IQ testing and racial discrimination in educational assessment

IQ Discrimination

The concept of general ability or intelligence has in the past been the most important single way of accounting for individual differences. IQ (Intelligence quotient) is usually assessed by measuring performances on a test of a number of different skills, using tasks that emphasize reasoning and problem solving in a number of different areas. Early assessments of IQ were done in France by Alfred Binet in 1905, as part of an attempt to identify children who needed specialist help to make educational progress. Interest in IQ testing continued in the U.S. By researchers such as Louis Terman.

IQ was thought to be fixed in these early years and so was often used in education in an attempt to predict children's future academic progress with different levels of measured intelligence being taken to imply the need for different forms of educational experiences. More able children are supposed to need abstract and academic experiences, with an accelerated rate of progress. Less able children on the other hand, are supposed to need more direct, practical experiences with a slower rate of learning. Children were classified using such terms as "educationally sub-normal," "mentally defective," "feeble-minded."

IQ assessments have also been used to indicate a child's potential for learning. When IQ matches achievement, then children are said to be fulfilling their potential. When there is a discrepancy and achievement is below potential level then the child is thought to have specific problem. The most common problem associated with mis-matched achievement potential is dyslexia.

However, research indicates only a limited relationship between IQ measure and performance on academic skills. In addition, there are many other factors to be considered in the relationship between IQ and academic performance, for example, motivation of the student, concentration level (including while taking the test). There may also seem to be a correlation between IQ and academic achievements because both of these rely heavily on (and therefore are both influenced by) the student's verbal ability.

Race is one of these factors that have been used as a basis for comparison of intellectual abilities and to support stereotypical judgments. Those who believe that intelligence is largely inherited support the view that African-Americans in particular have a lower intellectual potential than European heritage people. This conclusion comes partly from the belief that African-Americans are genetically inferior as a race. This view has been challenged. Chiacchia (2001) reports estimates of genes accounting for 30-80% of intelligence. Environment, including pre-birth factors, accounts for the rest. The major argument is that IQ tests tend to be based on and reflect white, middle-class culture that is not familiar to other ethnic groups. Some items on the tests depend on specific experiences and knowledge that may not be familiar to the child from an ethnic minority growing up in an impoverished inner-city area. IQ tests need to be revised to more accurately reflect all cultures and backgrounds if they are to be used with all groups of children.

It is important to note that recent reports indicate a rise in the average scores of African-Americans and that the IQ gap between African-Americans and U.S. whites has been closing. At the same time there is a noticed improvement in the environment of African-Americans in the past ten years. Other tests have shown a difference in IQ among different groups of black children- those brought up in white families, those with more European ancestry, Caribbean culture, etc. This adds to the conclusion that the environment plays a great part in IQ.

Another factor of comparison of IQs has been gender. For long it has also been believed that males are intellectually more superior to females. Consequently, males have been encouraged to pursue further academic goals than females. In particular males dominated the fields of Math and Science. However, recent research is showing that females are scoring better than males in the areas of Reading achievement and Writing skills. Klienfeld (1998) summarizes the beliefs in four areas-: 1. In the general population the sex differences on standardized tests of achievement are small. 2. among select groups of higher achieving young people, females have advanced in reading achievement and writing skills. 3. males are more variable than females in many characteristics. (their Bell Curve of IQ has more males at the extremes whereas the female bell curve has a higher peak in the middle).4. males are more apt to show up at the bottom of the heap, i.e. they are more represented in special education classes, but also more represented at the top of the heap. Klienfeld also presents data to show that although females surpass males in the two areas (reading and writing), whites surpassed blacks by a wider margin in all four areas. She however concludes that sex differences in intellectual achievement are rooted in both biological and cultural influences.

