for whom society provides very little else in the way of opportunity or hope. He is also a fellow at one of the most conservative social policy think tanks in the country, the American Enterprise Institute. Additionally, the Bell Curve has been endorsed by some persons whose scholarship and racial fairness have been called into question, such as Professor J. Phillipe Rushton, a psychology professor at the University of Western Ontario who argues in his 1990 book titled: Race, Evolution 2 and Behavior, that Blacks have smaller heads and larger genitalia than whites accounting in part for their lower levels of intelligence, higher levels of sex drive and higher birth rates.Other supporters and colleagues in the intelligence and race business include: ProfessorMichael Levine of the City University of New York's City College who argues that because Blacks are less intelligent than Whites and Asians they are more inclined to be criminals and implies that Blacks should therefore be feared, and Professor Linda Gottfredson, a sociologist at the University of Delaware, who also subscribes to the Black inferiority hypothesis and who spearheaded the campaign to have 52 like-minded intelligence researchers sign on, on the Herrnstein-Murray bandwagon.The 52 signers of course included Arthur Jensen and J. Phillipe Rushton. Murray himself has been known to speak disparagingly of the poor and of African- Americans. For exai.`e in an interview he gave while sitting in the first class cabin of an airline on his way to Aspen Colorado, sipping champagne, and glowing from the economic success of his book, he made the following comments to a reporter:" in the past, people were poor because of bad luck or social barriers, now, what's holding them back is that they are not smart enough to be physicians." He later intoned: "intelligence seems to blossom in the barest ground---. Now I know that's an odd thing to say about the inner-city, but at least they (Blacks) are going to school and they have the television on all day. You couldn't say that about Blacks 50 years ago."Later he referred to poor whites as "white trash" and made something of a confession by referring to his own work as "social science pornography." (source: New York Times Magazine, October 9, 1994, article titled: "Research or Social Science Pornography." (Quotes from pages 49-51). It is important to note that much of the "research" and writings on IQ, genetics and race have been underwritten by the Pioneer Fund including much of the research cited in the Bell Curve.Joyce Mercer, writing in Chronicle of Higher Education, the Business and Philanthropy section (December 7, 1994),had this to say about the Pioneer Fund: The fund was established in 1937 by eugenicists, people who believe the human race can be improved throughselective breeding. The founders thought that the overall intelligence of American 4 r 3 society was diminishing because of high birthrates among citizens with low IQs.Originally the fund's purpose was to conduct or aid research on the "problem of heredity and eugenics" and to encourage the reproduction of "white persons who settled in the original thirteen colonies". In 1985 the fund deleted the word "white" from its charter. But its detractors say the deletion did not change its focus (p. A27). What is clear is that Herrnstein and Murray are "descendants" of a long line of geneticists, dating back to Darwin (whose theory of evolution promoted the notion of survival of the fittest) and Galton (who believed that specific forms of genius as well as criminality were inherited and that environment played anegligible role), in the 19th century,to Burt ( a discredited geneticist from England who was found to have falsified IQ data ), Shockley andJensen in the 20th century. All of these individuals relentlessly argued for the superiority of one race over the other, with people of African (Negroid) descent at the bottom of the evolutionary ladder, and least intelligent. In fact, the authors acknowledge their philosophical and intellectual lineage in the book and assert quite clearly, in the following quote from the preface:"this book is about differences in intellectual capacity among people and groups and what those differences mean for America's future" (P. xxi). The evidence suggests that the Bell Curve isanother philosophically skewed attemr:n a long line of efforts at revisiting and reviving the notion that nature is more significant and important in determining intelligence and survivability than nurture. However, we must guard against a purely emotional response to this book.It is extremely well written and grounded in an avalanche of correlational data, which though often spurious and misinterpreted by the authors, nonetheless appear very convincing to many. The approach thatI take in the rest of this paper is to consider the hypotheses (premises) which guide the analyses, examine the research data and review the conclusions drawn. I also examine the social policy implications made with regard to programs that benefit the least socially privileged members of society,especially the many children who, armed with as much potential as their more privileged peers,struggle daily to survive and succeed in a society where they are viewed by some as 4 "cognitively deficient" and undeserving because they are not of the "cognitive elite" class.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • SOHASKY-DISSERTATION-2017.Pdf (2.074Mb)
