DOCSLIB.ORG

Intelligence, Race, and Genetics: Conversations with Arthur R. Jensen

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Intelligence, Race, and Genetics: Conversations with Arthur R. Jensen INTELLIGENCE, RACE, AND GENET / ¿ n j e n FRANK MIELE A Member of the Perseus Books Group All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including pho­ tocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without perm ission in writing from the publisher. Copyright © 2 0 0 2 by Westview Press, A Member o f the Perseus Books Group Westview Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge MA 02142, or call (617) 252-5298. Published in 2 0 0 2 in the United States o f America by Westview Press, 5 5 0 0 Central Avenue, Boulder, Colorado 80301-2877, and in the United Kingdom by Westview Press, 12 Hid’s Copse Road, Cumnor Hill, Oxford OX2 9JJ Find us on the World Wide Web at www.westviewpress.com A Cataloging-in-Publication data record for this book is available from the Library o f Congress. ISBN 0-8I33-4008-X The paper used in this publication meets the requirements o f the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-I984. 10 98765432 1—05 04 03 02 To my late father, Edward J . Miele, and my mother, Cecilia Miele, who gave me both my genes and my environment; and to my brother, Edward F. Miele, who shares them with me. CONTENTS Preface IX Acknowledgments XI INTRODUCTION Jensenism and Skepticism I PRELUDE The Man Behind the “Ism’ 7 1 UENSENISM A New Word in the Dictionary 17 2 WHAT IS INTELLIGENCE? T h e g Factor and Its Rivals 43 3 NATURE, NURTURE,OR BOTH? Can Heritability Cut Psychology’s Gordian Knot? 69 4 WHAT IS RACE? Biological Reality or Cultural Construction? 109 5 FROM JE N S E N IS M TO THE BELL CURVE WARS Science, Pseudoscience, and Politics 147 6 SCIENCE AND POLICY What’s to Be Done? 171 Appendix A: Bibliography of Arthur R. Jensen 19 1 Appendix B : Mainstream Science on Intelligence 2 2 3 Index 2 3 1 vu PREFACE “Compensatory education has been tried and it apparently has failed.” With that opening sentence of a 123-page-long article solicited by the prestigious Harvard Educational Review, Professor Arthur R. Jensen, of the University o f California, Berkeley, went from being a highly respected but little-known educational psychologist to one of the most controversial fig­ ures in science. Written in 1969 during the tumultuous days of the rioting in the Black inner cities and W hite voter disenchantment with Lyndon Johnsons Great Society programs, Jensen’s HER article set off a firestorm of con­ troversy. T h e title, “H ow M uch Can We Boost IQ and Scholastic Achievement?” and Jensen’s conclusion, “N ot much,” made him a headlin­ er in Time, Newsweek, Life, U.S. News fir World Report, and The New York Times Magazine, on the one hand, and the target o f student protests, sit-ins, reso­ lutions of condemnation, and even acts o f vandalism and death threats on the other. The word “Jensenism”— shorthand for Jensen’s theory that an individual’s IQ is largely due to heredity, including racial heritage— found its way into som e dictionaries. In this book, I skeptically cross-examine Arthur R. Jensen on Jensenism— how and why he believes the scientific evidence is even stronger today that: • IQ is real, biological, and highly genetic, and not just some statistic or the result of educational, social, economic, or cul­ tural factors; IX X PREFACE • race is a biological reality, not a social construct; and, most controversially of all, • the cause of the 15-point average IQ difference between Blacks and Whites in the United States is partly genetic. The late Stephen Jay Gould’s Mismeasure of Man, Howard Gardners numerous books on “multiple intelligences,” and Joseph Graves’s The Emperor’s New Clothes argue that Jensenism and the controversial best-seller The Bell Curve (which draws heavily on Jensen’s work) are marginal science at best, pseudoscience at worst. Here, Jensen replies to these and other crit­ ics. He also answers the questions I think you yourself would like to ask him. He tells you why he believes the scientific basis of Jensenism is as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar, why the experts in the relevant disciplines o f behavior genetics and psychometrics agree with him and not his critics, and why the public has been so misinformed. This book also introduces you to Arthur Jensen, the man behind the “ism,” so that you can understand why he took up such a controversial research program and why he has pursued it so relentlessly. Finally, it takes you on the intellectual odyssey of the behavioral sciences over the past third of a century, detailing the sea changes that have taken place since Jensen and