The article “Exploring heredity race, eugenics, and the history of intelligence testing” provides the meaning and assessment of intelligence which helps disclose the prejudices and values related to psychological science. The focus on gauging and defining intelligence has made it easy for psychologists to group all mental abilities and expand the field of psychology.
The intelligence tests during the 1900s acted as a major groundbreaking invention that helped pinpoint individuals with developmental challenges, develop American immigration policies, and strengthen eugenics. I believe that the intelligence test developed by Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon aided in measuring the diverse abilities of kids, such as reasoning, comprehension, skills, and imagination, to make conclusions about their intellectual capabilities.
However, the improvements made on the Binet and Simon’s intelligence test by Henry H. Goddard through the addition of the intelligence quotient helped in correctly identifying and supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities. This aided in improving the quality of recruits and restricting immigrants who did match the desired intelligence levels through the intelligence test.
From the article, I hold that the early pioneers of the eugenics movement revealed that intelligence was hereditary and unrelated to the environment forcing the inferiors to be sterilized. This made eugenics supporters be linked with racist ideologies due to biases on black recruits following poor test scores.
To overcome the controversies associated with intelligence tests and race, Robert Williams introduced the Black Intelligence Test of Cultural Homogeneity, which aided blacks to excel in their tests while whites had poor scores.
More advanced and updated intelligence models have been developed to overcome the adverse implications while creating a true reflection of intelligence, increasing their applications in modern workplaces and institutions. However, what needs to be added to the work is to determine how intelligence tests can overcome racism by demonstrating the real abilities of each individual.
Source: Exploring heredity race, eugenics, and the history of intelligence testing