Arthur Jensen has argued that genetic differences in abstract reasoning ability, not cultural bias in the test item, are the causes of differences in standardized test performance between American Blacks and Whites. He used a study by Frank McGurk to support his argument. McGurk's study used test items judged most cultural or least cultural. These…

One hundred eighty one sets of black twins and 223 sets of white twins provided responses to four 12-item subtests of the Raven's Progressive Matrices Test, Standard Version. The children were in elementary school and their item response patterns were analyzed with the use of revised ordering-theoretic methods to search for best-fitting…

Groups of 270 Black and 270 White children drawn from the national stratified random sample used in the standardization of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) were matched on age, sex, and WISC-R Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient to facilitate investigation of the patterns of specific cognitive abilities. (Author)

Cumulative deficit is an hypothesis concerning the cause of lower mental test scores of groups considered environmentally deprived. It presupposes a progressive decrement in test scores, relative to population norms, as a function of age. Clarification of the theoretical issues and the methodological problems involved in establishing the…

Borkowski and Krause (1983) concluded that the locus of black-white intelligence differences lies in metaprocesses not elementary cognitive processes. However, some variables were difference scores with unacceptably low reliability. Magnitude comparisons of racial differences give a different picture of results; comparable differences in measures…

Jensen (1985) caused us to reexamine earlier findings. After correcting perceptual efficiency and executive systems measures for unreliability, original conclusions remain tenable. Control processes are factors in understanding race-related differences in intelligence. We do not deny the association of "speediness" but argue for a multidimensional…

Rural Black and White children of variant academic achievement were tested on the Minnesota Percepto-Diagnostic Test, which consists of six gestalt designs for the subject to copy. Analyses resulted only in a significant achievement effect; when intellectual level was statistically controlled, race was not a significant variable. (Editor/SJL)

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…

Examines national data sets of cognitive scores for intellectual dysgenesis by considering race, socioeconomic status, and ability-related changes in test scores over time. The analysis did not support the dysgenic hypothesis; however, it indicates a convergence of the various segments of U.S. society. (MMU)

Regression lines for the prediction of Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) scores by Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) and WISC Revised (WISC-R) intelligence quotients were compared across race, by the Potoff technique. Subjects were 36 black and 30 white children who were referred for psychological evaluation because of learning or…

This paper repudiates Jensen's hypothesis that differences in IQ scores and scholastic achievement in Negro and white children are genetically based. Specifically, Jensen's identification of IQ scores as a measure of abstract reasoning and problem solving and of levels of ability, and his evaluation of the magnitude of the genetic component in IQ…

Longitudinal data on the auditory forward and backward digit span (FDS and BDS) subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) were obtained at five age levels (between 6 and 13), in samples of white and black children. Factor analysis and analysis of variance of the data were conducted to test 5 hypotheses, related to Jensen's…

The purpose of this paper is to present some preliminary findings on the effects of racial status, socioeconomic status (SES), and measured ability (MA) upon academic performance of students in a liberal arts college. Preliminary analyses of academic performance (cumulative grade point averages and semester-by-semester grade point averages) among…

This study examines cultural bias in the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Results indicated no evidence of specific factors peculiar to Blacks v Whites, and rank order of item difficulties was similar in both groups. Race differences were due to differences in mental maturity rather than to test bias. (Author/RD)

This paper reports a study of conformity reactions of white and black children to the unanimous and incorrect judgment of children from either their own or other ethnic groups. Experimental groups comprised four subjects of the same sex and grade level. Groups representing all Negro were used; all variables were completely crossed. The subjects…