Jensenism first hit the front pages in 1969. Frank Miele Sunnyvale; California ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I could not have written this book without the help and encouragement that so many people have given me over the years. I would like to give par­ ticular thanks to publisher and editor-in-chief Michael Shermer and the staff o f Skeptic, to all those who have given so generously of their time in allowing me to interview them for the magazine, and to my editor Karl Yambert and the staff at Westview. Additionally, the photos in the book were provided by courtesy o f Arthur Jensen and the cover photo by cour­ tesy of Lois V Jensen, his sister, and I thank them for their permission to use the photos. F.M . INTRODUCTION Jensenism and Skepticism Jensenism, n: the theory that an individual’s IQ is largely due to heredi­ ty, including racial heritage; after Arthur R. Jensen (born 1923), U.S. educational psychologist, who first propounded this hypothesis in 1965. and Skepticism, n: the search for provisional, not metaphysical, truth through the continuous and vigorous application of the methods of science, that is, formulating hypotheses and gathering data against which to test them. ensenism and skepticism— what’s the connection? W hat does a controversial J theory linking intelligence, race, and genetics have to do with a grow­ ing movement that promotes better understanding o f the scientific method and greater use o f critical thinking by the general public? O n the one hand, one skeptic icon, the late Stephen Jay Gould, who was then America’s best-known science writer, a distinguished though contro­ versial scientist in his own right, and a past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, once claimed to have debunked Jensenism as resting on “a rotten edifice.” On the other, Intelligence, the most prestigious journal in the field of IQ research, devoted an entire issue to honoring Jensen and his work, which its editor, Douglas Detterman, titled “A King Among Men: Arthur Jensen.” I 2 INTELLIGENCE, RACE, AND GENETICS If these wildly varying assessments of Arthur R. Jensen and his theo­ ries o f race, genetics, and human intelligence don’t invite a skeptical exami­ nation and some critical thinking, what does? As senior editor o f Skeptic, I’ve interviewed some o f the world’s leading scholars on differing sides of the race-IQ issue and related controversies in biological and behavioral sciences. W ho better to interview than the namesake o f the most controversial “ism” o f them all— the relation between race, intelligence, and genetics? I realized that a fair treatment o f Jensen and Jensenism would require a book, not just an article. Jensen accepted, but could he commit the time? That year, 1999, he was based in London, England, working at the Galton Library on biographies of Charles Spearman and Hans Eysenck commis­ sioned by the American Psychological Association (APA) and delivering the annual Galton Lecture as well as invited lectures at universities and research institutes in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Spain. It wasn’t possible for me to spend the year in Europe attending the lectures while we did the interviews. Even long-distance phone calls pre­ sented a difficulty because o f the eight-to-nine-hour time difference, and they would be a budget buster. So we decided to conduct the conversations via E-mail. I wrote a series of questions on a particular topic, and Jensen replied. We had our printed transcript proofed, but the only other modifi­ cations are those requested by the publisher, Westview Press, to remove rep­ etition, to clarify some of the more technical passages, or to update infor­ mation and references to the scientific literature where appropriate. Many reject Jensenism without examining the evidence because they fear what might follow if it gained widespread public acceptance. I want you to be able to decide for yourself whether Jensenism represents one man’s search for provisional, not metaphysical, truth through the continu­ ous and vigorous application o f the methods o f science, that is, by for­ mulating hypotheses and gathering data against which to test them, or a dangerous diversion back down a blind alley o f old and disproven ideas, deceptively dressed up in modern scientific jargon. The Prelude introduces you to “the man behind the ‘ism.’” It includes a biographical and professional sketch of “Jensen before Jensenism.” Chapter I, “Jensenism: A New Word in the Dictionary,” provides a perspective on “Jensenism” and explains how a well-respected and previ­ INTRODUCTION 3 ously noncontroversial educational psychologist gave rise to a controversial word in the dictionary.
