Hostname: page-component-89b8bd64d-z2ts4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-09T14:28:17.872Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The importance of intelligence in Western societies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

C. R. Brand
C. R. Brand
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

There are many different questions about intelligence that easily become confused. They concern its measurement, its psychological basis (if any), its heritability and its relevance to human group differences. Even a discussion of the importance of intelligence could range widely. (1) The evolution of intelligence might consider what selection pressures generate and maintain the higher levels of intelligence that humans are generally thought to possess. (2) The persistence of individual differences in human intelligence could consider whether such differences serve some ‘group’ function in establishing clear bases for social hierarchy: individuals might differ just because intelligence is irrelevant to fertility under conditions of social hierarchy. Or the differences might be temporary, because Western social hierarchies depend on intelligence differences that they will soon undermine. (3) Is intelligence an explanatory concept in psychology? Or must attribution of scholastic or other successes to ‘intelligence’ always yield to further analyses that somehow break down intelligence into hypothetical ‘components’? (4) Educational relevance might be the issue: is it important to take intelligence differences into account when deciding on how to educate children? (5) Or the concern might be with democratic sentiment and the importance people attach to intelligence for themselves and in their spouses and children.

Information

Type
Session 1: The Nature of Intelligence
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 28 , Special Issue 4: Proceedings of the Galton Institute Symposium on Biological and Social Aspects of Intelligence , October 1996 , pp. 386 - 404
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Altman, W. F. (1994) Interview with R. J. Sternberg. US News and World Report, 24 October.Google Scholar
Anderson, M. (1992) Intelligence and Development: A Cognitive Theory. Blackwell Scientific, Oxford.Google Scholar
Ash, P., Slora, K. & Britton, C. (1990) Police agency officer selection practices. J. Police Sci. Admin. 17, 258–269.Google Scholar
Becker, G. (1978) The Mad Genius Controversy. Sage, Beverly Hills, California.Google Scholar
Blacker, C. P. (1952) Eugenics: Galton and After. Duckworth, London.Google Scholar
Blinkhorn, S. (1985) Dispatched from the trenches. Nature, 313, 328–329.Google Scholar
Blinkhorn, S. (1995) Burt and the early history of factor analysis. In: Cyril Burt: Fraud or Framed? Edited by Mackintosh, N. J.. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Bouchard, T. J. (1993) The genetic architecture of human intelligence. In: Biological Approaches to the Study of Human Intelligence, pp. 33–93. Edited by Vernon, P. A.. Ablex, Norwood, NJ.Google Scholar
Bouchard, T. J. Jr, Lykken, D. T., McGue, M., Segal, N. L. & Tellegen, A. (1990) Sources of human psychological differences: the Minnesota study of twins reared apart. Science, 212, 1055–1058.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brand, C. R. (1984) Intelligence and inspection time: an ontogenetic relationship? In: The Biology of Human Intelligence, pp. 53–64. Edited by Turner, C. J. & Miles, H. B.. Nafferton Books, Nafferton, UK.Google Scholar
Brand, C. R. (1987a) The importance of general intelligence. In: Arthur Jensen: Consensus and Controversy. Edited by Modgil, S. & Modgil, C.. Falmer, New York.Google Scholar
Brand, C. R. (1987b) A touch of class for psychology. Nature, 325, 767–768.Google Scholar
Brand, C. R. (1988) A review of What Is Intelligence? By Sternberg, R. J. & Detterman, D. K.. J. Biol. Social Structures, 11, 396–398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brand, C. R. (1993) The importance of the g factor. Times Higher Educ. Suppl. No. 1094, 22.Google Scholar
Brand, C. R. (1996) The g Factor. Wiley, Chichester.Google Scholar
Brand, C. R. (1997) What is it to be high-neuroticism? In: Psychology and Cross-Cultural Perspectives. Edited by Mohan, S. & Eysenck, H. J.. Taylor & Francis, London.Google Scholar
Brand, C. R., Egan, V. & Deary, I. J. (1994) Intelligence, personality and society: constructivist versus essentialist possibilities. In: Current Topics in Human Intelligence 4, pp. 29–42. Edited by Detterman, D. K.. Ablex, Norwood, NJ.Google Scholar
Broek, , van Den, M. D., Bradshaw, C. M. & Szabadi, E. (1987) Performance of normal adults on the Matching Familiar Figures Test. Br. J. clin. Psychol. 26, 71–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Capron, C. & Duyme, M. (1989) Assessment of effects of socio-economic status on IQ in a full cross-fostering study. Nature, 340, 552–554.Google Scholar
Carroll, J. B. (1993) Human Cognitive Abilities. A Survey of Factor-Analytic Studies. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Ceci, S. J. (1991) How much does schooling influence general intelligence and its cognitive components? A re-assessment of the evidence. Devl Psychol 27, 703–722.Google Scholar
