Re:Is there a general factor of intelligence?
by runarberg on Tuesday March 29, 2022 @02:12PM
(#30846329)
> Is there a specific claim you have in mind that you consider invalid? Can you give me an example of an explanation of group differences that you would consider scientifically valid?
Yes. The Bell Curve by Richard J. Herrnstein, Charles Murray (1994). I’m currently having a debate about it in another thread. It uses these assumptions about IQ and the demonstrates group difference with flawed studies, which it then goes on to justify conservative policies.
An example of valid—albeit trivial—group difference on the is height difference across genders. A more interesting group difference is how a mock jury is less likely to convict a minority group if a member of that minority is present in the jury. Then of course the field of medicine has many examples of interesting group difference based on genetics. However as a species we humans are remarkably homogeneous so if you find a group difference in behavior based on genetics it will most likely have an extremely small effect size, and as such be of limited interest. At best this is where IQ research falls in.
> There's tons of research quantifying the degree of mutability and heritability (e.g. twin studies, admixture studies).
These are still up for debate and not without bias. The original twin studies by C. Burt were likely falsified (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_Burt#%22The_Burt_Affair%...) later efforts of reproducing the results are not without controversies either. And even if you look beyond these controversies there is an inherent bias as adopted twins are way more likely to be adopted within the same socio-economic group, adjusting for that is really tough. I’m not aware of any admixture study which explains a significant group difference in behavior, so I can’t comment on this. But I’ll leave this quote from Wikipedia instead (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_intelligence#Racial_a...):
> Reviewing the evidence from admixture studies Hunt (2010) considers it to be inconclusive because of too many uncontrolled variables. Mackintosh (2011, p. 338) quotes a statement by Nisbett (2009) to the effect that admixture studies have not provided a shred of evidence in favor of a genetic basis for the IQ gap.
Yes. The Bell Curve by Richard J. Herrnstein, Charles Murray (1994). I’m currently having a debate about it in another thread. It uses these assumptions about IQ and the demonstrates group difference with flawed studies, which it then goes on to justify conservative policies.
An example of valid—albeit trivial—group difference on the is height difference across genders. A more interesting group difference is how a mock jury is less likely to convict a minority group if a member of that minority is present in the jury. Then of course the field of medicine has many examples of interesting group difference based on genetics. However as a species we humans are remarkably homogeneous so if you find a group difference in behavior based on genetics it will most likely have an extremely small effect size, and as such be of limited interest. At best this is where IQ research falls in.
> There's tons of research quantifying the degree of mutability and heritability (e.g. twin studies, admixture studies).
These are still up for debate and not without bias. The original twin studies by C. Burt were likely falsified (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_Burt#%22The_Burt_Affair%...) later efforts of reproducing the results are not without controversies either. And even if you look beyond these controversies there is an inherent bias as adopted twins are way more likely to be adopted within the same socio-economic group, adjusting for that is really tough. I’m not aware of any admixture study which explains a significant group difference in behavior, so I can’t comment on this. But I’ll leave this quote from Wikipedia instead (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_intelligence#Racial_a...):
> Reviewing the evidence from admixture studies Hunt (2010) considers it to be inconclusive because of too many uncontrolled variables. Mackintosh (2011, p. 338) quotes a statement by Nisbett (2009) to the effect that admixture studies have not provided a shred of evidence in favor of a genetic basis for the IQ gap.