[(Measuring Intelligence: Facts and Fallacies)] [Author: David J. Bartholomew] published on

by David J. Bartholomew

The testing of intelligence has a long and controversial history. Claims that it is a pseudo-science or a weapon of ideological warfare have been commonplace and there is not even a consensus as to whether intelligence exists and, if it does, whether it can be measured. As a result the debate about it has centred on the nurture versus nature controversy and especially on alleged racial differences and the heritability of intelligence - all of which have major policy implications. This book aims to penetrate the mists of controversy, ideology and prejudice by providing a clear non-mathematical framework for the definition and measurement of intelligence derived from modern factor analysis. Building on this framework and drawing on everyday ideas the author address key controversies in a clear and accessible style and explores some of the claims made by well known writers in the field such as Stephen Jay Gould and Michael Howe.

Genres: Psychology

Unknown Binding

First published July 1, 2004

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Measuring Intelligence: Facts and Fallacies purports to be a neutral scientific look at intelligence. The author however is not neutral and obviously favours some approaches in the literature. This damages the credibility of his claims which are often highly questionable and rely on very weak assumptions. Is (g) actually unchangeable after birth? (page 150)
This seems unlikely given the malleable nature of the brain that changes significantly throughout an individuals life time.
The book additionally suffers from bad structure, the book goes back and forth in topic without a clear focus. The books poor structure is not helped by some errors in the writing.
In fairness some of the descriptions of factor analysis and its limitations are helpful but these are overshadowed by the remaining faults of the book.