Race and Intelligence Controversy Study
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Added on 2020-04-13
Race and Intelligence Controversy Study
Added on 2020-04-13
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qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnPsychologyEssay(Student Details: )
ESSAY2The history regarding the race and the intelligence controversy is related to the historicaldevelopment of debate which relates to the possible explanation on the differentiations which areencountered in the race and intelligence study. The IQ testing began around the First World Warand since then it has been observed that there is a difference between the average scores ofpopulation groups (Boucher, 2014). However, till date, there is a lack of agreement upon whetherthe same was due to the cultural factors or environmental factors, or possibly through somegenetic factors or a dichotomy between genetic and environmental factors. In 1969, a long articlewas published by Arthur Jensen where it was suggested that there had been a failure ncompensatory education owing to the genetic group differences. Jensen implied that there was agenetic difference in the IQ of black and white people and this was inherently grounded (Jensen,1969). This articles remains as the most controversial article in the field of psychology till date.In the following parts, an attempt has been made to go behind this controversy and to establish ifthe statements made by Jensen had proper backing and whether these were more of a racialdiscrimination. Arthur Jensen was an education psychologist who lit fire which became a global firestorm withthe publication of his 1969 article in which it was suggested that there was a gap in the IQ testscores between the white and the black students and this was due to the genetic differencebetween these races. His work not only opened the channel gates of claims of racial bias, but alsoon the different theories which had an impact over the difference in IQs of different people(Miele, 2009). In his article, he stated that there were two kinds of learning abilities, level onewas associative ability which covered the role of retaining the facts, and the level two was onewhich covered problem solving, and had conceptual ability, which involved abstract thinking.This type was a rough equivalent to the general intelligence which was denoted through letter ‘g’
ESSAY3in psychology. When he conducted the IQ tests on different group of students, he found thatLevel one was consistent fairly throughout all the races (Lynn, 2015). However, when level twowas examined, it was found to be more prevalent in the case of white students in comparison tothe black students and was even more prevalent amongst the Asians instead of whites (Gallagherand Lippard, 2014). These findings led Jensen to make the argument that the general intelligencewas majorly determined on the basis of genes of a person, factored in with the cultural forceswhich shape it to a certain extent. This led him to write back in 1969 that the Head Start andother compensatory programs were bound to fail big (Fox, 2012). Even though there were observers who did praise the work of Jensen, particularly for being ascientist who was not afraid to go in the direction which the data led him; however, the majoritydeemed Jensen as a racist person. Throughout his speaking engagements in his career, he washeckled and even his effigies were burnt in some college campuses, along with him receivingdeath threats which led him to be accompanied by the bodyguards. Jensen’s idea regarding theintelligence being cleaved in the racial lines was deemed as Jensenism and this became a sourceof heated public discussion. The claims of Jensen were majorly claimed upon by Stephen JayGould through his 1981 book. However, his work was approved by Richard J. Herrnstein andCharles Murray through their 1994 book (Herrnstein and Murray, 2010). There is also a factionof psychologists who claim that the work of Jensen had been widely misunderstood. For this,emphasis is made on the paper which Jensen had actually written where it was stated that therewas a possibility of the genetic differentiation amongst the racial groups. When Jensen wrote thepaper, a large portion of it was based on the hereditary basis for the intellectual ability. This issuehad negligence arguments against it. What made the discussion of Jensen was the differencebetween races which continue to be a controversial topic till date (Martin, 2008).
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