Summary of PSYCOLOQUY topic Intelligence g Factor

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Title & AuthorAbstract
10(023) THE G FACTOR: THE SCIENCE OF MENTAL ABILITY
Precis of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
[Praeger, 1998 xiv + 648 pp. ISBN 0-275-96103-6 ISSN 1063-2158]
Precis of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Graduate School of Education
University of California, Berkeley

nesnejanda@AOL.Com
Abstract: The g factor is the highest-order common factor that can be extracted in a hierarchical factor analysis from a large battery of diverse tests of various cognitive abilities. It is the most important psychometric construct in the study of individual differences in human cognitive abilities. Since its discovery by Spearman in 1904, the g factor has become so firmly established as a major psychological construct in terms of psychometric and factor analytic criteria that further research along these lines is very unlikely either to disconfirm the construct validity of g or to add anything essentially new to our understanding of it. In fact, g, unlike any of the primary, or first-order, factors revealed by factor analysis, cannot be described in terms of the knowledge content of cognitive test items, or in terms of skills, or even in terms of theoretical cognitive processes. It is not essentially a psychological or behavioral variable, but a biological one, a property of the brain. But although not itself a cognitive ability, g is what causes positive correlations among individual differences in performance, even on cognitive tasks that differ greatly with respect to sensory motor modality, brain modularity, and learned cognitive skills and knowledge. The g factor derived from conventional nonspeeded psychometric tests shows higher correlations than any other factors independent of g with various measures of information-processing efficiency, such as working memory capacity, choice and discrimination reaction times, and perceptual speed. A test's g loading is the best predictor of its heritability and its sensitivity to inbreeding depression. Psychometric g also has more direct biological correlates than any other independent source of test variance, for example brain size, brain evoked potentials, nerve conduction velocity, and the brain's glucose metabolic rate during cognitive activity. The ultimate arbiter among various "theories of intelligence" must be the physical properties of the brain itself. The current frontier of g research is the investigation of the anatomical and physiological features of the brain that cause g. Research has reached the point at which the only direction left in which to go is that presaged by Spearman himself, who wrote that the final understanding of g must "come from the most profound and detailed direct study of the human brain in its purely physical and chemical aspects" (1927, p.403).

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(039) THE G FACTOR AND EVENT-RELATED EEG POTENTIALS
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Rolf Verleger
Department of Neurology
Medical University
D 23538 Luebeck
http://www.neuro.mu-luebeck.de/fgverleger_e.htm

Verleger@Neuro.MU-Luebeck.De
Abstract: The empirical basis provided by Jensen for his claim that the psychometric g factor has evoked potentials as its "biological correlate" is critically considered in the light of current knowledge about event-related EEG potentials.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(044) THE "JENSEN EFFECT" AND G VECTOR ANALYSIS
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
J. Philippe Rushton
Department of Psychology
University of Western Ontario
London, Ontario
N6A 5C2 Canada
http://www.sscl.uwo.ca/psychology/faculty/rushton.html
http://www.bookworld.com/rushton

rushton@julian.uwo.ca
Abstract: Jensen's method of correlated vectors is the jewel in the crown of his 30-year research on the nature of Spearman's g. Significant correlations between g-factor loadings and other variables, "Jensen Effects," are discussed here in relation to Black/White differences.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(047) DEFENDING THE SCIENCE OF MENTAL ABILITY AND ITS CENTRAL DOGMA
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Joseph A. Buckhalt
Department of Counseling & Counseling Psychology
Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849

buckhja@auburn.edu
Abstract: Reaching back to the original theory of Spearman, Jensen presents a comprehensive synthesis of the past century's evidence and concludes that g and its nexus constitute no less than the central dogma of psychometrics, the science of mental ability. While his conclusions regarding behavioral and psychometric correlates of g are largely convincing, those regarding the presumed biological and evolutionary foundations of g are less strong. It is a formidable work that enriches our understanding of individual differences in intelligence and it is sure to stimulate more scientific research and debate.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(048) DEMYSTIFYING G
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Ken Richardson
Centre for Human Development & Learning
The Open University
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes MK7 6AA
United Kingdom

k.richardson@open.ac.uk
Abstract: Jensen's elaborate thesis on g can be shown to be based on several fallacious premises. IQ tests are merely clever numerical surrogates for social class. The numerous correlations evoked in support of g arise from this. His 'genetic' arguments are based on a highly simplistic, and outmoded, model of genes. And his model of "race" is based on evolutionary misconceptions.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(049) THE BIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF THE G FACTOR
Book review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Uner Tan
Department of Physiology
Medical Faculty, Blacksea Technical University
Trabzon, Turkey
http://www.ktu.edu.tr/jensenbook.txt