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]
  • Tracking Exceptional Human Capital Over Two Decades David Lubinski,1 Camilla P
    PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Research Article Tracking Exceptional Human Capital Over Two Decades David Lubinski,1 Camilla P. Benbow,1 Rose Mary Webb,2 and April Bleske-Rechek3 1Vanderbilt University, 2Appalachian State University, and 3University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire ABSTRACT—Talent-search participants (286 males, 94 adult lives (Benbow, Lubinski, Shea, & Eftekhari-Sanjani, females) scoring in the top 0.01% on cognitive-ability 2000; Lubinski & Benbow, 1994, 2000). A 20-year follow-up of measures were identified before age 13 and tracked over SMPY’s ablest cohort has just been completed. Before age 13, 20 years. Their creative, occupational, and life accom- these participants scored within the top 0.01% for their age on plishments are compared with those of graduate students either SAT mathematical reasoning ability (SAT-M 700) or (299 males, 287 females) enrolled in top-ranked U.S. SAT verbal reasoning ability (SAT-V 630; Lubinski, Webb, mathematics, engineering, and physical science programs Morelock, & Benbow, 2001). They were identified in talent in 1992 and tracked over 10 years. By their mid-30s, the searches conducted in the early 1980s and, with a Web-based two groups achieved comparable and exceptional success survey, were followed up in 2003 and 2004 at the mean age of (e.g., securing top tenure-track positions) and reported 33.6 years (286 men, 94 women; response rate > 80%). high and commensurate career and life satisfaction. Col- The achievements of these talent-search (TS) participants lege entrance exams administered to intellectually preco- were compared with those of a cohort of first- and second-year cious youth uncover extraordinary potential for careers graduate students identified by SMPY at approximately age 24 requiring creativity and scientific and technological in- through their enrollment in 1992 at top U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Intellectual Precocity: What Have We Learned Since Terman?
    Article Gifted Child Quarterly 0(0) 1–26 Intellectual Precocity: What Have ! 2020 National Association for Gifted Children We Learned Since Terman? Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0016986220925447 journals.sagepub.com/home/gcq David Lubinski1 and Camilla P. Benbow1 Abstract Over the past 50 years, eight robust generalizations about intellectual precocity have emerged, been empirically docu- mented, and replicated through longitudinal research. Within the top 1% of general and specific abilities (mathematical, spatial, and verbal) over one third of the range of individual differences are to be found, and they are meaningful. These individual differences in ability level and in pattern of specific abilities, which are uncovered by the use of above-level assessments, structure consequential quantitative and qualitative differences in educational, occupational, and creative out- comes. There is no threshold effect for abilities in predicting future accomplishments; and the concept of multipotentiality evaporates when assessments cover the full range of all three primary abilities. Beyond abilities, educational/occupational interests add value in identifying optimal learning environments for precocious youth and, with the addition of conative variables, for modeling subsequent life span development. While overall professional outcomes of exceptionally precocious youth are as exceptional as their abilities, educational interventions of sufficient dosage enhance the probability of them leading exceptionally
    [Show full text]
  • Here Stanley Taught
    NEWS FEATURE How to raise a genius A long-running study of exceptional children reveals what it takes to produce the scientists who will lead the twenty-first century. BY TOM CLYNES 152 | NATURE | VOL 537 | 8 SEPTEMBER 2016 ǟ ƐƎƏƖ !,(++- 4 +(2'#12 (,(3#"Ʀ /13 .$ /1(-%#1 341#ƥ ++ 1(%'32 1#2#15#"ƥ ǟ ƐƎƏƖ !,(++- 4 +(2'#12 (,(3#"Ʀ /13 .$ /1(-%#1 341#ƥ ++ 1(%'32 1#2#15#"ƥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ ɥ FEATURE NEWS n a summer day in 1968, professor Julian Stanley met and academics, our Fortune 500 CEOs and federal judges, senators and a brilliant but bored 12-year-old named Joseph Bates. billionaires,” he says. The Baltimore student was so far ahead of his class- Such results contradict long-established ideas suggesting that expert mates in mathematics that his parents had arranged performance is built mainly through practice — that anyone can get for him to take a computer-science course at Johns to the top with enough focused effort of the right kind. SMPY, by con- Hopkins University, where Stanley taught. Even that trast, suggests that early cognitive ability has more effect on achievement wasn’t enough. Having leapfrogged ahead of the adults in the class, than either deliberate practice or environmental factors such as socio- Othe child kept himself busy by teaching the FORTRAN programming economic status. The research emphasizes the importance of nurturing language to graduate students. precocious children, at a time when the prevailing focus in the United Unsure of what to do with Bates, his computer instructor introduced States and other countries is on improving the performance of strug- him to Stanley, a researcher well known for his work in psycho metrics gling students (see ‘Nurturing a talented child’).
