1997/10/01 by Francis T. Cullen, Paul Gendreau, G. Roger Jarjoura +1 · 2 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Cognitive Abilities and Testing #Crime Patterns and Interventions
paper · doi:10.1177/0011128797043004001
openalex publication_date 1997/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
In their best-selling book, The Bell Curve, Herrnstein and Murray argue that IQ is a powerful predictor of a range of social ills including crime. They use this “scientific reality” to oppose social welfare policies and, in particular, to justify the punishment of offenders. By reanalyzing the data used in The Bell Curve and by reviewing existing meta-analyses assessing the relative importance of criminogenic risk factors, the present authors show empirically that Herrnstein and Murray's claims regarding IQ and crime are misleading. The authors conclude that Herrnstein and Murray's crime control agenda is based on ideology, not on intelligent criminology.