Searching for justice: The discovery of IQ gains over time
American Psychologist, vol. 54, no. 1, 1999, pp. 5–20
Abstract
Humane-egalitarian ideals, whose aims are group justice and reducing environmental inequality and privilege, must be tested against reality, as revealed by psychology and other social sciences. Four issues are addressed: the equation between IQ and intelligence, whether group potential is determined by a group’s mean IQ, whether the Black–White IQ gap is genetic, and the meritocratic thesis that genes for IQ will become highly correlated with class. Massive IQ gains over time test the IQ–intelligence equation, reveal groups who achieve far beyond their mean IQs, and falsify prominent arguments for a genetic racial IQ gap. Class IQ trends suggest America is not evolving toward a meritocracy, but a core refutation of that thesis is needed and supplied. Finally, the viability of humane ideals is assessed against a worst-case scenario. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
