of IQ testing as a metric for human intelligence is disputed. Today, the scientific consensus is that genetics does not explain differences in IQ test Discussions of race and intelligence—specifically regarding claims of differences in intelligence along racial lines—have appeared in both popular science and academic research since the modern concept of race was first introduced. With the inception of IQ testing in the early 20th century, differences in average test performance between racial groups have been observed, though these differences h Although IQ differences between individuals have been shown to have a large hereditary component, it does not follow that mean group-level disparities (between-group differences) in IQ necessarily have a genetic basis. Today, the scientific consensus is that genetics does not explain differences in IQ test performance between groups. Growing evidence indicates that environmental factors, not genetic ones, explain the racial IQ gap.

grounds. Growing evidence indicates that environmental factors, not genetic ones, explain the racial IQ gap. A 1996 task force investigation on intelligence An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from a set of standardized tests or subtests designed to assess human intelligence. Originally, IQ was a quotient obtained by dividing a person's estimated mental age, obtained by administering an intelligence test, by the person's chronological age. The resulting fraction was multiplied by 100 to obtain the IQ score. For modern IQ tests, the While the concept of "race" is a social construct, discussions of a purported relationship between race and intelligence, as well as claims of genetic differences in intelligence along racial lines, have appeared in both popular science and academic research since the modern concept of race was first introduced. Genetics do not explain differences in IQ test performance between racial or ethnic groups. Despite the tremendous amount of research done on the topic, no scientific evidence has emerged that the average IQ scores of different population groups can be attributed to genetic differences between those groups. In recent decades, as understanding of human genetics has advanced, claims of inherent differences in intelligence between races have been broadly rejected by scientists on both theoretical and empirical grounds. Growing evidence indicates that environmental factors, not genetic ones, explain the racial IQ gap. A 1996 task force investigation on intelligence sponsored by the American Psychological Association concluded that "because ethnic differences in intelligence reflect complex patterns, no overall generalization about them is appropriate," with environmental factors the most plausible reason for the shrinking gap. A systematic analysis by William Dickens and James Flynn (2006) showed the gap between black and white Americans to have closed dramatically during the period between 1972 and 2002, suggesting that, in their words, the "constancy of the Black–White IQ gap is a myth". The effects of stereotype threat have been proposed as an explanation for differences in IQ test performance between racial groups, as have issues related to cultural difference and access to education. Despite the strong scientific consensus to…

A convergence of contextual factors, technological platforms and research frameworks in the genomics of the human brain and cognition has generated a new postgenomic model for the study of race and IQ. Centered on the case study of Bruce T. Lahn’s 2005 claims about the genomic basis of racial differences in brain size and IQ, this article maps the disciplinary terrain of this research, analyzes its central claims and examines the rigor of critical debate within the genomics community about new race and IQ research. New postgenomic race and IQ research, while displaying some continuities with p

Describes how the racist academic consensus was established at Harvard University, focusing on two professors, Samuel George Morton and Louis Agassiz, who worked to convince U.S. scholars of the inherent inferiority and subhuman status of the black race. Morton published data on the inferiority of the black race based on analysis of his collection of human skulls. (SM)