    DIFFERENTIAL MINDS: MASS INTELLIGENCE TESTING AND RACE SCIENCE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY by Kate E. Sohasky A dissertation submitted to the Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Baltimore, Maryland May 9, 2017 © Kate E. Sohasky All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Historians have argued that race science and eugenics retreated following their discrediting in the wake of the Second World War. Yet if race science and eugenics disappeared, how does one explain their sudden and unexpected reemergence in the form of the neohereditarian work of Arthur Jensen, Richard Herrnstein, and Charles Murray? This dissertation argues that race science and eugenics did not retreat following their discrediting. Rather, race science and eugenics adapted to changing political and social climes, at times entering into states of latency, throughout the twentieth century. The transnational history of mass intelligence testing in the twentieth century demonstrates the longevity of race science and eugenics long after their discrediting. Indeed, the tropes of race science and eugenics persist today in the modern I.Q. controversy, as the dissertation shows. By examining the history of mass intelligence testing in multiple nations, this dissertation presents narrative of the continuity of race science and eugenics throughout the twentieth century. Dissertation Committee: Advisors: Angus Burgin and Ronald G. Walters Readers: Louis Galambos, Nathaniel Comfort, and Adam Sheingate Alternates: François Furstenberg
    [Show full text]
  • Black-White Differences on IQ and Grades: the Mediating Role of Elementary Cognitive Tasks Bryan Pesta Cleveland State University, [email protected]
    Cleveland State University EngagedScholarship@CSU Business Faculty Publications Monte Ahuja College of Business 2008 Black-White Differences on IQ and Grades: The Mediating Role of Elementary Cognitive Tasks Bryan Pesta Cleveland State University, [email protected] Peter J. Poznanski Cleveland State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/bus_facpub Part of the Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons How does access to this work benefit oy u? Let us know! Publisher's Statement NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Intelligence/ Science Direct. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Intelligence/ Science Direct, 36, 4, (2008); 10.1016/j.intell.2007.07.004 Original Published Citation Pesta, B., Poznanski, P. (2008). Black-White Differences on IQ and Grades: The eM diating Role of Elementary Cognitive Tasks. Intelligence/ Science Direct, 36(4), pp. 323-329. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Monte Ahuja College of Business at EngagedScholarship@CSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Business Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of EngagedScholarship@CSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. shared by variance in IQ. The direction of causality, performance on jobs where the public's safety might be however, and whether third variables explain the at risk (e.g., fire fighters; see te Nijenhuis & van der relationship, remain empirical questions.
    [Show full text]
  • “Scientific” Racism and the Evidence on Race and Intelligence
    ANDREW M. COLMAN 'Scientific' Racism and the Evidence on Race and Intelligencea In his recent book, Race, Intelligence and Education,b H. J. Eysenck has written: 'I would be prepared to assert that experts (real experts, that is) would agree with at least 90 per cent of what I am going to say-probably the true figure would be a good deal higher, but there is no point in exaggerating' (p. 15). The major thesis which his book sought to establish was that 'all the evidence to date suggests the strong and indeed over­ whelming importance of genetic factors in producing the great variety of intellectual differences which we observe in our culture, and much of the difference observed between certain racial groups' (p. 130). This latter assertion is demonstrably false, as will become apparent, since 'all the evidence to date' does not speak with one voice. The thesis contains two latent propositions: (a) that intellectual differences among people in our culture are overwhelmingly determined by genetic factors, and (b) that the 15-point mean I.Q. gap between black and white Americans is largely determined by genetic factors. This paper centres on the second proposi­ tion, which (as will be demonstrated) is logically and empirically inde­ pendent of the first, although the vital distinction has recently been blurred by A. R. Jensen (1969)C and subsequently by Eysenck in the quotation above, and throughout his book, which draws heavily on Jensen's controversial paper. Eysenck's claims concerning the consensus of the 'experts' have been widely interpreted as implying that there is general agreement with him on the crucial second proposition concerning race and intelligence.
