Arthur Jensen racial differences in intelligence

Arthur Jensen racial differences in intelligence

Arthur Jensen was an American writer and psychologist who was known for his works and discovery on how humans differ in behavior with each other.one of the researchers found him as one of the controversial people ever, especially on his conclusion on the influence of culture and genetically history on intelligence and learning. Most of his works concentrated on the culturally disadvantaged students. He started his works on how genetics influence intelligence when he was a professor at the University of California (“Human Intelligence: Arthur Jensen,” 2019). Several students from his class complained that there was racial discrimination on the individual students he taught. In his classroom, the students performed at low levels despite their racial background. However, in the milieu class, some of the black students in his class played equally well on a social level with other students. Some of the white students indicated mental inability both in quality and milieu, and this is where Jensen searched for a reason.

He performed an experiment in which he gave a typical intelligence test. He published an article where he demonstrated that the whites scored fifteen points higher than black in IQ tests. He argued that this was because of genetically difference, which he believed was attributed to cultural and environmental differences. This finding received critics from many people. Science had proven that intelligence could not be significantly influenced by cultural or racial background.most of the blacks taken in the test probably had a poor educational experience when they were young due to poverty, which made them have poor brain development and exposure. The brain can only be affected by the distortion of what it is fed with.it is therefore wrong to say that the whites were more intelligent than the blacks. This result has also been disputed by other researchers who found out that the black children taken or adopted by the whites had more original test scores and were just at the same level as the whites. Therefore,the arguments presented by Jensen was not enough to conclude that the whites were intelligent than blacks.

Factors measured by intelligence tests

The intelligence tests measure more of what they correlate with than what they measure. A rough description of what the quick test should measure can be discussed as follows. People are in need to learn new information; one of the ways to measure learning ability is to give a person or teach him new information and then measure the retention of the knowledge acquired. This is best for simple tasks such as recalling short stories and word lists. Some of the tests measured include both verbal and nonverbal tests (Cohen, Swerdlik & Sturman, 2013). The tests measured include quantitative reasoning, working memory, knowledge, visual capability, and fluid thinking. These tests are reliable, and most of the people aged ten and above have the same intelligence results throughout their lives. Some people score differently when this test is taken at different times in their lifespan or when the different test is taken on them at the same time. One of the criteria used is the Wechsler Adult Intelligent Scale, which is designed to measure intelligence in older adolescents and adults. The difference in the original scores depends on the person’s working memory, vocabulary, motor coordination, and specific knowledge. The factors measured by these quick tests are affected by other factors, such as environmental factors. During early childhood, the brain still develops, and in this case, when the child is exposed to the right exposure, then the intelligence tests gradually increases as he grows up.

Differences between nature and nurture

The debate of nature versus nature can be explained in the relative of a person’s innate influence as opposed to the experiences one acquires from the environment the person is grown up in. In the past years, both the factors have been found to significant playing roles in the development of a person. Nature refers to the individual’s inborn qualities and can be passed on to the offspring. Nurture can be seen as an individual’s personal experiences, for instance, the empirics of behaviorism. Nature can also be referred to as the genes possessed by a person and which determines the qualities of a person (Mcleod, 2019). This gene remains constant despite the place where you are born. Nurture on the hand can be attributed to your early childhood life and how you were brought up. For instance, a person may be taken with a gene of average height, but due to malnourishment when young, then the person fails to grow to full height as expected. Lastly, nature can only be affected by the family and biological factors contrary to nurture, which can be affected by social and environmental factors.

Controversy overusing the same intelligence test to compare different cultural groups,

Many scholars have argued the debate of the comparison of the different cultural groups with the same intelligence test for a long time. These differences can be attributed to genetic influences, the environmental factors which involve the social and economic backgrounds, and lastly, the interactive effects of genes and the environment (2019). For instance, it is wrong to compare the blacks and whites using the same intelligence test as the two groups have a different cognitive structure, which should be measured using various methods.

References

(2019). Retrieved 11 December 2019, from http://emilkirkegaard.dk/en/wp-content/uploads/Bias-in-Mental-Testing-since-Bias-in-Mental-Testing.pdf

Human Intelligence: Arthur Jensen. (2019). Retrieved 11 December 2019, from http://www.intelltheory.com/jensen.shtml

Cohen, R., Swerdlik, M., & Sturman, E. (2013). Psychological testing and assessment. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Mcleod, S. (2019). Nature Nurture in Psychology | Simply Psychology. Retrieved 11 December 2019, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/naturevsnurture.html