IQ scores are still being used as a measure of capability or potential, even though there is so much controversy over its validity and reliability. The association of IQ with race or gender is difficult to remove. Perhaps until the debate about the influence of genetics and environment is cleared up, there will remain in the minds of some the notion that whites are smarter than blacks, Hispanics or Asians and that males naturally perform better than females in some areas. If these minority groups are given the same encouragement and opportunities for academic achievement and advancement then they may perform as well as whites in schools.

References.

Chiacchia, Kenneth B. Race and intelligence. Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, www.findarticles.com/cf_0/g2699/0005/2699000597/print.html

Klienfled, Judith (1998). The myth that schools shortchange girls: social science in the service of deception. Retrieved from the World Wide Web, www.uaf.edu/northern/schools/myth.html

Are mental disorders really medical disorders?

The term 'mental disorder' generally refers to any condition resulting from a non-functioning or dysfunction of part of the brain. This fact alone, that they involve a part of the body, indicates that they are medical disorders. There are other issues to consider when comparing mental disorders to medical disorders especially how they are diagnosed and treated. Parallels can be found here. In addition most mental disorders are accompanied by physical symptoms.

Anyone can develop a mental illness. Some disorders are mild; others are serious and long lasting. These conditions can be diagnosed and treated, including with psychotherapeutic treatments. Most people live better lives after treatment. Some of the specific mental disorders to be examined here include, anxiety disorders (e.g. post traumatic stress disorder and obsessive- compulsive disorder), bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia. All of these disorders must be diagnosed and treated by a professional. It is interesting to note that psychiatry, which is involved in the treatment and diagnosis of these and other mental disorders, is a branch of the medical sciences. The treatment of most mental disorders can either be chemical (drugs) or psychotherapy or a combination of both.

In order to properly answer the question it is important to examine some of the more common mental disorders A closer look at the causes of these mental disorders will help to decide whether they are in fact medical disorders.

ANXIETY DISORDERS

People suffering from this group of biologically-based mental illnesses feel anxious almost all the time with no discernible reason and can become paralyzed to their own nervousness. The common anxiety disorders include panic attacks, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. Panic attacks are characterized by such physical symptoms as heart palpitations, sweating, trembling chest pains and nausea. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by persistently intrusive and inappropriate thoughts, impulses or images that run through one's mind (obsession) and repetitive behavior that one feels he must do (compulsion). Posttraumatic stress disorder results form experiencing or witnessing a violent or tragic act that results in feelings of intense fear, helplessness or horror.

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill fact sheet (www.nami.org) reports that new research suggests that these disorders both run in families and are the results of one's brain chemistry. Both medication and talk therapy have been used to treat anxiety disorders.

BIPOLAR DISORDER

Bipolar disorder, or manic depression, is a disorder of the brain resulting in episodes of mania and depression. It is a chronic condition with recurring episodes and generally requires ongoing treatment. Researchers have uncovered a genetic link to the illness. Close relatives of someone with the disorder are more likely to be affected by the disease; but not everyone with the genetic predisposition will become ill.

DEPRESSION

Depression is a bio-psychosocial disorder that can be caused by diverse psychological and physiological mechanisms. The symptoms that doctors and therapists use to diagnose depression are the result of alteration in the brain chemistry. Marano (1999) states that depression is not just a chemical imbalance. The newest evidence indicates that recurrent depression is in fact a neuro-degenerative disorder, disrupting the structure and function of brain cells, destroying nerve cell connections, even killing certain brain cells and precipitating cognitive decline. In depression faulty circuitry fails both in generating positive feelings and inhibiting disruptive negative ones.

ELECTRO-CONVULSIVE TREATMENT

This is generally reserved for patients with severe mental disorders who are unresponsive to or unable to tolerate medication or other treatments. It is used with major depression, psychosis (delusions or hallucinations) and selected cases of schizophrenia. ECT remains one of the most effective treatments for depression. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that 80-90% of people with severe depression improve dramatically with ECT (www.nimh.org).Though memory loss and other cognitive problems are common side effects of ECT, they are short-loved. Modern advances in ECT technique have greatly reduced the side effects of this treatment compared to earlier decades.

