Intelligence, Genes, and Success: Scientists Respond to The Bell Curve

379 Pages·1997·52.39 MB·English

by  Stephen E. Fienberg

INTELLIGENCE, GENES, AND SUCCESS
INTELLIGENCE, GENES, AND SUCCESS
Scientists Respond to The Bell Curve
Bernie Devlin
Stephen E. Fienberg
Daniel P. Resnick
Kathryn Roeder
Editors
c
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
©1997 Springer Science+Business Media New York
Originally published by Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. in 1997
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Intelligence, genes, and success: scientists respond to the bell curve
ledited by Bernie Devlin ... let al.].
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-387-94986-4 ISBN 978-1-4612-0669-9 (eBook)
DOl 10.1007/978-1-4612-0669-9
(softcover : all:. paper)
1. Intellect. 2. Nature and nurture. 3. Intelligence levels
-United Stiites. 4. Intelligence levels-Social aspects-United
States. 5. Herrnstein, Richard]. Bell curve. I. Devlin, Bernie.
BF431.I527 1997
305.9'082-dc21 97-9792
Printed on acid-free paper.
Cover illustration by Roman Szolkowski.
987 6 5 432 1
ISBN 978-0-387-94986-4
PREFACE
T
hepublicationofRichardHerrnsteinandChari.esMurray'sTheBell
Curve: Intelligenceand ClassStructure inAmerican Lifein the fall of
1994wasaccompaniedbyamajormarketingcampaignthatsawthe
bookmountallofthebest-sellerlistsintheUnitedStates.Itquicklyproduced
an engaged public response, with reviews in a wide variety ofnewspapers,
magazines, and other periodicals, many ofwhich were colored by political
perspectives. Critics on the leftdescribed the authorsas "un-American" and
"pseudo-scientificracists"andthevisionofAmericansocietypaintedbytheir
bookas"alienandrepellent."Defendersontherightcharacterizedtheauthors
as "brave and respectable scholars," simply explaining the overwhelming
scientificevidenceontheroleofIQanditslargeheritablecomponent.They
described the book as "lucid" and "powerfully written," and the reported
analysesas"overwhelminglyconvincing."
Whathadcapturedthe critics' and the public'sattention? Itisthe portion
ofthe book that discusses the stark difference between the IQ distribution
ofAfrican and Caucasian Americans. Although they never explicitly accept
eitherageneticorenvironmentalexplanationforthedisparitY,Herrnsteinand
Murrayemployseeminglyelaboratestatisticalanalysesandciteevidencefrom
diverse scientificstudies, all ofwhich seem to point to a geneticexplanation
for intelligence and the impact ofintelligence on a host ofdifferent social
outcomes.Theirclaimsandwork,we believe,requirecarefulexamination.
Thisvolume began in an innocuous fashion as Daniel Resnickwas asked
to prepare a background paper bythe Carnegie CommissionTaskForce on
Early Primary Education regarding the scientific content ofThe Bell Curve
followingitspublicationin 1994.Thatbackgroundpaperultimatelygathered
three co-authors and, althoughitremained unpublished, itdid lead the four
ofustowritea pairofreviewsofthe book, whichappearedinChanceand in
theJournaloftheAmernanStatisticalAssocitztion.1Whileweworkedtoprepare
those pieces,werealized thatan in-depthexaminationofthe scientificclaims
and,inparticular,thereportedstatisticalworkinTheBellCurvewouldrequire
much input from others, and considerable space ofthe sort not available in
theusualprofessionaljournalsorinstandardnontechnicalpublications.Thus
weconceivedofaneditedvolumeofresponsethatattemptedtotakestock,in
vi Preface
depthandfrom avarietyofdisciplinaryperspectives,oftheclaimsinTheBell
Curve.
Thecontributorsto thisvolumewereselectedbothfor theirexpertiseand
fortheirinterestinTheBellCurve.Manyhavewrittenseparatereviewsofthe
book, and the chaptersin thisvolumeoftencontainfollow-ups and technical
details. No prior publication survives here intact, butwe are grateful to The
AtlanticM07lthlyforpermissiontoincludethechapterbyNicholasLemannin
aform thatresemblesitsearlierappearanceinthatmagazine.
WewerefornmatetohaveaseriesofearlydiscussionswithJohnKimmel,
StatisticsEditorfor Springer-Verlag,whoencouragedustofocus onascien
tificresponse toTheBellCurveandnotto rushtoprintwithwhatwasreadily
available. While that advice and ourother professional activities and preoc
cupationsdelayed thecompletionofthe presentvolume, we believethe final
product is far better than what we had originally proposed to do. John has
counselledusthroughoutthesubsequenttwoyearsandplayedamajorrolein
bringingthisbooktoprint.Wearedeeplyindebtedtohimforhisadviceand
support.