    [Show full text]
  • Psychometric G: Definition and Substantiation
    Psychometric g: Definition and Substantiation Arthur R. Jensen University of Culifornia, Berkeley The construct known as psychometric g is arguably the most important construct in all of psychology largelybecause of its ubiquitous presence in all tests of mental ability and its wide-ranging predictive validity for a great many socially significant variables, including scholastic performance and intellectual attainments, occupational status, job performance, in- come, law abidingness, and welfare dependency. Even such nonintellec- tual variables as myopia, general health, and longevity, as well as many other physical traits, are positively related to g. Of course, the causal con- nections in the whole nexus of the many diverse phenomena involving the g factor is highly complex. Indeed, g and its ramifications cut across the behavioral sciences-brainphysiology, psychology, sociology-perhaps more than any other scientific construct. THE DOMAIN OF g THEORY It is important to keep in mind the distinction between intelligence and g, as these terms are used here. The psychology of intelligence could, at least in theory, be based on the study of one person,just as Ebbinghaus discov- ered some of the laws of learning and memory in experimentswith N = 1, using himself as his experimental subject. Intelligence is an open-ended category for all those mental processes we view as cognitive, such as stimu- lus apprehension, perception, attention, discrimination, generalization, 39 40 JENSEN learning and learning-set acquisition, short-term and long-term memory, inference, thinking, relation eduction, inductive and deductive reasoning, insight, problem solving, and language. The g factor is something else. It could never have been discovered with N = 1, because it reflects individual di,fferences in performance on tests or tasks that involve anyone or moreof the kinds of processes just referred to as intelligence.
    [Show full text]
  • Mainstream Science on Intelligence: an Editorial with 52 Signatories, History, and Bibliography
    EDITORIAL Mainstream Science on Intelligence: An Editorial With 52 Signatories, History, and Bibliography LINDA S. GOTTFREDSON University of Delaware The following statement was first published in the Wall Street Journal, December 13, 1994. Mainstream Science on Intelligence Since the publication of “The Bell Curve,” it reflects a broader and deeper capability for many commentators have offered opinions comprehending our surroundings-“catch- about human intelligence that misstate cur- ing on,” “ making sense” of things, or “figur- rent scientific evidence. Some conclusions ing out” what to do. dismissed in the media as discredited are ac- 2. Intelligence, so defined, can be mea- tually firmly supported. sured, and intelligence tests measure it well. This statement outlines conclusions re- They are among the most accurate (in techni- garded as mainstream among researchers on cal terms, reliable and valid) of all psycho- intelligence, in particular, on the nature, ori- logical tests and assessments. They do not gins, and practical consequences of individu- measure creativity, character, personality, or al and group differences in intelligence. Its other important differences among individu- aim is to promote more reasoned discussion als, nor are they intended to. of the vexing phenomenon that the research 3. While there are different types of intel- has revealed in recent decades. The follow- ligence tests, they all measure the same intel- ing conclusions are fully described in the ligence. Some use words or numbers and major textbooks, professional journals and require specific cultural knowledge (like vo- encyclopedias in intelligence. cabulary). Other do not, and instead use shapes or designs and require knowledge of The Meaning and Measurement of only simple, universal concepts (many/few, Intelligence open/closed, up/down).