    [Show full text]
  • Indigenous Capitalist Class, Social Stratification and Life Chances in the Contemporary Nigeria Society
    Public Policy and Administration Research www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-5731(Paper) ISSN 2225-0972(Online) Vol.4, No.7, 2014 Indigenous Capitalist Class, Social Stratification and Life Chances in the Contemporary Nigeria Society Oladele A. Adeleke 1* , Rasak Bamidele 2, Rasaq Omokeji, Ganiyu 3 1.Department of Sociology, Olabisi OnabanjoUniversity, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State E-mail: [email protected] 2.Department of Sociology and Psychology,Fountain University Osogbo, Osun State E-mail:[email protected] 3.Department of Sociology, Fountain University, Osogbo, Osun State E-mail: [email protected] Abstract The life styles associated with people in the same class categories include, among other things, particularly orientations to manners, speech, clothing styles, education and especially, ‘Success’. There is a tendency for people with similar styles to participate together in both formal and informal groups, to marry one another, and to choose activities that reflect their similar value orientations. Social stratification draws attention to the unequal positions occupied by individuals in society. Social inequality is found in all societies. Therefore, this paper is to examine social stratification, life chances in relation to indigenous capitalist class in Nigeria. This study will be guided by the Weberian perspective of social stratification. Keywords: Social Stratification, Indigenous Capitalist Class, Life Chances, Social Inequality and Social Mobility Introduction In every human society, there are inequalities even in the smallest culture, where variations in wealth or property virtually none existent, there are inequalities between individuals, men and women, the young and the old. A person may have a higher status than others because of particular prowess at hunting for instance or because he/she is believed to have special access to ancestral spirits.
    [Show full text]
  • Beyond an Underclass: an Essay on Up-Front Politics
    The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare Volume 20 Issue 1 March Article 3 March 1993 Beyond An Underclass: An Essay on Up-Front Politics Paula L. Dressel Georgia State University Jeff Porterfield Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw Part of the Politics and Social Change Commons, and the Social Work Commons Recommended Citation Dressel, Paula L. and Porterfield, Jeff (1993) "Beyond An Underclass: An Essay on Up-Front Politics," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 20 : Iss. 1 , Article 3. Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol20/iss1/3 This Article is brought to you by the Western Michigan University School of Social Work. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Beyond An Underclass: An Essay on Up-Front Politics PAULA L. DRESSEL & JEFF PORTERFIELD Georgia State University Department of Sociology Debate about underclass conceptualization has once again forced sociol- ogists to acknowledge the political context and implications of our work. This article extends the criticalexamination of underclass conceptualiza- tion to relatively undeveloped but politically important areas of concern. Initially we discuss the political economic context of conceptual contro- versies surrounding poverty. With a preference for structural analysis, we call for the return of class to economically marginalized people and suggest how that goal might be enhanced by a focus on relations of distribution as well as production. Valuing subjects' vantage points, we recommend how sociologists' work can return agency and diversity to economically marginalized people. Finally, acknowledging the agency of sociologists, we call for greater attention to the implications of our class positions for how we, too, make history, either by intention or default.
    [Show full text]
  • A Race-And-IQ Research Dilemma Abstract Most Researchers
    Edugenics: A race-and-IQ research dilemma Abstract Most researchers agree it is socially harmful to research so-called inter-racial IQ variation. Edugenics, an emerging educational technology, may do social harm by racialising education: We cannot know if it will without researching so-called inter-racial IQ variation. Edugenics Behavioural geneticists research human trait variation. Following the mapping of the human genome, researchers analyse Genome Wide Association Surveys (GWASs),1 observe how sub-gene data known as Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs)2 interact with each other and with the environment, and seek to discern polygenic effects in humans.3 Some say they are increasingly able to predict, on a probabilistic basis, traits in the individual such as such as IQ4 and GRIT5 which have significant effects upon learning proclivities and other life outcomes. Some of these researchers argue for the application of their research to general education. They advocate the use of universal DNA, supplemented by regular IQ, testing in order to facilitate the creation and maintenance of students’ “personalised learning” programmes.6 Other possible future applications for this technology include human embryo selection7 and genetic engineering.8 This short discussion paper uses the term edugenics to refer to such potential applied research. The term is intended to have a cautionary effect rooted in the principle of dual-use technological risk as employed in defence equipment export regimes.9 The notions of embryo selection and genetic engineering
    [Show full text]
  • The Inheritance of Race Revisited
    The Inheritance of Race Revisited: Childhood Wealth and Income and Black–White Disadvantages in Adult Life Chances David Brady,a Ryan Finnigan,b Ulrich Kohler,c Joscha Legewied a) University of California, Riverside; b) University of California, Davis; c) University of Potsdam; d) Harvard University Abstract: Vast racial inequalities continue to prevail across the United States and are closely linked to economic resources. One particularly prominent argument contends that childhood wealth accounts for black–white (BW) disadvantages in life chances. This article analyzes how much childhood wealth and childhood income mediate BW disadvantages in adult life chances with Panel Study of Income Dynamics and Cross-National Equivalent File data on children from the 1980s and 1990s who were 30+ years old in 2015. Compared with previous research, we exploit longer panel data, more comprehensively assess adult life chances with 18 outcomes, and measure income and wealth more rigorously. We find large BW disadvantages in most outcomes. Childhood wealth and income mediate a substantial share of most BW disadvantages, although there are several significant BW disadvantages even after adjusting for childhood wealth and income. The evidence mostly contradicts the prominent claim that childhood wealth is more important than childhood income. Indeed, the analyses mostly show that childhood income explains more of BW disadvantages and has larger standardized coefficients than childhood wealth. We also show how limitations in prior wealth research explain why our conclusions differ. Replication with the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and a variety of robustness checks support these conclusions. Keywords: racial inequality; wealth; income; intergenerational mobility; stratification; inequality Citation: Brady, David, Ryan AST racial inequalities continue to prevail across the United States.
