Background
Who were two psychologists commissioned by to create an intelligence test?
French government
Who was the aplha-beta, tests devised by?
Robert Yerkes
Which came first, Yerkes work or Gould's work?
Yerkes devised the IQ tests for the army recruits before Gould discussed it
In Yerkes original work, what did the results show?
The results were manipulated to show averages based on race and give national averages.
Why was it unfair for immigrants to take part in the tests?
Because it included questions and analogies not to do with intelligence but American culture
What was the first IQ called? and what was it for?
Bennett Simon scale and it was used in order to identify children who wouldn't benefit from traditional schooling due to low intelligence.
What was the size of the sample and who were they?
1.75 million army recruits
What did Gould do with Yerkes work?
Gould wrote a review article in his book
What kind of bias underpinned these procedures?
cultural and social bias
What was Gould's conclusion of IQ testing?
IQ is culturally and historically bias and is not a pure measure of intelligence or ability
Why did the USA want to test intelligence?
World War 1
Why were the aims of Gould important?
It outlined the bias and discrimination of people from these tests
What was the name of Gould's book where he discussed Yerkes work?
The Miss-measurement of man
Yerkes tried to justify the scores, what statistic did he present?
2/3 who earned promotions while in the army, were among the people who had good test scores
What factors could affect IQ tests?
academic achievement, knowledge of culture in America
What was a criticism for using this type of method for testing?
The scores favoured a eugenics-based justification for scores and not intelligence
or
Had Cultural questions in relation to America so immigrants would score lower
What was the main aim of this study?
To investigate the early history of intelligence testing developed by Yerkes and examine the many issues involved
How many tests did Yerke use and what were they for?
3
Alpha test - literate recruits, gave number sequences and analogies, many questions requiring knowledge of culture.
Beta test - illiterate or failure of Alpha, picture completion instructions were written in English and some questions needed written responses.
spoken examination - If someone failed both previous tests
What impact did this research have on legislation? And what did it do?
1924 immigration restriction act
Meaning those who scored poorly were not welcome in America.
Those trying to flee Germany or other part of Europe at the time could not seek refuge in America
6 million were denied entry
What are some issues with the sample in Yerkes study?
It was extrapolated to Elderly and Females despite never being tested
Give one specific aim of investigation
bias in psychological theories on inheritance of intelligence
Prejudice of society which one can remove objectiviy of intelligence testing
problems in psychometric testing specifically IQ
political and ethical implications
using bias data to discriminate people in suitability for job occupations and even admission into the country
What was an issue presented with the procedure?
Procedure wasn't always followed meaning it's not very reliable
What were some further issues with the study?
very biased and was only a snapshot, it doesn't show changes overtime