unertan@mailcity.com
Abstract: The biological correlates of g (brain size, evoked potentials, and sex hormones) analyzed by Jensen (1998, 1999) are critically considered in the light of the current literature.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(057) BIOLOGICAL DETERMINISM UNWARRANTED
Book review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
B. Raymond
Institute of Virology and Environmental Microbiology
University of Oxford
Mansfield Road
Oxford OX1 3SR
United Kingdom
http://www.nerc-oxford.ac.uk

bdhr@wpo.nerc.ac.uk
Abstract: Jensen (1998) does not present any evidence for the external validity of g other than through biological correlations with IQ. Hence it is impossible to assess the validity of g in comparison with competing theories from this book. The author's interpretation of heritability estimates of IQ and of racial differences in IQ adoption studies ignores any potential maternal effects on IQ. His insistence that the primary cause of variation in IQ within and between races is genetic does not seem warranted by the evidence presented.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(058) A HISTORIAN'S LOOK AT THE G FACTOR
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Raymond E. Fancher
Department of Psychology
York University
Toronto, Ontario
M3J 1P3 Canada

fancher@yorku.ca
Abstract: The historical sections of Jensen's (1998, 1999) "The g Factor" do not mention the strong connections between the origins of intelligence testing and eugenics. They also fail to acknowledge some of Jensen's major critics, and certain changes in his own views as expressed over the past 30 years. This failure to deal with his critics and with the troubling history of aspects of intelligence testing may make it difficult for Jensen to convince an audience not already converted to his views.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(059) A BALANCE SHEET ON PERSISTENCE
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Charles Locurto
Department of Psychology
College of the Holy Cross
Worcester, MA 01610, USA
http://sterling.holycross.edu/departments/psychology/clocurto/home.htm

clocurto@holycross.edu
Abstract: "The g Factor" is Jensen's (1998, 1999) most comprehensive statement about the origins of differences in human intelligence. The book's impact may unfortunately be diminished because of his detailed attention to race differences. It is g's fundamental importance in predicting a wide variety of real-world outcomes and its covariation with a number of biological and cognitive indices that should be the focus of debate about general intelligence.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(060) THE g FACTOR AND THE ROLE OF BIOLOGY IN COMPLEX BEHAVIOR
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Ty Partridge
Health Research and Policy Centers
University of Illinois at Chicago
850 W. Jackson, Suite 400
Chicago, IL 60607

Tpartrid@uic.edu
Abstract: The central argument of Jensen's (1998) book is that the g-factor is a biological phenomenon. Thus, individual and population differences are a function of evolutionary processes. Several key assumptions underlying this assertion are critically considered here.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(062) RACIALISM, RACISM, AND THE BIGOT BRIGADE
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
C. Loring Brace
Museum of Anthropology
University of Michigan
1109 Geddes Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
http://www.umma.lsa.umich.edu

clbrace@umich.edu
Abstract: Jensen (1998) differs from Jensen (1969) only in statistical elaboration. Although 'intelligence' is described as a 'construct' and therefore something that should be discarded as a word, it lives on as 'g' which in fact is a construct of factor analysis. 'Races' may themselves be social constructs, but since people believe in them, they live on as entities to be invested with varying amounts of 'g'. However, not only do races have no biological coherence, but an assessment of the millions of years of hominid prehistory leads to the espectable null hypothesis that there should be no difference in mental capability between any of the human groups in the world. Assumptions to the contrary qualify as racialism and actions based on those assumptions qualify as racism.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(064) INTELLIGENCE AND RACE: THE HOUSE OF CARDS
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Paul J. M. Jorion
Director, Du Sujet: Théorie et Praxis,
Maison des Sciences de l'Homme,
54 boulevard Raspail
75270 Paris Cedex 06, France
http://aris.ss.uci.edu/~jorion

paul_jorion@.msn.com
Abstract: In "The g Factor," Jensen (1998, 1999) fails to establish his claim of the existence of an 18 point lag between the average IQ score for American blacks compared to American whites. The populations upon which he tested his hypothesis are constructed in a faulty manner, leading to an invalid treatment of data. The gap he discovers may therefore be a statistical artifact. He emphasises that no cultural bias is present in IQ testing, but the criterion through which his test groups are defined is supported only by cultural usage and falls within his own classification under the category "Wrong Conceptions of Race".

