A group of students discussing the controversial book "The Bell Curve" said the book's authors could have had political motives in coming to the conclusion that success is predetermined by genetic factors such as race.
About 30 students attended the mostly-calm discussion in Cutter-Shabazz Hall last night.
"The Bell Curve," authored by the late Harvard professor Richard Herrnstein and conservative sociologist Charles Murray, has come under fire for its research showing that intelligence, as measured by the Intelligence Quotient test, and to some degree success, is genetically based.
Students questioned the social and political motives behind the book. They agreed that questionable elements in the book may be rooted in the author's political leanings.
Tiffany West '98, the AAm's concerned black students chair, said one study in the book suggested single women who have children are shown to have lower IQs than those who do not. Students said if IQ can predict the potential for success, the validity of welfare programs could be altogether questioned.
The students agreed generalizations based on genetically-determined intelligence are harmful because they breed prejudice and remove emphasis from individual ability.
John Barros '96 said IQ "only predicts [success] because it is based on a system that exists." He said IQ measures intelligence in terms of the same cultural bias that leads to success in that culture.
Unai Montes-Irueste '98, a member of La Alianza Latina, said IQ tests are seen as a decreasingly valid measure of intelligence. He suggested the test samples used in IQ statistics may be biased due to the disproportionately large number of IQ tests administered in private schools.
He also discussed the "incredible market differences between IQ tests," and said there may be no objective method to measure intelligence because the prejudices of the designer can bias the structure of the test.
The group found a paradox in the book's assumptions that intelligence is reflected in success and at the same time success is determined by intelligence. Students identified other influences that may affect IQ, such as cultural background or education.
Khalid Osbourne-Roberts '98 cited studies in which the discrepancies between the average IQ scores between blacks and whites were studied prior to and following formal education.
Assistant Dean of Freshmen Anthony Tillman explained that IQ tests supposedly monitor the "capacity of propensity to do well." But he then explained biases against women and blacks in the Stanford-Binet IQ test.
