How Much Can We Boost IQ and Scholastic Achievement - Essay Example

How Much Can We Boost I.Q. and Scholastic Achievement? Arthur R. Jenson 1969 Throughout history there has been a debate on the manner in which human beings become intelligent. The debate rages on today as we still have no definitive answer to this age old question. Arthur R. Jenson sought to solve this issue with his 1969 paper on the subject. In it, he discusses and reviews that various impacts, implications, historical backgrounds and ethical considerations that must be taken into account before one can draw a rational and intelligent conclusion. The Jenson paper is one of the most thought provoking pieces of its time, and works to break down some of the stereotypical meanderings of the intelligence debate. Historical considerations have always had an effect on the thought processes of today. Although outdated, the views from days past still find a way to seep into the minds of current thinkers. In 1869, Francis Galton said “intelligence must be bred, not trained.” This short sighted statement was taken as truth during this time period. The tone of Galton’s work lent itself to the fact that he felt that people were only born intelligent and education did nothing more than foster the already embedded intelligence. This type of narrow minded conclusions about intelligence would help to bring about a regime that would have even more radical thoughts on intelligence but take it to a much more dangerous level. The measuring of brain capacity and weight also made an appearance in the late 1800’s. The theory was that a person with a larger, heavier brain was more intelligent because there was more room to store the necessary information. What these researchers failed to realize was that cadaver brains (which they were using) lose some of their weight with death. They were in fact getting some inaccurate data when conducting their experiments, but they did not have the inclination that this was so. The conclusions that were drawn amplified the rather mundane thought process that the researchers were dealing with. It is common knowledge now that the size of a brain has nothing to do with the intelligence level of a person. Many tried to blame the time period for these thought processes, but that went no where when in the 1920’ and 1930’s a shift in social appearance gave rise to some new government policies regarding intelligence and their effects on society. A change of times brought about a stigma on the hereditary intelligence issue. The 1960’s were a time of great racial prejudice, which lowered the attention for subjects such as this. The only real movement on the issue came when the United States Commission on Civil Rights made a statement about the failure of the compensatory education program. The turmoil of the decade left the intelligence issues beneath the surface, but still brewing with contempt. The intelligence debate fire was fueled again in 1994 with the article “The Bell Curve: Intelligence & Class Structure in American Life.” The Bell Curve, in its introduction, begins with a brief description of the history of intelligence theory and recent developments in intelligence thought and testing, through the eyes of the authors. The introduction concludes with six important assumptions that the authors build much of the Bell Curves case upon. These six assumptions regarding the validity of "classical" cognitive testing techniques include: 1. There is such a difference as a general factor of cognitive ability on which human beings differ. 1. All standardized test of academic aptitude or achievement measure this general factor to some degree, but IQ tests expressly designed for that purpose measure it most accurately. 1. IQ scores match, to a first degree, whatever it is that people mean when they use the word intelligent, or smart in ordinary language. 1. IQ scores are stable, although not perfectly so, over much of a persons life. 1. Properly administered IQ tests are not demonstrably biased against social, economic, ethnic, or racial groups. 1. Cognitive ability is substantially heritable, apparently no less than 40 percent and no more than 80 percent. The authors proceed to explain, using classical cognitive test results primarily, to explain how lower levels of measured intelligence impact an individuals, or indeed an entire class or group of individuals life in American society. This work lent itself to the negative aspects of the intelligence question. This of course did not stop the authors, who believed very much in the text they wrote as well as the supporting information that they provided. The Bell Curve received a lot of criticism from all over the world. No one was more out spoken then Stephen Gould. He referred to the Bell Curve text as non-scientific and racist claiming that it attacked general intelligence. He based his claims on the text itself revealing how the authors turned away from the racial aspects of intelligence to make allegations about the races based on non scientific testing. These allegations were met by the authors with a rather smug outlook, and they continued to defend their work despite a public outcry against it in some of the social and racial circles. Gould also said that he was glad that the Bell Curve was published so that the errors in the text would be revealed to the public. There were many more outspoken critics of the Bell Curve who made it a point to state their facts in stark contrast to the text. The Flynn Effect was one such fact. It states that general I.Q. could be due to other factors and not directly related to race as the Bell Curve suggests. Environmental factors also played a role in the criticism of the Bell Curve. With this theory there is a direct correlation between intelligence and the environment that we live in. This also stirred some racial and social tensions as this implies that people in less than perfect environments achieve a lesser degree of intelligence than others. There are those in the world that believe this theory has some prudence. Direct research does show that people in poorer areas of the world are not as intelligent, but not by any fault of their own. This is due in part to the poor level of education that is rampant in these areas. This failure on the part of the educational system has brought out the data showing a lower I.Q. on average in poor areas. This does not mean however that there is any shortage of intelligent people who grow up poor. The fact remains that a lot of the most intelligent people in the world had difficult upbringings and they still managed to overcome the past. The race