    [Show full text]
  • X CONTRIBUTIONS to the THEORY of REFERENCE GROUP BEHAVIOR*
    x CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE THEORY OF REFERENCE GROUP BEHAVIOR* T IS CHAPTER PROCEEDS on the assumption that there;s two-way traffic between social theory and empirical research. Systematic em­ pirical materials help advance social theory by imposing the task and by affording the opportunity for interpretation along lines often unpre­ meditated, and social theory, in turn, defines the scope and enlarges the predictive value of empirical findings by indicating the conditions under which they hold. The systematic data of The American Soldier,! in all their numerous variety, provide a useful occasion for examining the interplay of social theory and applied social research. More particularly, we attempt to identify and to order the fairly numerous researches in The American Soldier which, by implication or by explicit statement, bear upon the theory of reference group behavior. (The empirical realities which this term denotes will presently be con­ sidered in some detail. It should be said here, however, that although the term "reference group" is not employed in these volumes, any more than it has yet found full acceptance 'in the vocabulary of sociology as distinct from social psychology, reference group concepts play an im­ portant part in the interpretative apparatus utilized by the Research Branch of the Information and Education Division of the War Depart­ ment.) At two points, we deal briefly with related subjects which are not, however, part and parcel of reference group theory. We review the statistical indices of group attributes and social structure as variously adopted in these researches, and attempt to indicate, though very briefly and programmatically, the specific value of systematically incorporating such indices in further research.
    [Show full text]
  • ED 108 059 CG 009 876 White IQ Versus Black Intelligence
    DOCUMENT RESUME . ED 108 059 CG 009 876 AUTHOR Edwards, Thomas O. TITLE White I.Q. Versus Black Intelligence. PUB DATE [73] NOTE 19p. EDRS PRICE NF -$0.76 BC-$1.58 PLUS POSTAGE DESCRIPTORS Environmental Influences; Heredity;. Intellectual Development; *Intelligence Quotient; *Intelligence Tests; Literature RdViews; *Nature Nurture Controversy; *Negroes; *Racial Differences; Racism IDENTIFIERS *Jensen(Arthur) ABSTRACT This paper discusses the nature-nurture controversy concerning the origins mental abilities. Specifically, the author looks at the viewpoint ofrthur Jensen and critically examines his work. This paper presents anverview of Jensenes position followed by a discussion of shortcoming ,411 his methodology and research techniques. The author severely criticizes Jensen's failure to define terms to reduce ambiguity. The paper then critically describes Jenseneseliance on present intelligence testing methods. The manner in which ,ensen uses the term, "race", is explored. His use of the cconcept4'ace and intelligence" is also discussed. The author concludes that Jenset is advocating "the genetic fallacy", and that those with a racist philosophy can use the Jensen argument to justify their position. The writer further concludes that-Jensen has been generally unscientific and irresponsible in formulating his assumptions. (Author/BW) ,cz - *******4************************************************************** Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort * * to obtain the best copy available. nevertheless, items of marginal * * reproducibility are orten encountered and this affects the quality * * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC Makes available * * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). EDRS is not * responsible for the quality of the original document. ReproducO.ons ** * supplied by EDRS are the best that can.be made from the originkl: * ********************************************************************** 'U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • The Bell Curve of Intelligence, Economic Growth and Technological Achievement: How Robust Is the Cross-Country Evidence?
