INTELLIGENCE:�GROUP DIFFERENCES & �THE QUESTION OF BIAS

Module 2.8d

Learning Targets:

• Explain male-female similarities & differences in mental ability scores
• Explain racial & ethnic group similarities & differences in mental ability scores
• Explain whether intelligence tests are biased or unfair, and explain the influence of stereotype threat on test-taker’s performance.

GENDER SIMILARITIES & DIFFERENCES

• Girls better spellers, more verbally fluent, better at locating objects, detecting emotions, more sensitive to touch, taste & color
• Boys better a spatial ability, complex math
• More extremes in boys IQ scores than girls
• Evolutionary reasons for these differences
• Some cultures show little differences which points to environment
• Cultural expectations and opportunities matter

GROUP DIFFERENCES IN TESTING

• A number of studies show scoring differences between different racial, ethnic, and gender groups.
• Are these group differences due to nature or to nurture?
• Studies suggest environment is playing a heavy role.
• Different cultures value different skills when it comes to what they consider intelligence
• Heredity and environment interact to produce intelligence in individuals.

RACIAL DIFFERENCE IN IQ

• Racial difference in average IQ among different racial groups can be measured
• More variation in IQ scores within a particular group than between groups
• Evidence for Environment Cause:
• Genetically, races are remarkably alike (Race is a social concept not a biological one)
• Within the same populations, there are generation to generation differences in test scores
• When nutrition and education improve so do test scores of all groups
• Countries with the largest wealth gap also show largest IQ gaps between rich and poor. Access = Opportunity = Higher IQ
• Remember that different groups have dominated the intellectual world at different times in history (Aztecs, Greeks, Egyptians, Chinese, Arabs)

WHY DO JAPANESE AND CHINESE STUDENTS PERFORM BETTER THAN AMERICANS ON INTELLIGENCE AND ACHIEVEMENT TESTS?

• They score the same before school but once school starts they begin to show more gains. This due to:
• Spending more time in school
• More time doing homework
• Pressure and support from parents to achieve academically

Seed Analogy: Argument for Environment

WITHIN AND BETWEEN �GROUP DIFFERENCES

• Each corn field planted from same package of genetically diverse seeds
• One field is quite fertile, the other is not
• Within each field, differences due to genetics (Heritablity)
• Between each field, differences due to environment
• Unless the environments of two racial groups are totally identical, it is impossible to estimate the overall genetic differences between the two groups.

ARE IQ TESTS CULTURALLY BIASED?�

• Two kinds of bias:
• Test content – favors one culture over another
• Test validity – does it predict future behavior for all the groups it tests? – most tests are OK in this measure.
• If IQ test reflects white, middle-class cultural knowledge and values it could result in poor scores by minorities.
• Test will favor the people from the culture in which it was developed.
• Factors like test-taking behavior, motivation, attitudes towards the test and previous experiences with tests can affect performance.
• Try some culturally biased tests yourself:
• Robert Williams IQ Test & the Dove Counterbalance Test
• Chitling Intelligence Test

EFFECTS OF DISCRIMINATION ON INTELLIGENCE

• Burakumin people of Japan are severely discriminated against.
• Despite being genetically similar to Japanese people…
• Their IQ scores are 10 to 15 points lower than “normal” Japanese people.
• Those raised in America however perform better than the average. Why?

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STEREOTYPE THREAT

• The knowledge of the stereotype about your group adds pressure on you to prove it false that causes you to not perform at your highest level.
• Opposite of this is called Stereotype Lift - “Obama Effect” – shortly after Obama was elected African-Americans performed better on verbal aptitude tests
• How we study Stereotype Threat (3 min)
• NPR on stereotype threat: How Stereotypes Can Drive Women to Quit Science Jobs��

THE EFFECTS OF PREJUDICE

• The victims of prejudice often internalize the stereotypes about their group effecting their self image and performance.
• Kenneth B. Clark’s – Baby Doll Experiment (watch 3:05-4:37)
• Have things changed? See a modern version of this experiment (2 min).