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(067) THE G FACTOR: IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Joseph C. Kush
Department of Counselling, Psychology and Special Education
412B Canevin Hall
Duquesne University
Pittsburgh, PA 15282-5585

kush@duq.edu
Abstract: Arthur Jensen's (1998, 1999) new book, "The G-Factor: The Science of Mental Ability," examines the historical evolution of the g factor as well as many of the modern-day implications of this development for psychologists. The implications of his findings for school psychologists are discussed, as are suggestions for future research.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(068) STATISTICAL MECHANICS OF NEOCORTICAL INTERACTIONS:
REACTION TIME CORRELATES OF THE g FACTOR
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Lester Ingber
PO Box 06440
Wacker Dr PO Sears Tower
Chicago, IL 60606
and
DRW Investments LLC
311 S Wacker Dr Ste 900
Chicago, IL 60606
http://www.ingber.com/

ingber@ingber.com, ingber@alumni.caltech.edu
Abstract: A statistical mechanics of neuronal interactions (SMNI) is explored as providing some substance to a physiological basis for the g factor. Some specific elements of SMNI, previously used to develop a theory of short-term memory (STM) and a model of electroencephalography (EEG), are key to providing this basis. Specifically, Hick's Law, an observed linear relationship between reaction time (RT) and the information storage of STM, in turn correlated to a RT-g relationship, is derived.

Keywords: short term memory; nonlinear systems; statistical models

10(072) THE MODIFIABILITY OF INTELLIGENCE
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Earl Hunt
Department of Psychology
Box 251525
The University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-1525; USA

ehunt@u.washington.edu
Abstract: Jensen asserts that general intelligence (g) exists; that it is largely biological and immutable; that racial differences in intelligence test scores reflect differences in underlying cognitive ability, are genetic in origin, and are probably immutable. I argue that one must distinguish between factors underlying g. A substantial part of the variation in intelligence is biological, but modifiable. Racial differences in cognitive skills do exist but they can be modified to some extent by social means. The extent to which racial differences are biological is unknown at present, and speculation without evidence is unwise.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(073) BIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF IQ SCORES DO NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THAT G EXISTS
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Nicholas R Burns
Institute of Advanced Studies
Australian National University
Canberra ACT
0200 Australia
http://cvs.anu.edu.au/nick/home.htm

Burns@rsbs.anu.edu.au
Abstract: Jensen (1998) argues that biological correlates of IQ scores establish the substantiveness of general intelligence (g). This review critically examines three pieces of evidence Jensen adduces to support this claim: event-related potentials, brain nerve conduction velocity, and inspection time. It is argued that Jensen's conclusions are premature and therefore unwarranted.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(074) IS SPEARMAN'S G DETERMINED BY SPEED OR WORKING MEMORY CAPACITY?
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Andrew R. A. Conway
Department of Psychology (M/C 285)
University of Illinois at Chicago
1007 West Harrison Street
Chicago, IL 60607
www.uic.edu/depts/psch/conway-1.html

Michael J. Kane
Georgia State University
www.gsu.edu/~wwwpsy/faculty/kane.htm

Randall W. Engle
Georgia Institute of Technology
www.psychology.gatech.edu/

aconway@uic.edu mkane@gsu.edu re23@prism.gatech.edu
Abstract: According to Jensen, processing speed accounts for the relationship between working memory capacity (WMC) and general fluid abilities (gF). We argue that WMC, not speed, is the causal factor in the speed-WMC-gF relationship. Furthermore, we suggest that WMC, which reflects controlled attention capability, is the basis of gF.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(075) EXPLORING COMPONENT CORRELATIONS RATHER THAN G
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
N. J. Mackintosh
Department of Experimental Psychology
University of Cambridge, Downing Street
Cambridge CB2 3EB
United Kingdom
phone: 44-1223-333551

njm7@cus.cam.ac.uk]
Abstract: One of Jensen's central arguments is that g is a biological phenomenon, to be elucidated by the study of the brain and of performance on "elementary cognitive tasks," rather than by an experimental cognitive analysis of IQ test items. This argument is found unconvincing.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(079) BORN BEFORE GENES: THE g LEGACY
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Gordon M. Harrington
Department of Psychology
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA 50614

