Nation of Morons

1. Nation of Morons By Will and Abbie

3. Theory • The Exposed fundamental problems involved in the attempts to measure intelligence. Due to race?

4. Hypothesis • Using a intelligence test as an example of a psychometric test in that it is an instrument devised for measuring mental characteristics. For the results to be white as a dominant race vs the Black race.

5. Background • Intelligence testing has and still does create considerable controversy. One of the most discussed debates around intelligence is whether the differences between individuals can be explained by genetic or environmental causes.

6. Alfred Binet – Developed the first tests of intelligence in France, where he devised intelligence tests to identify children in need of special education. Binet believed that children who were in need of extra help could be identifies by these tests, but importantly he argued that intelligence is not a fixed quantity and that it can be improved by further help. Subsequently, Binet’s ideas have led to the development of intelligence quotient. (IQ)

8. However, other supporters of intelligence testing became scientist who believed that individual differences are mainly due to genetic factors, and that a society could, using mass intelligence testing, scientifically breed a superior group of people ( this is referred to as eugenics) • Thos scientists in favor of eugenics arguments believe that they should identify the less intelligent and prevent them from having children. They believe that a consequence of this is that the genetic stock of the population will be improved.

9. Yerks - a Psychologist who believed that intelligence was a fixed quantity and he set out to carry out one of the largest test of intelligence in history. This study is a summary of an article written by Gould who exposed many of the problems with Yerkes’ intelligence testing. • 1915 mental testing believed intelligence testing should be as rigorous as any other science • 1915 ment

10. Procedure • An intelligence test is an example of a psychometric test in that it is an instrument devised for measuring mental characteristics. • During the First World War Yerks found an opportunity to promote the use and status of mental testing and therefore the status of psychology as a serious science. He got permission to carry out mental tests to over 1.75 million army recruits.

11. Army Alpha- A written test for literate recruits. The alpha test had eight parts, such as analogies, filling in the missing number, and unscrambling a sentence. These types of tests have now become in modern IQ tests. Army Beta – A pictorial test for men who were illiterate of who failed the alpha. The beta test had seven parts including running a maze, number work and the picture completion task.

13. Individual Examination – An individual spoken test for men who failed the beta. • The Alpha and Beta tests could be administered to large groups and took less than an hour to complete.

14. Three ‘facts’ were discovered from the intelligence testing.: • The average mental age of White American adults was 13.  The score of 13 was at the top of the category of ‘moronity’.   That is why the title of the article is ‘A Nation of Morons’, because the ‘data’ showed that the USA was just that.  Terman had previously set the standard at 16. • It was possible to grade European immigrants by their country of origin.  The average man of many countries was a moron, with the fair people of Northern and Western Europe scoring higher than the Slavs of Eastern Europe and the darker people of Southern Europe. (The average Russian had a mental age of 11.34; the Italian, 11.01; the Pole, 10.74). • The average score of Black men was 10.4, which was considerably below the White average.

15. Explanations • The ‘finding’ that the average White American was a moron did cause some concern.  However most concern was in response to the other two ‘facts’. • Similarly it was argued that the average scores from the different national groups reflected innate racial differences.

16. Criticisms of Procedure • These are Gould’s criticisms of Yerkes’ procedure. • Crisco is a: patent medicine, disinfectant, toothpaste, food product • Washington is to Adams as first is to . . . • Christy Mathewson is famous as a: writer, artist, baseball player, comedian.

17. Gould identified many problems with the mass intelligence testing. In particular he pointed to the cultural bias in the tests. The level of cultural and educational knowledge required is very obvious in the examples from the Alpha tests. • Similarly the Beta test also required a level of cultural and educational knowledge to be completed successfully.  For example, recent immigrants would have to be familiar with phonograms, tennis courts and light bulbs.

18. Another problem was that even the Beta test required the use of pencil and the writing of numbers, and many men had never even seen or used a pencil before. • Gould argues that with such problems, the data should be looked at with considerable scepticism.

19. Evaluation of Explanation • Gould clearly shows some of the ridiculous and racist explanations put forward by Yerkes and his colleagues. • For example, in trying to explain the low average scores for Jewish men despite the very many major accomplishments of Jewish scholars, statesmen and performing artists. Brigham argued that we notice the exceptional performance of some Jews (for example, Einstein) because it is unusual against the performance of the average Jew.

20. There were two major problems with the data. First, the immigration of different national groups had taken place at different times, and the most recent immigrants, and hence the least familiar with English, were the Slavs and the people from Southern Europe. So if literacy was having an effect on the test scores then these people would be disadvantaged. • Secondly, the data showed that the average score rose with length of residence in the USA. This is a clear indication that the more experience a person had of the USA the higher their score on the test,

21. Bibliography • Gould, S.J. (1982) A nation of morons. New Scientist (6 May 1982), 349 – 52 • http://www.holah.karoo.net/gouldstudy.htm