    [Show full text]
  • The Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth at Maturity Insights Into Elements of Genius Harrison J
    Part V Trajectories The Wiley Handbook of Genius, First Edition. Edited by Dean Keith Simonton. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 19 The Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth at Maturity Insights into Elements of Genius Harrison J. Kell and David Lubinski Genius, by definition, is rare. It is arguably the rarest phenomenon in the human con- dition. In Murray’s (2003) compelling analysis, Human Accomplishment, he suggests that genius is indicative of individuals who generate products that transform humanity. When leaders in the field examine the creative contributions generated by geniuses, their response is frequently “How could a human being have done that?” If we set the bar high enough, limiting discussions of genius to luminaries such as Shakespeare and Dante, Einstein and Newton, or Aristotle and Plato, a list of around 100 individuals for all time is likely to eventuate. Therefore, one may reasonably ask, as Dean Simonton does in the preface to this volume, “Can such a rare phenomenon be studied scientifically?” To study a group of 100 individuals scientifically who were born across a range of 2,000 years is mindboggling. If standards are lowered, how- ever, to, say, Murray’s (2003) list of the top 20 contributors to 20 major disciplines (e.g., medicine, music, physics), this facilitates matters. Yet even with this more liberal approach, the scientific study of genius is still exceedingly difficult – it would leave us with about 400 individuals stretched over approximately 2,800 years, suggesting a single genius arises, on average, only once every seven years! This still understates the problem, however, as the emergence of genius is not evenly distributed over time; certain historical periods abound in the production of genius while others lie fallow (Murray, 2003).
    [Show full text]
  • An Analysis of Stormfront Discussions on Race
    “So Much for Darwin” An Analysis of Stormfront Discussions on Race Dianne Dentice Stephen F. Austin State University ABSTRACT Even though people who actively participate in the white nationalist movement appear to be a relatively small percentage of the global popula- tion, it appears that racist and anti-Semitic attitudes continue to inform a new generation of white nationalists, many of whom populate discussion forums on Stormfront, online since 1995 and billed as the first Internet site in the hate genre. Membership in extremist groups and support for sites like Stormfront embody specific attitudes about race, the importance of the exis- tence of biological races, intellectual superiority of whites, and justification for these beliefs that is sometimes framed with a religious perspective such as Christian Identity. This project is based on a content analysis of Storm- front discussion forums posted online between the years 2010 and 2017. The findings indicate that some discussants are willing to admit the exis- tence of small percentages of mixed DNA without giving up their white identity. They understand the concept of mass migration and human breed- ing patterns. Others stand ready to argue these points and discredit DNA testing whenever possible. Hatred of Jews is a recurrent theme throughout Stormfront forums, no matter the topic of discussion and both William Pierce and Wesley Swift are gaining currency with younger discussants on the site. Additionally and maybe most importantly, a mentoring system is in place where more mature and seasoned white racialists share race science anecdotes and articles from J. Philippe Rushton and Arthur Jensen, among others.
    [Show full text]
  • Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth After 35 Years Uncovering Antecedents for the Development of Math-Science Expertise David Lubinski and Camilla Persson Benbow
    PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Special Section: Doing Psychological Science Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth After 35 Years Uncovering Antecedents for the Development of Math-Science Expertise David Lubinski and Camilla Persson Benbow Vanderbilt University ABSTRACT—This review provides an account of the Study (e.g., administration, law, medicine, and the social sci- of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) after 35 ences). By their mid-30s, the men and women appeared to years of longitudinal research. Findings from recent be happy with their life choices and viewed themselves as 20-year follow-ups from three cohorts, plus 5- or 10-year equally successful (and objective measures support these findings from all five SMPY cohorts (totaling more than subjective impressions). Given the ever-increasing im- 5,000 participants), are presented. SMPY has devoted portance of quantitative and scientific reasoning skills in particular attention to uncovering personal antecedents modern cultures, when mathematically gifted individuals necessary for the development of exceptional math-science choose to pursue careers outside engineering and the careers and to developing educational interventions to physical sciences, it should be seen as a contribution to facilitate learning among intellectually precocious youth. society, not a loss of talent. Along with mathematical gifts, high levels of spatial ability, investigative interests, and theoretical values form a par- ticularly promising aptitude complex indicative of poten- Society is becoming more knowledge based, technological, and tial for developing scientific expertise and of sustained international (Friedman, 2005); the physical and social systems commitment to scientific pursuits. Special educational within which people operate are increasingly complex and dy- opportunities, however, can markedly enhance the devel- namic, and economies are built upon ideas.
