The present study examined whether IQ relates systematically to denomination and income within the framework of the "g" nexus, using representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY97). Atheists score 1.95 IQ points higher than Agnostics, 3.82 points higher than Liberal persuasions, and 5.89 IQ points higher than…

Measuring student intelligence has been problematic in the United States since standardized testing first began in the early 1900s. The omnipresence of standardized testing in student populations is illustrated by the most popular contemporary tests which are used by some scholars to advance the notion that intelligence differences between whites…

Fragile X syndrome is the world's most common hereditary cause of developmental delay in males and is now well characterized at the biological, brain and cognitive levels. The disorder is caused by the silencing of a single gene on the X chromosome, the "FMR1" gene. The premutation (carrier) status, however, is less well documented but has an…

Critique of Richard Herrnstein's thesis that American society is drifting toward a stable hereditary meritocracy, with social stratification by inborn differences and a corresponding distribution of rewards''. (RJ)

Presents social scientists' claim that IQ scores can determine a person's social, educational, and occupational future at an early age. Echoes the Platonic idea that each individual should be put to the use for which nature intended, and that IQ, which is thought to be hereditary, can effectively predict this use. (58 citations) (EMH)

Intelligence quotient (IQ) scores are widely accepted as measures of academic potential. However, both hereditary and environmental factors also play a role in performance. The limitations of IQ tests require that they be handled differently when administered to students from backgrounds other than the dominant cultural group. In addition,…

A presentation of findings of the author's extensive research into the original studies on which some American social scientists have based writings which at least question whether environment has any effect on IQ test scores--suggesting that heredity may be the determinant. (Author/JM)

Herrnstein and Murray's "The Bell Curve" claims that IQ is hereditary and that African Americans consistently score 15 points lower than other racial groups. Coolly received by academics, the book is being warmly embraced by Republican politicians endorsing fiscal austerity and social mean-spiritedness. The book rationalizes a…

This paper reviews what is known about intelligence and the use of intelligence tests. Environmental and hereditary factors that affect performance on intelligence tests are reviewed, along with various theories that have been proposed about the basis of intelligence. Intelligence tests do not test intelligence per se but make inferences about a…

Pseudoscience, or the process of persuasion by establishing a pretense of scientific discovery, is examined in this book in an effort to dispel false notions about the validity of various measures of intelligence and the correlations of genetics to mental ability. The history and development of concepts related to hereditary intelligence and…

In the winter of 1969, the "Harvard Education Review" published an article by Arthur Jensen that suggested that racial and social class IQ differences were primarily due to hereditary factors. From the point of view of the opposition, this report reviews the controversy that ensued, including Jensen's original statements, the critics'…

Relationships between 15 family, psychological and demographic variables and reading and math achievement are reported for more than 500 hearing impaired children (8 to 15 years old) in a residential state school. The data are also examined for subgroups of children (i.e., hereditary and nonhereditary deafness, rubella, nonrubella, and those with…

The author traces the gifted education movement in the United States from the beginnings in the early 1900s of the intelligence testing movement. Societal conceptions about the ignorance of the masses fed the movement. The emergence of gifted child theory is traced to Lewis Terman and Leta Hollingworth. Terman's association of mental ability with…

This document comprises three presentations made on March 23 at a symposium sponsored by the Southern Regional Council focusing on Human Intelligence, Social Science and Social Policy. The first of the three parts of the document is the text of the principal presentation, made by Dr. Leon Kamin, Chariman of the Department of Psychology at…

CURRENT RESEARCH INDICATES THAT SCHOOL AND HOME ENVIRONMENTS STRONGLY INFLUENCE AN INDIVIDUAL'S INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT, ALTHOUGH CERTAIN VERY BROAD HEREDITARY LIMITATIONS MAY ALSO AFFECT IT. THE ECONOMICALLY AND EDUCATIONALLY DISADVANTAGED YOUTH EXPERIENCES AN ENVIRONMENT WHICH LACKS STIMULI ESSENTIAL TO POSITIVE INTELLECTUAL GROWTH AND…