Crawford, J. R., Besson, M., Bremner, K., Cochrane, R. H. B. & Kirkwood, K. (1992) Estimation of premorbid intelligence in schizophrenia. Br. J. Psychiat. 161, 69–74.Google Scholar
Czeschlik, T. (1993) General intelligence, temperament, and the Matching Familiar Figures Test. Eur. J. Personal. 7, 379–386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deary, I. J. & Pagliari, C. (1991) The strength of g at different levels of ability: have Detterman & Daniel rediscovered Spearman's “law of diminishing returns”? Intelligence, 15, 247–250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deary, I. J., Gibson, G. J., Egan, V., Austin, E., Brand, C. R. & Kellaghan, T. (1997) Intelligence and the differentiation hypothesis. Intelligence (in press).Google Scholar
Deming, W. E. (1993) The New Economics for Industry, Government and Education. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA.Google Scholar
Detterman, D. K. (1993) Giftedness and intelligence: one and the same? In: The Origins and Development of High Ability. CIBA Foundation Symposium 178. Wiley, Chichester.Google Scholar
Detterman, D. K. & Daniel, M. H. (1989) Correlations of mental tests with each other and with cognitive variables are highest for low-IQ groups. Intelligence, 13, 349–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Detterman, D. K. & Spry, K. M. (1988) Is it smart to play the horses? Comment on “A day at the races: a study of IQ, expertise and cognitive complexity” (Ceci & Liker, 1986). J. exp. Psychol. (General), 117, 91–95.Google Scholar
Egan, V. (1989) Personality, ability and attitudes in a low-IQ sample. Personal. Individ. Diffs, 10, 997–1002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T. & Heizmann, S. (1993) Can we create gifted people? In: The Origins and Development of High Ability. CIBA Foundation Symposium 178. Wiley, Chichester.Google Scholar
Eron, L. D. (1987) The development of aggressive behavior from the perspective of a developing behaviorism. Am. Psychol. 42, 435–442.Google Scholar
Eron, L. D., Huesmann, L. R., Lefkowitz, M. M. & Walder, L. O. (1972) Does television violence cause aggression? Am. Psychol. 27, 253–263.Google Scholar
Eysenck, H. J. (1995) Genius: the Natural History of Creativity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Fineman, S. (1977) The achievement motive construct and its measurement: where are we now? Br. J. Psychol. 68, 1–22.Google Scholar
Fletcher, R. (1991) Intelligence, equality, character and education. Intelligence, 15, 139–149.Google Scholar
Flynn, J. (1987) Massive IQ gains in 14 nations: what IQ tests really measure. Psychol. Bull. 101, 171–191.Google Scholar
Flynn, J. (1989) Rushton, evolution and race: an essay on intelligence and virtue. The Psychologist, 2, 363–366.Google Scholar
Flynn, J. R. (1992) Achievement Beyond IQ. Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.Google Scholar
Fraser, S. (Ed.) (1995) The Bell Curve Wars. Basic Books, New York.Google Scholar
Gardner, H. (1983) Frames of Mind: the Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Heinemann, London.Google Scholar
Gillie, O. (1976) Crucial data was faked by eminent psychologist. Sunday Times, 24 October.Google Scholar
Gordon, R. A. (1987) SES versus IQ in the race-IQ-delinquency model. Int. J. Sociol. Social Policy, 7, 30–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gottfredson, L. S. (1986) Societal consequences of the g factor in employment. J. vocat. Behav. 29, 379–410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guilford, J. P. & Christensen, P. R. (1975) The one-way relation between creative potential and IQ. J. Creative Behav. 7, 247–252.Google Scholar
Halsey, A. H., Heath, A. F. & Ridge, J. M. (1980) Origins and Destinations: Family, Class and Education in Modern Britain. Clarendon, Oxford.Google Scholar
Hartshorne, H. & May, M. A. (1928) Studies in Deceit. MacMillan, New York.Google Scholar
Herrnstein, R. J. & Murray, C. (1994) The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life. Free Press, New York.Google Scholar
Hobsbawm, E. (1994) Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century. Michael Joseph, London.Google Scholar
Howe, M. J. A. (1988) The hazards of using correlational evidence as a means of identifying the causes of individual ability differences: a rejoinder to Sternberg and a reply to Miles. Br. J. Psychol. 79, 539–545.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howe, M. J. A. (1993) The early lives of child prodigies. In: The Origins and Development of High Ability, pp. 85–105. CIBA Foundation Symposium 178. Wiley, Chichester.Google Scholar
Hunter, J. E. & Hunter, R. F. (1984) Validity and utility of alternative predictors of job performance. Psychol. Bull. 96, 72–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Husen, T. & Tuijnman, A. (1991) The contribution of formal schooling to the increase in intellectual capital. Educ. Researcher, 20, 17–25.Google Scholar
Jamison, K. R. (1995) Manic-depressive illness and creativity. Scient. Am. 272, 47–51.Google Scholar
Jensen, A. R. (1980) Bias in Mental Testing. Methuen, London.Google Scholar
