The Debate Over Race And Intelligence - 1572 Words

The debate over race and intelligence had been fueled in 1994 when Charles A. Murray and Richard Hernstein published a book called, The Bell Curve. The Bell Curve was an analysis on the curve between race and intelligence. Due to the book being published, scientists began working on multiple tests to try to understand the correlation that was indicated in this book. This is such an emotional topic to argue about because society could stereotype themselves based on a definitive answer about race and intelligence. A white child could earn a 90 on a test, above the score that of a black child has earned, but then an Asian child could outdo both of them. That is where the correlation can present itself. Due to that example, race and†¦show more content†¦His findings have concluded that environmental factors explains 58 percent of IQ variations around the world. If IQ tests were able to compare different backgrounds of different races, it would be more apparent. An American clini cal psychologist Terrie Moffitt, said that negative environments (low social status or ineffective parenting) could affect a child s intelligence even more (Parker/Morton 1). There is a way to make a child smarter and that starts from an upbringing environment that is positive (Hurley). While bringing in the genetics of an individual based on their skin color, there are also different environmental factors that can contribute to the correlation between race and intelligence. The American Psychological Association studies have shown that environmental factors can contribute to an individual’s intelligence factor. Different revolution factors, natural selection factors, and environmental differences have an impact (Saletan 4). For example, a black kid living in a run down neighborhood may do worse than a white kid living in a rich neighborhood. Due to this, most children feed off of their peers, either at school or even at home. People in disadvantaged groups generally score lo wer on IQ tests than those who are not disadvantaged (Jackson 1). Different races have different advantages due to