    [Show full text]
  • IQ Guru Talks to Skeptic Magazine? Given the Chance to Explain How He
    Heredity (2003) 90, 346–347 & 2003 Nature Publishing Group All rights reserved 0018-067X/03 $25.00 www.nature.com/hdy BOOK REVIEW IQ guru talks to Skeptic magazine? welfare state that will long continue to support the Given the chance to explain how he country’s Black underclass. Who were Jensen’s friends in martyrdom and what chose to endure denunciation for was the organization of the London School of which he ‘fascism’, psychologist Arthur Jensen became the revered intellectual head? (The journal holds his peace Intelligence recently devoted a Special Issue to him, calling him ‘A King among Men.’) What was the plan of Intelligence, Race, and Genetics: Conversations campaign for dealing with the rise of political correctness which was making even discussion of race impossible? with Arthur R Jensen Miele’s book has no index allowing tracing, but such F Miele crown princes of the London School as Phil Rushton Westview Press, Oxford. 2002; 236 pp. (who first linked the Mongoloid–Caucasian–Negroid d16.99, hardback. ISBN 0-8133-4008-X continuum to a wide range of psychological features, Reviewed by Chris Brand including sexuality – Rushton, 1985) and Richard Lynn Heredity (2003) 90, 346–347. doi:10.1038/sj.hdy.6800226 (who first noticed evidence that Black African IQ was actually only 70 – Lynn, 1991) certainly do not loom large in Jensen’s ‘conversation.’ Scrupulously aiming to avoid In 1969, Arthur Jensen (today Emeritus Professor at controversy, the man who first so sensationally attracted Berkeley) began his career of martyrdom with his it now disdains any interesting propositions about the Harvard Educational Review article saying that educability, human condition.
    [Show full text]
  • Hans Eysenck's Theory of Intelligence, and What It Reveals About Him
    Personality and Individual Differences 103 (2016) 116–127 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Personality and Individual Differences journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid Hans Eysenck's theory of intelligence, and what it reveals about him Linda S. Gottfredson School of Education, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA article info abstract Article history: Hans Eysenck was a highly analytical, objective, independent-minded experimentalist. He personified the biolog- Received 18 March 2016 ical perspective of the Galton–Spearman ‘London School of Psychology’, which he led for many decades. His first Accepted 6 April 2016 (1939) and last publications (1998) were on intelligence. Returning to the topic in the 1960s, he formulated, tested, and promulgated the theory that general intelligence (g) is a biological phenomenon with broad social Keywords: consequences. I examine the status of Eysenck's theory, advances in the field, and social reactions to them during Hans J. Eysenck – – London School of Psychology the 1960s 1970s, 1980s 1990s, and since 2000. My perspective is that of a sociologist who, in testing alternative Intelligence theories of social inequality, was drawn inexorably into the intelligence literature, policy debates over fairness in g factor employee selection, and first-hand observation of the sort of controversies he experienced. Eysenck's 1979 and Intelligence theory 1998 textbooks on intelligence mark developments in his theory and supporting evidence during the first two Biological psychology periods. They exhibit considerable knowledge about the philosophy and history of science, and the nature of sci- Scientificcontroversy entific controversy. Advances in intelligence since 2000, in particular, from neuroimaging and molecular genetics, Social inequality vindicate his biological perspective.
    [Show full text]
  • Flynn-2018.Pdf
    Journal of Criminal Justice xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Criminal Justice journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jcrimjus Academic freedom and race: You ought not to believe what you think may be true James R. Flynn Psychology Department, University of Otago, Dunedin 9001, New Zealand ABSTRACT There should be no academic sanctions against those who believe that were environments equalized, genetic differences between black and white Americans would mean that blacks have an IQ deficit. Whether the evi- dence eventually dictates a genetically caused deficit of nil or 5 or 10 or 20 IQ points is irrelevant. The hypothesis is intelligible and subject to scientific investigation. If that is so, you must have already investigated it if you are to know what is true or false. To prohibit others from investigation or publication of their results is to designate certain truths as the property of an elite to be forbidden to anyone else. It is to insulate them from whatever new evidence the scientific method may provide that would modify belief. A word to those who seek respectability by banning race/gene research: how much respectability would you get if your position were stated without equivocation? What if you were to openly say genetic equality between the races may or may not be true; and that is exactly why I forbid it to be investigated. Or: “I do not know if genetic equality is true and do not want anyone else to know.” There should be no academic sanctions against those who believe than white Americans.” First, that it makes a racial distinction and that that were environments equalized, genetic differences between black there are no such things as pure races, that is, there are no groups of and white Americans would mean that blacks have an IQ deficit.
    [Show full text]