PSY550 Southern New Importance of Group Differences In IQ Discussion
In this discussion, you will discuss the importance of group differences in IQ for understanding intelligence.
Considering the article Can Research on the Genetics of Intelligence Be ‘Socially Neutral’? and the textbook chapters on intelligence, compare and discuss at least two group differences in IQ. Why are these differences important for understanding intelligence?
After you have posted your initial response, respond to two of your peers. Discuss some of the factors that were identified to influence intelligence testing (e.g., ethics or cultural differences) and provide a rationale as to why some of these factors may or may not be more influential than others.
To complete this assignment, review the Discussion Rubric document.
AFTER COMPLETING THE INITIAL POST, PLEASE ALSO RESPOND TO THE FOLLOWING TWO STUDENTS REGARDING THE SAME TOPIC!
STUDENT ONE:
Intelligent tests such as IQ tests is worth investing to get different scores to tell us about the way in which people differ. However, if we do, what if we start making assumptions about people and their IQs? Societal ideals are in conflict with our desire for scientific objectivity because we want to uphold a societal ideal that all people in groups are equal. Yet, our desire for scientific objectivity suggests that we need to collect the data to find the differences if they exist, to properly address the findings. For example, if we discover from testing that a certain group are underperforming, we might be able to intervene and help remedy that. At the same time, we don’t necessary want to distinguish the differences.
Cohen and Swerdlik (2018), streamlined the measurement of intelligence which involved testing a person’s performance by using different types of tests and tasks to study their developmental level. Working from this description on the use of grouping could be both positive or negative depending on each situation.
According Dorothy Roberts (2015) in her article “Can Research on the Genetics of Intelligence Be ‘Socially Neutral’?”, grouping individuals created for a negative effect with intelligence testing. The tests didn’t have standardization and were designed for a certain group to score better than others. The Caucasian population produced higher scores compared to African Americans. The northern Europeans fared better than the Southern and Eastern Europeans. Historically, IQ was applied as a way to determine the social status of an individual. As a result of the flawed tests, it made it different for a certain group of people to gain a status, to obtain immigrations, etc. Roberts (2015) also stated that IQ tests were a profoundly biased, measure and exercised to legitimize discrimination among populations characterized by those in power as socially inferior”. Another use of grouping within the article was gender. In that men score higher than women in most times and this created better opportunities for men and higher pay position.
The intelligence grouping is mainly on which social status one should be placed in with negative aspects when dealing with race and gender. Young school age children may benefit from grouping because they can learn and sponge off what they see and hear. Intelligence is based on environmental surroundings, culture, languages, emotional nurturing, and how well a person apply him/herself during the early years and throughout life.
This was a fascinating module, it got me to think and perhaps even increased my IQ some! The optional video in relating to the Flynn Effect (2013) was an eye opening! As I listened, I succumbed the fact that each generation is indeed getting smarter because of how much more complicated the world is as modern technologies advance. I wonder if we need to really break down the meaning of “intelligence’. Is it just for functioning better in this world? Or can adaption be part of intelligence?
I also researched a bit further on Asperger syndrome. Does anyone believe that Asperger is the next stage of human evolution? Speaking of intelligence.
References:
Cohen, R. J., & Swerdlik, M. E. (2018). Psychological testing and assessment: An
introduction to tests and measurement (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Flynn, J. (2013, March). Why our IQ levels are higher than our grandparents’. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/james_flynn_why_our_iq_levels_are_higher_than_our_grandparents
Roberts, D. (2015). Can Research on the Genetics of Intelligence Be “Socially Neutral”? Hastings Center Report, 45, S50–S53. https://doiorg.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1002/hast.499
Tony Attwood – What you need to know about Autism. (2018). Premium Official News. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/logi…
STUDENT TWO:
The American Psychological Association defines intelligence as intellectual functioning (APA, 2019). This definition is vague and doesn’t really explain anything. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines intelligence as the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations (Merriam-Webster, 2019). I find this definition to be a little easier to grasp and explain. IQ or intelligence quotient is a numerical representation of intelligence. This is measured by a test, and there are multiple tests available. Several of the tests available to measure intelligence are: The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Army Alpha/Beta Test, and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery(Cohen & Swerdlik,2018).
A key of intelligence is the realization that it’s a social construct and subject to flaws that society entails. Society is divided into many different groups to include religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic classes, and race. They all have subcategories but for this post I’ll focus on race, and specifically white vs. black (Caucasian/African American). This division has been “analyzed” as far back as 1923. “ Psychologists also used the tests to demonstrate that blacks and recent immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe were intellectually inferior to Americans of Anglo‐Saxon or Scandinavian descent”(Roberts, 2015). This shows an agenda that over time has been combated to varying degrees of success.
In an article titled: Racial equality in intelligence: Predictions from a theory of intelligence as processing, the authors Joseph Fagan and Cynthia Holland speak on race and intelligence. “Differences in knowledge between representative groups of African-Americans and Whites for items tested on an intelligence test can be eliminated when equal opportunity for exposure to the information to be tested is assure”(Fagan & Holland, 2006). This shows that race isn’t a contributing factor, but merely a descriptor attached to an individual. With the same access to education, white and black people can attain a similar level of intelligence. Education access is a different issue and not relevant to this post. There is a public education system in place that offers allegedly equal education, but many seem to disagree.
Race is not a single measure of intelligence. It can factor in along with other aspects of life and society to prove an IQ. As research debunks negative stereotypes. African Americans can share the same level of intelligent potential as Caucasians. Race doesn’t inherently predict intelligence, but society and life experiences do.
References
(2019). Intelligence. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/topics/intelligence/
(2019). Intelligence. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intelligence
Cohen, R. J. & Swerdlik, M. E. (2018). Psychological testing and assessment (9th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Custom.
Fagan, J. F., & Holland, C. R. (2006). Racial equality in intelligence: Predictions from a theory of intelligence as processing. Elsevier, 35(4), 319–334.
Roberts, D. (2015). Can Research on the Genetics of Intelligence Be “Socially Neutral”? Hastings Center Report, 45, S50–S53.