card once again played when the theory of Hereditary versus environmental factors studied was released. Under this study, there was more evidence linking intelligence to the genes of breeding than the environment that we grew up in. A public outrage erupted at the release of this study. Many felt that it implied too many less than new thinking issues. The realization that scientists in this study believed that people were born with their intelligence and no manner of education or anything else would change that spurned a massive movement in the ethics of intelligence studies. Many called for the government to step in to resolve the issue and promote less racially tense studies on the matter. The government chose to stay out of the matter and the tensions continued to rise. The implications of the Jenson paper were far more balanced than other arguments and debates on the issue. His thoughts on educational programs received wide spread support as they promoted a more liberal and racially balanced stance on the debate. Behavior genetics began to take a leading role in the study of intelligence. Scientists now believed that they could ascertain a person’s intelligence from behavior patterns. These patterns, according to researchers, gave many clues to the intelligence and rational thinking of any individual. By studying these patterns, they believed that they could predict behavior through the intelligence factor, thereby coming to the root of problems before they occur. This theory was not well received by the world nor the scientific community. Some believed that the study had merit for other issues, but the aspects of intelligence and its mapping were not there. There is evidence to support the fact that there is a difference in the level of intelligence between the different races. There is not however any evidence that suggests why. This matter has caused a great controversy as researchers bounce theories off the wall in hopes of hitting the mark. Nothing has come close to making the grade in this area. The diversity of mental abilities is a matter that Jenson also touched on. The fact remains that people are different, and that means that their level of intelligence is going to be different. There is little we are going to be able to change about these facts. Jenson takes the thought one step further by stating that the root of mental diversity is the educational diversity that rules the world. By this he stated, there is no set pattern for the garnering of intelligence because people are all educated in a variety of ways, which speaks to the differences in the intelligence levels of the population. There is nothing, he goes on to say, that we as humans can do to change this fact. Teachers have different levels of intelligence. Those who graduate with a perfect score teach just like those who received lesser grades. In the end it all comes back to how and by whom we are taught. There are many ethical considerations that must be addressed when anyone is dealing with the theory of intelligence. Over the years, this debate has sparked outrage from the public and private sectors of the world. Those who seek to publish ideas and thoughts that single out people in a generalized manner tend to create a tense race issue. These issues fuel the fire that the world is still very much racially divided and creates issues that run far deeper than simple intelligence testing. The Jenson paper is a well balanced and scientific argument for the intelligence debate. Staying away from the stereotypical racial issues, he made his point by providing solid research data and thought provoking conclusions with points made on both sides of the broad spectrum of intelligence and the manner by which we achieve it. When we allow ourselves to be pulled into situations, like those posed by the Bell Curve we come to a place where we have no sympathy for those who have less than a genius I.Q. When this occurs, tensions arise and the horrifying occurs. It is common knowledge that Adolf Hitler believed very much in the idea of genetic based intelligence. So much so that he ordered the sterilization of millions of people. These people were determined to be less than the standard as set down by the Nazi regime, so they were sterilized to prevent furthering of the les than perfect breeding. When we think of this we are horrified and cry out in rage against such acts. This is the automatic response to it yes, but, Hitler was not the only perpetrator of such horrors. Right here in the US there have been over twenty thousand people sterilized in an effort to control the so called intelligence quotient. Jenson believed that many of the arguments for intelligence testing and determination were unethical and irresponsible. The arguments that were made by many of the researchers in the field could easily be misused and thereby become a form of evil if left to their own devices. What matters most about all of this is the fact that throughout history intelligence has been attributed to the most popular theory of the time period. This mass mentality is the direct link between the intelligence question and the racial tensions of the world. Ethical guidelines should be adhered to without fail when one is looking at intelligence and race. No one should be made to feel inferior because they are not the race that people associate with being the most intelligent. There is little that will change if we continue to view this debate as anything but irrational. Bibliography References Gil- White, F. (2004). Resurrecting Racism: The Modern Attack on Black People Using Phony Science. Retrieved from the Web on the 24/03/2006. http://www.hirhome.com/rr/rrchap.htm Gottfredson, L. S. & Chabris, A. (1995). Intelligence: Knowns & Unknowns. Retrieved from the Web on the 25/03/2006. http://www.michna.com/intelligence.htm Harrington, G.M. (1999). Born Before Genes: the g Legacy. Psycoloquy Record, 52 44-52 Jensen, A. R. (1969). How Much Can We Boost IQ and Scholastic Achievement. Harvard Educational Review, 39 (1), 1- 123. Neill, J. (2005). Nature VS Nurture in Intelligence. Retrieved from the Web on the 24/03/2006. http://www.wilderdom.com/personality/L4-IntelligenceNatureVSNurture.html Continuation Rushton, J. P. & Jensen, A. R. (2005). Thirty Years of Research on Race Differences in Cognitive Ability. Psychology, Public Policy, & Law, 11 (2), 235- 294. Schlinger, H.D (2003). The Myth of Intelligence. The Psychological Record, 53, 44-52 Weinberg, R. A. (1989). Intelligence & IQ. American Psychologist, 44 (2), 98- 104. Wober, M. (1971). Race and Intelligence. 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