Anne Fenwick has written some good comments on this Jeremiah Traeger-inspired thread. They are worthy of repeating:
In my particular line, we were absolutely obsessed with methodologies and what they can and can’t do for us. Which brings me to this opinion: even if some scientific observations could be separated from social context (the observation of moons orbiting Jupiter – they just are (?!)), IQ tests are not like that. They are within the field of sociology and they are sociological tests, not biological ones. Sometimes, I feel that the people who discuss them are passing them off as biological tests, or are confused about their status. But they are actually more like a questionnaire than a blood test.
You can observe (for example) a tendency to different cellular structures in the hair of black and white people, independent of the social context. That’s true, even though hair is a cultural and sociological issue that takes on racial overtones in some contexts. The reason is that we use physical techniques to look at hair. But the method used in IQ testing is, in itself, a social and cultural transaction. And our sociological methodologies and perceptions are currently in the equivalent of chemistry’s age of Alchemy.
Regardless of whether we have a clue what we’re doing or not (and I maintain that with IQ tests, we haven’t) scientific thinking should forbid us from discussing a sociologically obtained result divorced from a discussion of social influences, just as we can’t discuss an astronomical result divorced from a discussion of the laws of physics (and this is very much an issue, I believe, when physicists have to separate various kinds of noise and distortions from actual results). In the case of any social methodology such as an IQ test, our ‘noise’ comes from social/political causes, and we’re duty bound to consider it.
And:
I have to wonder if you’ve ever taken an IQ test, if you think they include a lot of trivia and ‘knowledge relevant to a Middle Class White person’. I think it’s important to critique the tests as they actually are – and their cultural biases are far more subtle than you seem to think.
As examples of cultural information, I have seen an American IQ test for adults which required you to recognize a scrambled picture of Abraham Lincoln, US figure, a who obviously isn’t so well-known outside the US. I didn’t recognize him. I have seen American IQ tests for children which have questions based on common foodstuffs which are not so common outside the US. That’s about the extent of the ‘cultural knowledge’ these tests include. However, it’s true that on these tests, even one or two questions, even a small amount of confusion, can make a significant difference to your score.
Most of their bias is more subtle. I know, for instance that I would get different IQ scores in each of my languages, even though nobody can tell that I’m not a native speaker and a good writer by looking at my performance in everyday life. IQ tests for adults are really designed to bring these subtle differences out. The very slight, usually unnoticeable difference in my language skills adds up to a significant difference in IQ score. It’s easy to imagine what Bert B said above:
My wife, who taught in schools for homeless kids for many years, mostly minorities, told me this evening that many black kids who are very smart do poorly on those tests.
But you don’t need to exaggerate the case about cultural differences. Tiny, almost invisible ones will suffice.
Then there’s the fact that most of the IQ tests consist of ‘puzzles’, like pattern recognition and so on. The trouble with these is that although they are supposed to be independent of practice and learning, of course they are not, they’re a skill. They contain no ‘knowledge’ or ‘trivia’ whatsoever, but you can learn strategies and get better by practice. And yes, white middle class people do quite often engage in these kinds of activities for fun, and introduce their children to them at an early age. And I’m out on a limb here, because I actually have no clue how that may or may not resemble what goes on in families of other cultures. But in both my childhood family and the one I built, puzzles like this – puzzle books that considerably resemble IQ tests – are a standard pastime and form of playful, semi-competitive interaction. Even playing competitive board games, strategic or not, to some extent prepares people for an experience like an IQ test, and some of the academic experiences that go with it.
Which brings us to the fact that shaping a test around activities which resemble those which one culture typically uses as ‘play’ is a very culturally loaded activity. Does an IQ test resemble an exam or a game, to the person taking it? And in so far as it resembles an exam, have they already been ‘primed’ to engage in activities like that and view them somewhat positively? There is no question that perceptions on that score could affect the result.
And then:
I’m not an American but I might be able to give you some pointers (bearing in mind that none of these are absolutes). First off, American culture, both black and white, is marked by an extreme race consciousness that mediates identification. I have a white American husband who is ‘not racist’… but if I mention that a black person of our acquaintance looks like him (body type) or reminds me of him (personality), or has a lot in common with him (interests) he finds that almost impossible to compass. Apparently, skin color trumps everything in America – to him, black people are ‘aliens’ towards whom he feels warm and respectful feelings, but not people with whom he finds it easy to identify. And even weirder, ‘blackness’ is (to him) a significant common attribute between people as widely removed as, say, a Londoner of Nigerian origin and Barack Obama.
This is a very American trait, as far as I can tell. I don’t know where you’re from, and you may or may not get it, but there it is. That’s culture for you. Now, the thing is, obviously, he’s not alone. Many of his black compatriots share this trait, and it would appear that they also need to see a black person doing something in order to identify, and mentally bail when they see a person of another race, especially white, doing something. Similarly, many white Americans bail when presented with a black example or role model. For historical reasons, a lot of ‘things’ in America were and are done by white people, so this trait is a significant handicap to blacks and a significant advantage to whites. IMPORTANTLY, it is in and of itself a specifically American cultural trait (although unfortunately, Americans tend to naturalize it, and seem keen to share with the rest of us).
Secondly, while white American culture is self-confident (over-confident, actually) about its worth and its power to the point where its pretty much a standing joke in the rest of the world, black American culture (for historical reasons) oscillates between aspiration and defensiveness. The ‘white’ option at least has the benefit of making you a ‘trier’ even if it also makes you a pain in the ass. The ‘black’ option can only be a time-consuming impediment and source of stress for most people. Worse, these cultural beliefs affect how individuals are seen by people around them, including people of their own race and others. White: bound to succeed sooner or later, their failures no matter how idiotic, are ‘learning experiences’ on the way to acclaim and leadership. The bigger dicks they are, the more they’re probably special – give encouraging grades for trying. Black: likely to fail if the screws aren’t kept turned on them at all times. If they’re being a big dick, it’s probably a prelude to being a no-good criminal – give poor grades as a warning. As a related point, part of the ‘defensiveness’ of black culture consists of over- or mis- stating the threat of explicit white racism (which is kind of astonishing given the circumstances, but I’m convinced it’s the case) in a way that produces reactions and responses that, in themselves, hinder the success of black students.
Thirdly, there is the fact of raw culture, which has been raised elsewhere. White middle-class households do things automatically and for fun which are related to academic success. For instance, they read to their children, not because it’s ‘homework’, but because they enjoy it and even because they were read to as children, and no more think of not doing it than you would think of not brushing your teeth (I’m guessing). And they often read some of the same books they were read as children. Books with white kids in (see point 1, if you want books with black kids, you have to go looking). School is merely delegated to transmit ‘our’ culture, and you know white middle class parents, right?? We’re more likely to complain about what a shitty job they’re doing than accept rebukes from them, as though we were wayward delinquents who shouldn’t be parents at all!
And all that’s even before we get into Bert’s points below about economic differences, the amount of time parents can spend with their children, and such incredibly basic matters as the nutritional status, sleep-levels and sense of physical and social safety of parents and kids alike.
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