gordon.harrington@uni.edu
Abstract: Jensen (1998, 1999) offers a comprehensive presentation of the argument that the g-factor, as defined by hierarchical common factor models, constitutes the core and major component of human intellective function. Its validity includes matters of evolution and inheritance of g with attendant consequences for both individual and group differences such as racial differences. The future is envisioned as elucidating the details of the genetic and brain elements of g. The uninformed reader would have no hint that there is also a century of work which can be cited against the argument. The g model is not consistent with mainstream twentieth century work in evolution and in genetics. Some of the main points of conflict are examined.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(082) CORRELATED VECTORS, g, AND THE "JENSEN EFFECT"
Reply to Rushton on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: The "method of correlated vectors," which Rushton (1999) has dubbed the "Jensen Effect," was devised as one method for discovering non-psychometric correlates of psychometric g. It plays an important role in my book and could probably be applied even more extensively to data analyses already reported in the psychological literature.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(083) THE GALTON-SPEARMAN PARADIGM AS A PROGRESSIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM
Reply to Buckhalt on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: All roads in the scientific study of human abilities lead back to Galton and Spearman. Buckhalt (1999) has clearly identified the main elements of the research programme that they originated, referring to these as the 'central dogma' of psychometrics. This long-running research programme has generated more established facts about human abilities and by far more practically useful applications of its methods than any other efforts in the study of human variation in mental traits. It has emerged theoretically, methodologically, and empirically as the most coherent, clearly articulated, and progressive research program in the development of a true science of mental abilities.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(084) EVOKED BRAIN POTENTIALS AND G
Reply to Verleger on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: IQ does indeed have a number of physical correlates, established in a great many studies of ERP (event-related brain potentials) and other brain measurements derived from PET scans and MRI. But IQ test scores embrace the variance of a number of independent ability factors. The hypothesis I tried to address with the method of correlated vectors was whether the g factor per se was related to individual differences in the ERP. In the two studies in the ERP literature that permitted application of the correlated vectors method (because they reported the correlations of the ERP with each of the various subtests on which the Full Scale IQ was based), I found that the ERPs were remarkably related to the g factor per se, and in one study the IQ/ERP correlation vanished entirely when g was statistically partialled out of the various IQ subtests.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

10(085) EVOKED POTENTIALS, TESTOSTERONE, AND G
Reply to Tan on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Tan (1999) questions some of the evidence presented in "The g Factor" (Jensen, 1998) showing biological correlates of g, the highest-order common factor in a battery of diverse mental tests. Tan's most interesting comments concern sex differences that affect mental abilities, possibly including the correlations of g with various physiological indices, through hormonal differences between the sexes, particularly testosterone.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(002) SELF-AWARENESS AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MARKING OF G
Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Andreas Demetriou
Department of Educational Sciences
University of Cyprus
P.O. Box 53
1678 Nicosia, CYPRUS

ademet@ucy.ac.cy
Abstract: Jensen's model of intelligence is contrasted with a cognitive-developmental model in which accurate self-representation of cognitive processes is a basic characteristic of human thinking and intelligence. This is ignored in Jensen's model. However, there is evidence that content-free processes pertinent to g, such as speed of processing, are directly recorded in one's self-image. This, in turn, influences one's thinking style, the disposition to be open to experience, and thus intellectual functioning itself. Hence g is a psychological construct, despite its strong dependence on biological processes.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(004) RACE DIFFERENCES, G, AND THE "DEFAULT HYPOTHESIS"
Reply to Locurto on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Locurto (1999) is in essential agreement with my position on the psychometric aspects of g, its diverse nonpsychometric correlates, and its practical predictive validity in education, employment and other real-world outcomes, but he questions my "default hypothesis" concerning the causal basis of racial differences in g. It is encouraging that he is willing to discuss this subject at all, as the discussion of racial differences in any behavioral traits has become generally taboo in academe.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(009) NAME-CALLING IS A DISAPPOINTING SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL CRITICISM
Reply to Brace on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Brace's ad hominem criticism and nihilistic stance regarding key concepts in my book (Jensen 1998, 1999), particularly the g factor and race, as I have carefully defined these terms, can serve only one useful purpose: It gives present-day readers a view of one of the remote outposts of the 1970's style of attack by the ideologically committed opponents of my position 30 years ago.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(011) COGNITIVE COMPONENTS AS CHRONOMETRIC PROBES TO BRAIN PROCESSES
Reply to Mackintosh on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Mackintosh advocates experimental and componential analysis of the cognitive components involved in IQ tests items, rather rthan correlations between psychometric g and brain processes, as the more promising strategy for discovering the causes of individual differences in the abilities we refer to as intelligence. It can be argued that this componential approach is a blind alley because, at the behavioural level, the components themselves are correlated and yield a g factor much like that derived from a battery of psychometric tests. The fact that g has many nonpsychometric correlates, including various brain measurements -- which are not behavioural and are not abilities in any usual sense of the word -- suggests that a focus on the brain correlates of g will get us to a physical explanation of g more efficiently than research that is confined solely to behavioural variables and psychological constructs.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(012) THE LOCUS OF THE MODIFIABILITY OF g IS MOSTLY BIOLOGICAL
Reply to Hunt on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Hunt is hopeful that the level of g can be importantly raised by psychological-educational means for a large proportion of the population. It seems to me that our present, yet inadequate, evidence on the nature of g suggests that because of its strong biological causes and the high degree of randomness in its microenvironmental influences that account for most of the nongenetic variance, g is less apt to be modifiable by psychological and educational manipulations than by biological means. Much can be done, however, to improve the inculcation of specific useful knowledge and skills that could make schooling, employment, and quality of life more productive and rewarding for many people who are not presently well-served by our traditional system of public education because of failure to take proper account of the wide range of individual differences in the school population.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(013) AN UNASSAILABLE DEFENSE OF G BUT A SIREN-SONG FOR THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE
Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Mike Anderson
The University of Western Australia
Nedlands
WA 6019
www.uwa.edu.au/user/mike/mike.html