Joynson, R. B. (1989) The Burt Affair. Routledge, London.Google Scholar
Kamin, L. (1995) Behind the curve. Scient. Am. 272, 99–103.Google Scholar
Kamin, L. J. (1974) The Science and Politics of IQ. Lawrence Erlbaum, Potomac, Maryland.Google Scholar
Kenny, M. (1984) Sunday Telegraph, 26 August.Google Scholar
Kohn, M. (1995) The Race Gallery: the Return of Racial Science. Jonathan Cape, London.Google Scholar
Lynn, R. (1992) Does Spearman's g decline at high IQ levels? Some evidence from Scotland. J. genet. Psychol. 153, 229–230.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lynn, R. (1995) Cross-cultural differences in intelligence and personality. In: International Handbook of Personality and Intelligence, pp. 107–121. Edited by Saklofshe, D. H. & Zeidner, M.. Plenum, New York.Google Scholar
MacKintosh, N. J. (1995a) Twins and other kinship studies. In: Cyril Burt: Fraud or Framed?, pp. 45–69. Edited by Mackintosh, N. J.. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
MacKintosh, N. J. (1995b) Decline of educational standards. In: Cyril Burt: Fraud or Framed?, pp. 95–110. Edited by Mackintosh, N. J.. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Mascie-Taylor, N. (1995) Intelligence and social mobility. In: Cyril Burt: Fraud or Framed?, pp. 70–94. Edited by Mackintosh, N. J.. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
McCann, S. J. H. (1992) Alternative formulas to predict the greatness of U.S. Presidents: personological, situational and Zeitgeist factors. J. Personal. social Psychot 62, 469–479.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Messer, S. B. (1976) Reflection—impulsivity: a review. Psychol. Bull. 83, 1026–1052.Google Scholar
Miele, F. (1995) Interview with R. J. Sternberg. Skeptic Magazine, 3, 72–80.Google Scholar
Neisser, U. (1995) Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns—Report of a Task Force established by the Board of Scient Affairs of the American Psychological Association. APA Science Directorate, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Nettelbeck, T. (1987) Inspection time and intelligence. In: Speed of Information-Processing and Intelligence. Edited by Vernon, P. A.. Ablex, Norwood, NJ.Google Scholar
Ogbu, J. U. (1994) From cultural differences to differences in cultural frames of reference. In: Cross-cultural Roots of Minority Child Development. Edited by Greenfield, P. M. & Cocking, R. R.. Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.Google Scholar
Palmer, A. (1994) Does White mean right? Spectator, 18 February.Google Scholar
Plomin, R. & Thompson, L. A. (1993) Genetics and high cognitive ability. In: The Origins and Development of High Ability. CIBA Foundation Symposium 178. Wiley, Chichester.Google Scholar
Reichel, H. (1987) The Intelligence—Criminality Relationship: A Critical Review. Supplement Series No. 66. Department of Psychology, University of Stockholm.Google Scholar
Ridley, M. (1994) The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature. Penguin, Harmondsworth.Google Scholar
Rose, S., Kamin, L. & Lewontin, R. C. (1984) Not in Our Genes. Penguin, Harmondsworth.Google Scholar
Rushton, J. P. (1995) Race, Evolution and Behavior. Transaction, New Brunswick, NJ.Google Scholar
Scarr, S. (1985) An author's frame of mind. New Ideas Psychol. 3, 95–100.Google Scholar
Scarr, S. & McCartney, K. (1983) How people make their own environments: a theory of genotype→environment effects. Devl Psychol. 54, 424–435.Google ScholarPubMed
Schmidt, F. L., Ones, D. S. & Hunter, J. E. (1992) Personnel selection. Ann. Rev. Psychol. 46, 627–670.Google Scholar
Sutker, P. B. & Allain, A. N. Jr, (1987) Cognitive abstraction, shifting and control: clinical sample comparisons of psychopaths and non-psychopaths. J. abnormal Psychol. 96, 73–75.Google Scholar
Terman, L. M. (1947) Psychological Approaches to the Biography of Genius. Cassell, London.Google Scholar
Terman, L. M. & Oden, M. H. (1947) The Gifted Child Grows Up: Twenty-Five Years' Follow-up of a Superior Group. Genetic Studies of Genius, Vol. 4. Stanford University Press, California.Google Scholar
Thompson, L. A. (1993) Genetic contributions to intellectual development in infancy and early childhood. In: Biological Approaches to the Study of Human Intelligence, pp. 33–93. Edited by Vernon, P. A.. Ablex, Norwood, NJ.Google Scholar
Wallander, J. L. (1988) The relation between attentional problems in childhood and antisocial behaviour eight years later. J. Child Psychol. Psychiat. 29, 53–61.Google Scholar
Weiss, V. (1992) Major genes of general intelligence. Personal. individ. Diffs, 13, 1115–1134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, K. R. (1982) The relation between socioeconomic status and academic achievement. Psychol. Bull. 91, 461–468.Google Scholar
Wiegman, O., Kuttschreuter, M. & Baarda, B. (1992) A longitudinal study of the effects of television viewing on aggressive and prosocial behaviours. Br. J. social Psychol. 31, 147–164.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yoshikawa, H. (1994) Prevention as cumulative protection: effects of early family support and education on chronic delinquency and its risks. Psychol. Bull. 115, 28–54.Google Scholar