Essay - Bell Curve and Correlational Research Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles...

Bell Curve and Correlational Research

Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray, authors of The Bell *****, have received criticism for their inability to establish the "truth" in their research of intelligence. Rather than using objective tests to determine if their findings were valid (e.g., control groups and follow-up studies; varying conditions; factoring in margin for error), they assumed that their research findings ***** accurate based on one premise - the IQ scores ***** students after 1950 as opposed to the scores of those in earlier years. *****y offer graphs and tables to "prove" that *****telligence ********** social status more than inherited ***** (i.e., one's parents being of high social standing). But although they seem to have definitive evidence, ***** method was flawed because they failed to take in***** account that research ********** are not the same in this present day as they were 20 or 30 years ago. Additionally, although ***** insist ***** one's social ***** does not predict eventual intelligence - for example, there are more people with ********** IQs now than prior to 1950 - it does ***** address the fact that ***** poverty level is at a lower percent*****ge than ***** was in 1950, which means ***** not as many ***** would, by their determ*****ations, ***** lower IQs because not ***** many ***** living at ***** level. The authors did not consider all the alternative when they put together their research *****. They did not, for example, allow for a variable such as a non-related family member being brought up in a particular household (such ***** adopted children), and how that social stand*****g remained the same, even though the child had a different genetic make-up. Such children may differ in innate intelligence from biological children r*****e but often remain in ***** same social class ***** they are raised in the same way as p*****nts would raise a biologic*****l child, and that h***** a lot to do with the *****'s cognitive *****bility. ***** and Murray would have been better advised to do a broader study ***** allowed ***** *****s ***** economic background ***** the changes in economic climate in ***** years they insist the curve went up due to educational