They are developed to measure such cognitive skills as deductive and inductive reasoning, convergent and divergent thinking, creative reasoning and other global skills. Write several paragraphs with your reaction to these questions involving content validity and the use of intelligence tests. There is real controversy as to whether intelligence tests, developed early in the twentieth century in large part by white well-educated men, are biased against other cultures and ethnic groups. Many also feel there is a tendency to use too many mathematical questions, a mental faculty often superior in males. We will explore these questions and you will write a few paragraphs to explain your findings.
Minorities tend to score below white students on traditional IQ tests.
Some items in older versions of standardized IQ tests did seem to be culturally biased. Even APA, the American Psychological Association has been pulled into the debate. There are many web sites devoted to this controversy. Many psychologists feel that items are not culture-free and that environment stimulates or inhibits intellectual growth and feel socioeconomic variables are central to explaining the difference in IQ scores. Others feel that intelligence has a strong biological genetic base that environment has a minor developmental effect on intelligence, the ability to learn.