PSYCHOTHERAPY

Psychotherapy is accomplished through a series of face-to-face discussions in which a therapist helps a person to talk about, define and resolve personal problems. This therapy seems to be more appropriate than medications and ECT for less severe forms of emotional distress. There are three main categories- psychodynamic, behavioral and cognitive. The psychodynamic explores relationships and experiences from early childhood. An example of psychodynamic approach is play therapy with children, where repressed feelings are allowed to emerge as the child symbolically acts them out using dolls, puppets, games and storytelling. Behavioral therapy focuses on changing unwanted behaviors through rewards, reinforcements and desensitization and uses various techniques and theories, such as assertiveness training, social skills training, operant conditioning, hypnosis/hypnotherapy, sex therapy and systemic desensitization. Behavior-oriented therapy is geared toward helping children see their problems as learned behavior that can be modified without looking for unconscious motivations or hidden meanings. Rewards and tokens are used as positive reinforcement. Cognitive therapy aims to identify and correct distorted thinking patterns that can lead to feelings and behaviors that may be troublesome, self-defeating or even self-destructive. The goal is to replace such thinking with a more balanced view that leads to more fulfilling and productive behavior. Cognitive behavior therapy is used with children and adolescents especially in treating anxiety, depression and issues involving social skills.

Other forms of psychotherapy have come out of these three. Cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal therapy help patients change the negative styles of thinking and behaving often associated with depression. Research on children and adolescents with depression support cognitive-behavioral therapy as useful initial treatment. Family therapy involves many members of the family and is usually short-term. Psychotherapy provides an increased insight or improved understanding of one's own mental state and so greater self- acceptance. Psychotherapy also helps patients to resolve conflicts that would otherwise be in the way of the patient living a reasonably happy and productive life.

Seligman (1995) reported that many efficacy studies have been done to determine the effectiveness of drug therapy and psychotherapy and that "these studies show, among many other things, that cognitive therapy, interpersonal therapy, and medications all provide moderate relief from unipolar depressive disorder; that exposure and clomipramine both relieve the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder moderately well but that exposure has more lasting benefits; that cognitive therapy works very well in panic disorder; that systematic desensitization relieves specific phobias; that "applied tension" virtually cures blood and injury phobia; that transcendental meditation relieves anxiety; that aversion therapy produces only marginal improvement with sexual offenders; that disulfram (Antabuse) does not provide lasting relief from alcoholism; that flooding plus medication does better in the treatment of agoraphobia than either alone; and that cognitive therapy provides significant relief of bulimia, outperforming medications alone." He goes on to say that psychotherapy has not been adequately studied for effectiveness since it does not lend itself well to efficacy-type studies. However, Consumer Report conducted a survey on psychotherapy and drugs in 1994. Seligman believes that the study is a valuable one and the results are to be taken seriously. Some of the findings of this survey were that psychotherapy was indeed very effective; that long-term therapy worked better than short-term therapy and that no one form of psychotherapy was better than the other.

References.

National Mental Health Information Center. Traditional Therapies. Retrieved form the World Wide Web.

A www.mentalhealth.org/publication/allpubs/ken980053/default.asp

National Institute of Mental Health. Depression research. Fact sheet. Retrieved from the World Wide Web.

A www.nimh.org/depressionresearch.htm

Seligman, Martin E.P. (1995). The effectiveness of psychotherapy. The Consumer Report study. American Psychologist. Vol.50 No.12. pp.965-974

4 therapy network. How does therapy work. Retrieved from the World Wide Web. http://www.4therapy.com/consumer/about_therapy/item.php?uniqueid=31&categoryid=27

Uses and abuses of personality testing.