    Munich Personal RePEc Archive The Bell Curve of Intelligence, Economic Growth and Technological Achievement: How Robust is the Cross-Country Evidence? Burhan, Nik Ahmad Sufian and Che Razak, Razli and Rosli, Muhamad Ridhwan and Selamat, Muhamad Rosli Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Federation of Malay Students Union / Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung, Kuala Lumpur, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, International University of Malaya-Wales, Kuala Lumpur, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia January 2017 Online at https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/77469/ MPRA Paper No. 77469, posted 13 Mar 2017 14:25 UTC The Bell Curve of Intelligence, Economic Growth and Technological Achievement: How Robust is the Cross-Country Evidence? Nik Ahmad Sufian Burhan a,b,*, Razli Che Razak c, Muhamad Ridhwan Rosli b,d, Muhamad Rosli Selamat e a Department of Human Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Malaysia b Federation of Malay Students Union / Gabungan Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia c Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Malaysia d Faculty of Arts and Humanities, International University of Malaya-Wales, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia e Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract Intelligence quotient (IQ) scores are normally distributed within a nation’s population. In a cross-country regression, Burhan et al. (2014, Intelligence, 46, 1–8) had statistically proven that intellectual class represented by the 95th percentile IQ had contributed most to economic growth. Those with average ability (50th percentile IQ) contributed second most, followed by the non-intellectual class (5th percentile IQ).
    [Show full text]
  • A Contextual Definition of the Underclass by Martha Van Haitsma
    A contextual definition of the underclass by Martha Van Haitsma Spatial concentration of poverty in and of itself need not constitute a problem distinct from general poverty. The neighborhoods in which people live do alter the mix of Martha Van Haitsma is a graduate student in the Department opportunities and difficulties they face, but not everyone in of Sociology at the University of Chicago. This article is the an area of concentrated poverty belongs to the same socio- revised and edited section of a paper presented at the 1989 economic class. Spatial concentration cannot be ignored, Midwest Sociological Association Meetings in St. Louis, however, as it constitutes part of the mechanism that links Missouri, April 5-10, 1989. nonnormative3 patterns of income generation and family formation to chronic poverty. When an area is largely popu- lated by chronically poor persons, the opportunities for climbing out of poverty are dimini~hed.~Residents of such Assessing whether or not an underclass exists, how it came areas have weak links to job networks, and therefore find to be, and what policies are likely to affect it all turn on how alternate means of generating income. Higher rates of infor- the term "underclass" is defined. The underclass has been mal and illegal means of accruing income, as well as welfare variously defined by any or all of four characteristics: use, strengthen networks of information tied to these ave- chronic poverty; nonnormative behavior with respect to nues rather than to formal work. With few visible career income generation and family formation; spatial concentra- prospects and few "marriageable" (i.e., stably empl~yed)~ tion of such poverty and/or behavior; and intergenerational men, young women are more likely to opt for single mother- transmission of such poverty and/or behavior.? The manner hood as a route to adulthood.
    [Show full text]
  • Black±White Differences on the G-Factor in South Africa
    Personality and Individual Differences 31 :2001) 1227±1232 www.elsevier.com/locate/paid Black±White dierences on the g-factor in South Africa: a ``Jensen Eect'' on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Ð revised J. Philippe Rushton * Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5C2, Canada Received 27 July 2000; received in revised form 12 October 2000; accepted 23 October 2000 Abstract A test is made to determine whether South African Black±White dierences on various tests of cognitive performance are like the Black±White dierences in the United States in being positively associated with a test's g loadings, where g is the general factor of intelligence. Data are analyzed from Skuy, Schutte, Fridjhon and O'Carroll [Skuy, M., Schutte, E., Fridjhon, P., & O'Carroll, S. :2001). Suitability of published neu- ropsychological test norms for urban African secondary school strudents in South Africa. Personality and Individual Dierences, 30, 1413±1425) of 154 13- to 15-year-old secondary school students in Soweto, Johannesburg, on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children±Revised :WISC-R). The more highly cor- related a sub-test was with g, the more it predicted the African±White dierence :r =0.77, p=0.05). The eect remained even when the Vocabulary sub-test was excluded or when g was extracted from the Black rather than from the White standardization sample :r=0.60, P<0.05), as it did as well if Spearman's rho was used instead of Pearson's r :g from Whites=0.74, g from Blacks=0.74, P< 0.005).
    [Show full text]