Why is there a gap in IQ scores between races?

Question

Research suggests that socioeconomic status plays the most significant role in IQ tests score. Also research says that race is important because creators of the tests are of a certain culture and race; those who are members of the same racial and cultural group are said to do better on those tests. Why is this so? If it's not race or socioeconomic status how do we explain the gap? All P.O.V.'s are requested to be shared.

Answer 1

IQ tests are flawed in how the define 'intelligence' For instance, they do not consider musical ability, yet music is the most complicated and highest brain funcion there is. It cannot capture art and creativity. Some cultures promote more left brain thinking, which means they have the edge at the standardized tests. For instance, Mexicans are much better at learning languages than Americans and tend to be better judges of people. How do you capture that on an standardized test?

Answer 2

Most IQ tests are "normed" to a particular cultural and socioeconomic group that is seen as the majority in the population the test was designed for. Therefore IQ results should always be treated with caution as they do only measure limited forms of IQ, and even then only measure with any accuracy if the test taker fits the "norms" the test was standardised to. Therefore, a person of a different racial background than the one the test was designed for may score a low IQ, but the score given by the test may not be valid.

Answer 3

Socio-economic limits are likely the limits in IQ scores.

If you think modern western so-called culture is the end-all
of knowledge,there is possibly no hope for you.
Sure, we can send a man to the moon; but we cannot mend
a broken spine;we can not even go beyond a Mass democracy which was known to be completely faulty at
its modern start(Cromwell's so called government).
And Darwinism,despite its relevance in combatting waste
(a la gasoline burning economies)can "show' that poor
races do not score well on white driven puzzles.
Maturity shows that IQ becomes irrelevant when other
factors are taken into account;perhaps someone should
set a non-IQ test, and see what the gap explains.

Answer 4

Yes, what you say above is true about the test itself being somewhat skewed or biased towards people of certain cultural groups. That's why IQ tests are imperfect and should only be used by experts, who have the knowlege to interpret the testing in light of other testing. As a psychologist, I never just perform one IQ test and then draw conclusions about the person... I try to use other instruments as well, as well as my professional expertise.

Update: The poster below (tehabwa) who commented about averages makes a good point. It's very important to remember - it's not as if every person from one racial group will do better than every person from another racial group. Research deals with averages among groups - not individual people.

Answer 5

There ISN'T a gap in IQ SCORES between races, but between averages. Big difference.

There is MUCH MORE difference between individuals in each race, than between the races.

If you look at graphs of individual scores, split by race, every race has people all over the scale. There are lots of both really, really smart, and really, really dumb, as well as a lot more people in the middle.

So, why the difference in averages?

Some races have a greater proportion of poor and of people previously prevented from becoming educated.

Malnurishment in the womb, and in the early years contributes to the difference.

Also, the best indicator (on the whole, by and large) of how well someone does in schools (and academically, in general) is level of parent's education.

Less educated parents tend to provide less intellectual stimulation to their young -- stimulation that increases IQ.

Stephen Jay Gould wrote an interesting book on abuse of IQ testing, The Mismeasure of Man, that explains a lot about how culture gets in to IQ testing, making some people seem much dumber than they really are.

But the big thing few people realize is how misleading averages can be. As I said at first, there's much more difference within each group than difference between groups.

Too many nutritionally and educationally deprived bring down the averages of some groups -- that doesn't mean that those groups aren't capable of the same levels of achievement.

Answer 6

IQ scores ask questions that people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds wouldn't have any idea about as well as questions that would be evident from only a certain cultures viewpoint.

Answer 7

Money as it is power and then it buys education and even the number one position called leader which is the President.