A year after publication of "The Bell Curve," an informal survey found that the book is being used as college course reading, whether optional or assigned, and that it is being discussed. Its impact on public policy in higher education, particularly in justifying reduced spending for racial minorities, is discussed. (SLD)

This paper examines the question of the hereditary nature of intelligence and the validity of some of the statistical procedures which have been used in measuring the degree of hereditability. The author feels that proof of the question lacks sufficient scientific rigor for the support of any conclusion, particulary for a question of such…

Arguments for the use of sequential ordinal scales in the observation of infants and young children are based on the tendency of traditional psychometric assessment to distract investigators from discerning structural and hierarchical aspects of development. Norm-referenced testing focuses on interindividual comparisons rather than developmental…

"The Bell Curve" by Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray has generated enormous debate as a result of its claim that there is a connection between race and intelligence. The essays of this collection respond to "The Bell Curve" in various ways. Taken together, the following offer an antidote to a work of dubious premises…

Describes the status of controversies regarding the definition of intelligence, its measurement, and the relative roles of heredity versus environment in the development of individual differences. Intelligence tests alone are inconclusive in examining individual children. (Author/BJV)

Genetic influence was estimated on Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children subtests from inbreeding depression scores calculated on cousin marriages in Japan (n=1,854 children) and correlated with American Black-White racial differences. The genetic contribution of racial differences in cognitive performance may be more robust than was previously…

Discusses issues considered in the book "The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life" (Richard Herrnstein, Charles Murray), which stresses the importance of genetic differences between individuals and groups. The concept of a cognitive elite, cognitive classes and social behavior, ethnic differences in cognitive…

This paper presents observational and research evidence to refute two widely held beliefs about psychological development: the belief in predetermined development and the belief in the simultaneous development of all behavioral systems. Studies suggesting the plasticity of development through environmental deprivation and intervention are…

The contribution of heredity to scores on a digit span intelligence test, Jensen's Memory for Numbers, was estimated with a standard heritability formula. The test measures level I mental ability--the capacity to store and recall, but not ability to elaborate or manipulate stimuli. Subjects were 35 monozygotic (MZ) twins and 35 same-sex dizygotic…

This paper examines evidence supporting the hypothesis that environment differentially affects intelligence in a sex-specific manner. The current position that environment and heredity contribute interactively to intelligence obscures the greater vulnerability and exposure of males to environmental influences and the reciprocal lack of equivalent…

Studies in the 1960s showed that school reform has little effect on reducing achievement differences associated with social background. More recent studies have indicated that schools can be effective for disadvantaged students if systematic efforts are made to develop effective leadership and improve the teaching-learning process. (SK)

This essay provides an overview of the controversies surrounding intelligence: its definition, its genetic or environmental basis, its relationship to achievement and learning ability, cultural factors, and the use of intelligence tests in the schools. This article is part of a theme issue on intelligence. (SJL)

This article suggests that "The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life" (Richard Herrnstein, Charles Murray), a controversial book about the relationship of intelligence to social class, has exposed a wide chasm between two major paradigms concerning the forces that shape human behavior, and that the debate has…

A multivariate hierarchical model of specific cognitive abilities was fitted to data from 196 adopted and 213 nonadopted children from the Colorado Adoption Project and 120 of their siblings to assess genetic influence on specific mental abilities. Genetic effects occur in middle childhood that differentially influence mental ability scores.…

This curriculum module explores genes, environment, and human behavior. This book provides materials to teach about the nature and methods of studying human behavior, raise some of the ethical and public policy dilemmas emerging from the Human Genome Project, and provide professional development for teachers. An extensive Teacher Background…