Bynow,hundredsuponhundredsofreviewsoforcommentariesonTheBell
Curve have appeared in print. We conclude this volumewith a bibliography
ofthe bulk ofthese reviews and commentaries. Much ofthe nontechnical
commentaryfocuses onthethemeofracialdifferencesinIQ andoftenreads
into The Bell Curve conclusions that Herrnstein and Murray did not draw
explicitly. Many ofthe harshest criticisms appear to come from those who
scarcelyrefertostatementsandclaimsactuallyfoundinthebook!Nonetheless,
the diversity of previously published material has probably influenced our
work,evenaswe tried todistanceourselvesfrom it.
There have also been several book-length compilations of reviews and
readings related to The BellCurve. Several ofthe reviews referred to earlier
havebeenreprintedinFraser andJacobyandGlauberman.3Thevolumeby
Kincheloeetal.isfarlesstechnicalandmuchmoreemotionalinitsresponse.4
More comprehensive and technically detailed are the volumes by Schultze
etal.5andbyFischeretal.,6buttheyarefarfromcomplete.Weseethepresent
volumeasanattempttogiveafullerdescriptionofthescientificcriticism,with
sufficientdetailthatthereadercanalsounderstanditsimplicationsforpublic
policy.
The BellCurve has also provoked several "spinoffs." Forexample, there is
anewbest-sellerbyDanielGoleman, Emotionallntelligence.7 Itcontainsonly
onereferencetoTheBellCurveandgivesabroadreviewoftheroleofemotion
insuccess.Butthesuccessofthisbookowesmuchtothethemetrumpetedon
itscover-"Whyitcanmattermore than IQ"-dearlyaimedat readers and
criticsofHerrnstein andMurray's book. There is also the new 1996 edition
ofStephenJayGould'sbest-seller,TheMismeasureofMan,whichonthecover
Preface vii
claimstocontain"[t]hedefiniterefutationtotheargumentofTheBellCurve."
Infact, theadditionstotheoriginalconsistofanew3o-pageintroductionand
two final chapters based on his review ofThe BellCurve for The New Yorker
and another relatedessay. Gould is someonewhose workwe have readwith
interest,buthisneweditionofMismeasureisnotareplacementforthevolume
wehaveassembled.
Finally, we would like to thank our CarnegieMellon colleagues for their
interestinandencouragementofourworkonthisvolume.Wecouldnothave
produceditwithoutthe ableassistanceofHowardFienbergandseveralstaff
members from the Department ofStatistics at Carnegie Mellon, including
NoreneMearsandMargieSmykla.HeidiSestrichtookcontrolatsomepoint,
andshesucceededinproducinganintegratedmanuscript,witharecognizable
styleandstructurethathadearlierexistedonlyinourminds.Shecorresponded
withcontributors,madeusawareofissues,andmanagedanotherwisechaotic
process. Her efforts were essential to bringing the volume to print and we
thankherprofusely.
BernieDevlin
StephenE. Fienberg
DanielP. Resnick
KathrynRoeder
References
I. Devlin, B.,Fienberg, S.E.,Resnick, D.P.,and Roeder,K. (1995a),WringingThe
BeUCuroe: Acautionarytale about the relationshipsamong race, genes and IQ.
Chtmee,8,27-36.Devlin,B.,Fienberg,S.E.,Resnick,D.P.,andRoeder,K.(1995b),
Galton Redux: Eugenics, intelligence, race, and society.Journal ofthe Ameri!tm
StlltisticlllAssociation,90, 1483-1488.
2. Fraser, S. (Ed.) (1995), The BeU Curoe ~n: Roce, InteUigence, andthe Future of
America,BasicBooks,NewYork.
3· Jacoby, R., and Glauberman, N. (Eds.) (1995), The BeU Curoe Debate: History,
Documents,andOpinion,RandomHouse,NewYork.
4· Kincheloe,J.L., Steinberg, S.R., and Gresson, A.D., III (Eds.) (1996>, MeflSUred
Lies:TheBeUCuroe&amined,St.Martin'sPress,NewYork.
5· Schultze,C.L.,Dickens,WT.,and Kane,T.J.(1995),Does"TheBeUCuroe"Ring
True?, BrookingsInstitution,Washington,D.C.
6. Fischer, C.S. Houl,M.,Jankowski, M.S., Lucas, C.R., Swidler, A., andVoss, K.
(1996), Inequality by Design: Craeking the BeU Curoe Myth, Princeton University
Press,Princeton,NJ.
