The Unconscious Bias of Intelligence Tests :: Research Papers

The Unconscious Bias of Intelligence Tests In the chapter entitled The Hereditarian Theory of IQAn American Invention in The Mismeasure of Man (NewYork Norton, 1996), Stephen Jay Gould analyzes the reasoningbehind intelligence tests. Gould begins the chapter bystating how Alfred Binet, who studied the measurement ofintelligence, began this endeavor in order to institute specialeducation for learning-disabled and other disadvantaged children.Gould continues his analysis by reporting that three ofBinets followers, H. H. Goddard (who brought Binets scurfto America), Lewis M. Terman (who developed the Stanford-Binet scale), and Robert M. Yerkes (who persuaded the armyto test the intelligence of 1.75 million men in World War I), pervert Binets effect and used his tests to measure an elementthey called intelligence, which ultimately resulted in populationbeing labeled as either intelligent or stupid. In thischapter, Gould successfully demonstrates that the work ofthese three men was aff ected by their unconscious biases andpreconceived ideas.According to Gould, Alfred Binet developed his scale fora sensible, effective motive. The original purpose of Binetsscale was to identify children whose poor performances inschool suggested a need for special education. Unlike previoustests, Binets scale utilized a variety of different activities, such ascounting coins and comprehension, which tested a childs differentabilitites Binet decided to assign an age level to each project, defined as the youngest age at which a child of normalintelligence should be able to complete the task successfully(179). The age parallel with the last task the child could successfullycomplete was that particular childs noetic age. Achilds level of intelligence was determined bysubtracting his/her kind age from his/her true chronologicalage. Those children whose mental ages were a great dealbehind their chronological ages were recommended for specialeducation programs. In 1912, W. Stern suggeste d instead ofsubtracting the mental age of a child from his/her chronologicalage, the mental age should be divided by his/her chronologicalage, and thus the intelligence quotient (IQ) came intoexistence. Binet never once labeled IQ as inborn intelligencehe simply used his scale to identify those children who werelearning-disabled, in an effort to direct them to places wherethey would receive special help.H.H. Goddard was the counterbalance person to make Binets scalepopular in America. However, Goddard distorted Binets scaleand relied on it to identify the allegedly intellectually defective slew in the country he even relied on his preconceived notionsto label these individuals feeble-minded and moronsfrom the Greek word meaning foolish. All people whose actionswent against moral behavior were designated morons.These people included criminals, alcoholics, and prostitutes.According to Gould, Goddard believed morons should be