Black-White Differences In Cognitive Ability
THIRTY YEARS OF RESEARCH ON RACE
DIFFERENCES IN COGNITIVE ABILITY
J. Philippe Rushton
The University of Western Ontario
Arthur R. Jensen
University of California, Berkeley
The culture-only (0% genetic–100% environmental) and the hereditarian (50% genetic–50% environmental) models of the causes of mean Black–White differences in cognitive ability are compared and contrasted across 10 categories of evidence: the worldwide distribution of test scores, g factor of mental ability, heritability, brain size and cognitive ability, transracial adoption, racial admixture, regression, related life-history traits, human origins research, and hypothesized environmental variables.
The new evidence reviewed here points to some genetic component …show more content…
It found that most 17-year-olds with high scores on the Armed Forces Qualification Test, regardless of ethnic background, went on to occupational success by their late 20s and early 30s, whereas those with low scores were more inclined to welfare dependency. The study also found that the average IQ for African Americans was lower than those for Latino, White, Asian, and Jewish Americans (85, 89, 103,
106, and 113, respectively; Herrnstein & Murray, 1994, pp. 273–278).
Currently, the 1.1 standard deviation difference in average IQ between Blacks and Whites in the United States is not in itself a matter of empirical dispute. A meta-analytic review by Roth, Bevier, Bobko, Switzer, and Tyler (2001) showed it also holds for college and university application tests such as the Scholastic
Aptitude Test (SAT; N 2.4 million) and the Graduate Record Examination
(GRE; N 2.3 million), as well as for tests for job applicants in corporate settings
(N 0.5 million) and in the military (N 0.4 million). Because test scores are the best predictor of economic success in Western society (Schmidt & Hunter,
1998), these group differences have important societal outcomes (R. A.
DIFFERENCES IN COGNITIVE ABILITY
J. Philippe Rushton
The University of Western Ontario
Arthur R. Jensen
University of California, Berkeley
The culture-only (0% genetic–100% environmental) and the hereditarian (50% genetic–50% environmental) models of the causes of mean Black–White differences in cognitive ability are compared and contrasted across 10 categories of evidence: the worldwide distribution of test scores, g factor of mental ability, heritability, brain size and cognitive ability, transracial adoption, racial admixture, regression, related life-history traits, human origins research, and hypothesized environmental variables.
The new evidence reviewed here points to some genetic component …show more content…
It found that most 17-year-olds with high scores on the Armed Forces Qualification Test, regardless of ethnic background, went on to occupational success by their late 20s and early 30s, whereas those with low scores were more inclined to welfare dependency. The study also found that the average IQ for African Americans was lower than those for Latino, White, Asian, and Jewish Americans (85, 89, 103,
106, and 113, respectively; Herrnstein & Murray, 1994, pp. 273–278).
Currently, the 1.1 standard deviation difference in average IQ between Blacks and Whites in the United States is not in itself a matter of empirical dispute. A meta-analytic review by Roth, Bevier, Bobko, Switzer, and Tyler (2001) showed it also holds for college and university application tests such as the Scholastic
Aptitude Test (SAT; N 2.4 million) and the Graduate Record Examination
(GRE; N 2.3 million), as well as for tests for job applicants in corporate settings
(N 0.5 million) and in the military (N 0.4 million). Because test scores are the best predictor of economic success in Western society (Schmidt & Hunter,
1998), these group differences have important societal outcomes (R. A.