Personality tests are used to shed light on a person's needs, attitudes, motivation and behavioral tendencies. They consist of questions that gauge a person's comfort level in five categories- whether we are social or solitary; whether we strive for more innovation or efficiency; the degree to which we stick to our position or accept others' ideas and whether we are more linear or flexible in our approach to our goals. Personality tests have been designed for use with children from as young as four years to adults. One of the drawbacks of these types of tests is that they do not measure functioning in the natural environment. Thus they must be used with caution. Personality tests have been used to assess the social behaviors of children and adolescents in attempts to assist them to improve their functioning in social settings-in school, within the family, etc. Personality tests have become more popular in organizations to match people with the most appropriate job or role in the organization.

Personality testing for children and adolescents involves several approaches including behavior rating scales, self-report inventories and projective techniques. Extremely common tools for assessing children are the drawings, inkblot test and verbal/story telling techniques. Five- twelve-year-olds are asked to draw the family doing something together. The drawing is then interpreted in terms of the distance between individuals and the degree of interaction among them. The most popular inkblot, the Rorschach, uses ten bilaterally symmetric inkblots for interpretation. The use of this test declined in the 1960s and 1970s because of inadequate reliability and validity. However there are clearer guidelines now for administering and scoring, and there is more normative data so that they can be used with children and adults. Story telling techniques include the Thematic Apperception Test, used with adults and children and the Children's Apperception Test. Halpin (1998) suggests that "few clinicians use systematic procedures for administration and true scoring is rarely done." He thinks that the interpretation of the story is influenced by what the examiner knows about the client and so there is not enough objectivity. Because of this susceptibility to subjectivity it is recommended that personality testing with children and adolescents be done with caution and be used in tandem with other types of assessments.

Personality testing has been gaining popularity in the business world. Although experts warn against too much emphasis on personality testing, reports show that legitimate tests are helping employers evaluate job candidates to select those best suited for particular positions. Newitz (2000) reports that a 1999 survey of 1,054 human resources managers conducted by the American Management Association shows that 44% of them used personality testing to select employees. She explains that employers rely on personality testing to discover all the intangibles that are not listed on resumes or that do not surface during an interview. For example, it is not easy to detect from resumes or interviews whether a candidate thrives on stress and multitasking, or whether he prefers to work alone and can handle long-term research. Some of the personality tests used in organizations are the predictive Index (PI), Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator and the Personal Profile System. About a year ago Tim Burke, CEO of Quesi, a technology consulting and management company in California started using personality tests to help screen job candidates for attributes that would help them succeed in the job. Since then he reports a "significant improvement" in matching applicants with jobs. (Bates, 2002).

Despite the advantages of personality testing there are of course drawbacks to be considered. Personality tests are not infallible. It is difficult to measure characteristics such as motivation or goal-orientation in one instance by pen and paper. These are better assessed over a period of time by observing behavior under different circumstances.

There have been legal pitfalls with the use of personality tests however. Flynn (2002) writes about the 1993 case of Target stores having to pay more than one million dollars to about 2,500 prospective security guards for administering a test to them that some experts say was designed to be administered to mental patients. Legal issues arise in part because some of the tests being used have items that are very personal and embarrassing, for example, what are your dreams, sexual preferences and religious beliefs. She advises that personality tests to be used for screening job candidates must be checked for any bias that could lead to accusations of discrimination, for example the language used in the test could be interpreted differently by people of different cultures, education, and national origins.

There are also concerns that the human resources personnel in the organizations using these tests do not have the background in psychology and statistics necessary to evaluate the results of the tests properly.

Another growing problem with personality test is the increase in the number of test available online. These tests are then available to anyone and are not carefully assessed and scored by a professional.

Although personality tests are finding a place of use in organizations, it is recommended that they be used cautiously and that their influence on final decisions of hiring and firing be minimal.

References.

Bates, Steve. (2002). Personality counts: psychological tests can help peg the job applicants best suited for certain jobs. HR Magazine. Feb. 2002

Flynn, Gillian. (2002). A legal examination of testing. Workforce. June 2002

Newitz, Annalee. (2000). The personality paradox. Industry Stand. October, 2000.