mike@psy.uwa.edu.au
Abstract: Jensen presents a compelling case for the reality of g. This represents a major scientific achievement. However, I consider that there are two serious mistakes in his choice of scientific strategy. The first is to adopt an operational stance -- that is, to drop all reference to the word 'intelligence' and define our object of scientific interest as the g-factor. This is a mistake because the operational stance does not work in science and in this particular case it strips the g factor of all of its psychological significance. The second mistake is in his pursuit of the g-nexus, where biological and psychological variables are related to social outcomes via g. Without a serious theory of mental structure, this attempt rings hollow. Indeed such a strategy impedes the more crucial scientific step of developing a theory of intelligence which, in the final analysis, is a theory of mental structure.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(014) IQ TESTS, PSYCHOMETRIC AND CHRONOMETRIC g, AND ACHIEVEMENT
Reply to Kush on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Kush brings up a number of legitimate and useful issues of concern to school psychologists and other fields of applied psychometrics, about the relationship of the theory of intelligence to the practical uses of "intelligence" tests.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(017) MIXING UP EUGENICS AND GALTON'S LEGACY TO RESEARCH ON INTELLIGENCE
Reply to Fancher on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: The fact that Sir Francis Galton coined the word 'eugenics' and promoted the concept during the latter part of his long life is hardly a disgrace, but it is apparently thought by some to sully his contributions as the founding father of differential psychology as an empirical science and to cast subsequent developments of Galton's original ideas in this sphere in a sinister light.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(018) BEHAVIORAL AND BIOLOGICAL PHENOMENA EQUALLY "REAL" AND RELATED
Reply to Partridge on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Partridge's criticisms labor under his misconception that I consider biological phenomena to be more "real" than behavioral or psychological phenomena, and he appears to be unaware of the recent research on the physical correlates of IQ and g.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(019) PROCESSING SPEED, INSPECTION TIME, AND NERVE CONDUCTION VELOCITY
Reply to Burns on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Burns discusses several physiological measures in relation to psychometric g, but questions the importance of the observed correlations between these measures and the g factor. I argue that these correlations are worthy of attention, replication, and further investigation to discover their meaning. The positive findings are too significant to ignore. We are not in an entirely know-nothing position, but have some promising leads of where to look further for the physical basis of g.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(021) "BIOLOGICAL DETERMINISM" AS AN IDEOLOGICAL BUZZ-WORD
Reply to Raymond on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: The term "biological determinism" has become a buzzword in the IQ controversy for those who adhere to what Sandra Scarr once called "naive environmentalism" -- the notion that genetic factors play no part in individual or group differences in behavioural traits, which are assumed to result entirely from environmental inequalities imposed by the capitalist economic system and its attendant social injustices. Criticisms of "The g Factor" (Jensen, 1998; 1999) based on this implicit ideology accordingly miss the mark; most of the substantive points in Raymond's (1999) critique are either incorrect or irrelevant to my book's argument.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(022) A FUZZY BOUNDARY OF RACIAL CLASSIFICATION ATTENUATES IQ DIFFERENCE
Reply to Jorion on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Because about 25 percent, on average, of the gene pool of the American Black population is derived from European ancestry, the definitional boundary between the White and Black populations in the United States is said to be "fuzzy" in terms of the proportions of African and European admixture of any given person who is self-identified and socially perceived as Black. This fact does not in the least invalidate the mean differences in mental test scores observed between groups that are thus conventionally referred to as "Blacks" and "Whites." There is no merit to Jorion's (1999) claim that these facts somehow invalidate or render artifactual the reported average phenotypic White-Black differences on IQ and other mental tests.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(023) A "SIMPLEST CASES" APPROACH TO EXPLORING THE NEURAL BASIS OF G
Reply to Ingber on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Ingber (1999) proposes EEG models and methods for exploring the brain physiology responsible for g. It could well be the case that the more ideal measurements of g that are based on a large battery of diverse mental tests is too broad, global, or spread through too wide an area of the brain to allow analytical study by neurological techniques. A successful use of the kinds of neuroscience techniques suggested by Ingber, and probably other techniques such as fMRI and PET, may depend upon a simplification of the behavioral side of the equation by using highly reliable measurements of individual differences in a number of test paradigms, each of which isolates a single pair of simple ability variables whose correlation is part of the g nexus.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(038) THE UBIQUITY OF MENTAL SPEED AND THE CENTRALITY OF WORKING MEMORY
Reply to Conway et al. on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Speed of information-processing, or "mental speed" (MS) and working memory (WM) capacity are now the two most important and fundamental constructs in theorizing about the causal nature of psychometric g. It is doubtful that either construct alone explains all the phenomena associated with g, and even both in combination are proabably inadequate. The true substrate of g may be a common cause of individual differences in both MS and WM capacity.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(039) PSYCHOMETRIC SCEPTICISM
Reply to Harrington on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Harrington (1999) denies the reality of psychometric g (as an artifact) and the heritability of individual differences in the level of g. This is an extreme minority stance entirely at odds with current views and findings in this field. The position may still be tenable in principle, but the arguments adduced in its support here either misrepresent what is actually said in "The g Factor" (Jensen, 1998; 1999) or have long since been refuted, both in the book under review and in the recent literature on human intelligence and behavioral genetics.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(040) IS THERE A SELF-AWARENESS OF ONE'S OWN G LEVEL?
Reply to Demetriou on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Demetriou's interesting discussion of g from his cognitive-developmental perspective distinguishes three facets of the g factor: biological, psychological, and subjective awareness of one's g. Jensen explains the essential difference between Demetriou's (2000) view and his own view (Jensen, 1998; 1999), which recognizes only two of Demetriou's facets.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(041) "THE G FACTOR" IS ABOUT VARIANCE IN HUMAN ABILITIES,
NOT A COGNITIVE THEORY OF MENTAL STRUCTURE
Reply to Anderson on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Whatever siren-songs Anderson (2000) may have read into 'The g Factor (Jensen, 1998; 1999) have resulted from what may be an unfortunate illusion, for which I must take the blame for not having sufficientlr repeated and emphasized that my book was about the nature of psychometric g per se, which deals entirely with variance in human abilities. It was not my intention to present a comprehensive theory of what Anderson refers to as 'mental structure.'