7. Goleman,D.(1995),EmotionalInteUigence,Bantam,NewYork.
CONTENTS
Preface v
PART I Overview 1
Chapter1 Reexamining The BellCurve 3
StephenE. FienburgandDanielP. Remick
TheBellCurve'sArgument • TheHistoryoftheArgument •
OurResponse toTheBellCurve
Chapter2 ASynopsis of The BellCurve 19
Terry J¥."Belke
Introduction • TheEmergenceofaCognitiveElite •
CognitiveClassesandSocialBehavior • TheNationalContext
• LivingTogether
PART II The Genetics-Intelligence Link 41
Chapter3 OfGenes and IQ 45
MichaelDaniels, BernieDevlin,andKathryn RDeder
InheritanceversusHeritability • EstimatingtheHeritabilityof
IQ • SocialImplications. Epilogue. Appendix: Modelfor
BayesianMeta-AnalysisofIQ Studies
Chapter4 The Malleability of Intelligence Is NotConstrained by
Heritability 71
DouglasWahlsten
Heritability • HeritabilityandPlasticity • Plasticityof
Intelligence • HeritabilityasImpediment
Chapter5 Racial and Ethnic Inequalities in Health: Environmental,
Psychosocial, and Physiological Pathways 89
Burto1Z SingerandCarolRyff
BlacklWhiteDifferencesinMorbidityandMortality •
RaciallEthnicDifferencesinInfectiousDisease:TheCaseof
Tuberculosis. ALife-HistoryApproachtoHealthOutcomes:
x Contents
TheWisconsinLongitudinalStudy • PhysiologicalSubstrates:
TheCharacteroftheCurrentKnowledge Base • Discussion
PART III Intelligence and the MeasurementofIQ 123
Chapter6 Theoretical and Technical Issues in Identifyinga Factor
ofGeneral Intelligence 125
John B. Carroll
IsThereag? ABriefHistory • ConcreteExampleofa
FactorialDataset • ExploratoryFactorAnalysisoftheSample
Dataset • ConfirmatoryFactorAnalysisoftheSampleDataset
• JustifyingaGeneralFactor • Evidencefrom Selected
Datasets • TheHolzingerandSwinefordDataset • The
HakstianandCattellDataset • TheWothkeeta1. Dataset •
Conclusionsand FinalComment
Chapter 7 TheConceptand Utility of Intelligence 157
Ear/Hunt
AVeryBriefHistoryofIntelligenceTests. WhatIs
Intelligence?ThePsychometricEvidence • TheRevisionist
Position:AnAlternativeApproachtoIntelligence •
Implicationsfor PublicPolicy
PART IV Intelligence and Success: Reanalyses of Data from the
NLSY 177
Chapter8 CognitiveAbility, Wages, and Meritocracy 179
John Cawley, KiJren Conneely,JamesHeckman, andEdwardVytlacil
IsAbilityUnidimensional? • TheWagePremiumforAbility •
Conclusions
Chapter9 The Hidden Gender Restriction: The Need for Proper
Controls When Testingfor Racial Discrimination 193
AlexanderCavallo, HazemEI-Abbadi, andRonda!Heeb
EarningsAnalysisin TheBellCurve • Controllingfor Gender:
TestingImpliedRestrictions • DetectingDiscrimination • A
StandardWageFunction • TheRacialWageGapinthe
StandardWageFunction • Conclusions • Appendix
Chapter10 Does Staying in School Make You SmarterJ The Effectof
Education on IQ in The BellCurve 215
ChristopherWinshipandSandersKorenman
Methodsand Data • PreviousResearch • Reanalysisofthe
Hermstein-MurrayModel • Conclusions
Contents xi
Chapter11 CognitiveAbility, Environmental Factors,and Crime:
Predicting FrequentCriminal Activity 235
LucindAA.Manolakes
Method • Variables • LogitModel: Interpretation • Logit
Model: Evaluation • Conclusions
Chapter12 Social Statisticsand Genuine Inquiry: Reflectionson
TheBellCurve 257
ClarkGlymour
VarietiesofPseudo-Science • TheAimsofInquiry •
ReliabilityandSocialTheory • AlgorithmicSocialScience •
FactorAnalysisand TheBellCurve. Regressionand TheBell
Curve • ScientificSearch • Conclusions
PART V The Bell Curveand Public Policy 281
Chapter13 AHHead Start" in WhatPursuit? IQ Versus Social
Competence asthe ObjectiveofEarly Intervention 283
EdwardZiglerandSallyJ. Styfco
TheNationDeclaresWaronPoverty • TheEnvironmental
Mystique • EvaluationsofCognitiveBenefits • TheBroader
Picture • AttemptstoMeasure SocialCompetence •
ImprovingProgramsforAt-RiskChildren
Chapter14 IsTherea Cognitive Elite in America? 315
NicholasLemann
TheEvilElite • OriginofSpecies • WhoIsReallyElite?
Chapter15 Science, Public Policy, and TheBellCurve 327
DanielP. ResnickandStephenE. Fienberg
Science:TheGenetics-IntelligenceLink • Science:Intelligence
andtheMeasurementofIQ • Science:AnalyzingtheOutcomes
Data • Genetics,Race,andIQ • PublicPolicy • Conclusions
Contributor Biographies 341
Bibliography 347
Author Index 359
Subject Index 365