2003/05/28 by Clayton P. Alderfer · 2 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Cognitive Abilities and Testing #Early Childhood Education and Development #Educational and Psychological Assessments #Mathematics education #Psychology
paper · doi:10.1037/0735-7028.34.3.287
openalex publication_date 2003/05/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
To serve racially diverse clients effectively, professional psychologists should understand the range of scientific and social forces shaping their own and their clients' lives. A manifestation of such forces, the 1994 publication of R. J. Herrnstein and C. Murray's The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life was an attempt to influence both psychological knowledge and U.S. politics. This article analyzes the book and 5 psychologist authors' responses to it. The responses fell far short of providing a critical analysis of the book's racially biased argument and did little to reduce the misleading picture of race and IQ that the book promulgated. Scrutinizing the whole book-especially connections among scientific knowledge, proposed policy, and professional practice with attention to the code logic used-will enable practitioners to recognize and change subtle aspects of racial dynamics that occur in their work.