IQ Testing and Cultural Bias

IQ Testing and Cultural Bias

Introduction

One of the greatest accomplishments of Psychology is the measurement of intelligence with the help of intelligence tests. An individual's general intellectual capabilities are provided by an intelligent test that assesses these capabilities on a number of analytical tasks. These tasks might include the areas of vocabulary, problem solving and comprehension reading (Gall, Borg, and Gall, 1996). This essay is written with an objective to assess the IQ testing and the biases that became a part of tests because of the cultural aspects. The recommendations to reduce these biases are also presented.

Discussion

A psychology book that does not take into consideration the biases associated with IQ tests is considered incomplete. Intelligent tests administration is most of the times responsibility of psychologists. As soon as a meaning is attached to the person's score, a number of consequences became a part of the individual's life. The nature of these consequences varies as some may be fair or prejudiced, helpful or harmful, positive or negative depending on the test scoring (Gregory, 2004).

The origin of the test bias controversy is from the differences in the average IQ scores among a number of racial and ethnic groups in the early 1990's (Cole & Zieky, 2001). The traditional intelligence tests rate the African Americans on average 15 points lower than the White counterparts. This was the point of controversy raised over the aspect of intelligence tests. All the intelligent test traditional tests including Wechsler tests, the Binet tests remain under scrutiny so as to identify their biasness's.

The literature provides the views of scholars who hold a view that the person belonging to different backgrounds except for the cultural environment of the test are usually scored low on the test just as to penalize them. Limited opportunities are provided to them, and even their worth is misinterpreted. Some of the test for the Black people is harmful for them instead being helpful. These types of tests are not equitable notion s of testing. The tests should focus on benefitting the test taker rather than harming them.

The differential performance among groups is the major concern related to the bias. This difference in performance takes into account the environment in which a test is conducted, along with the features of the test and its items. There are four types of biases related to the intelligent tests.

Construct Validity Bias: ...