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(042) NOTHING 'MYSTIFYING' ABOUT PSYCHOMETRIC G
Reply to Richardson on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: The g factor per se, one of the most important constructs in psychology, has never been mystifying to anyone except those who either don't understand it or wish to influence others to reject it because of its centrality in a broad nexus of educational and social correlates. A careful reading of "The g Factor" (Jensen, 1998a; 1999) should utterly dispel the idea that there is anything in the least 'mystical' or mysterious about g. The fact that the brain variables involved in the cause of g are as yet poorly understood doesn't make it mystical, nor does it nullify what is already known about g at the psychometric, behavioral, and behavior-geneti c levels, including its correlations with many socially significant phenomena. The main thesis underpinning nearly all the points of Richardson's (1999) argument that "IQ tests are merely clever numerical surrogates for social class" is demonstrably false.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(043) REFLECTIONS ON G AND THE BRAIN
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Daniel N. Bub
Department of Psychology
University of Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Canada V8S 3P5

dbub@uvvm.uvic.ca
Abstract: The argument for G urgently requires a plausible link to underlying neurophysiological principles if it is not to remain forever a statistical concept. Jensen argues that the correlation between simple reaction time (SRT) and G may imply a relationship between intelligence and a general property of the brain such as neural transmission time. He bases this argument on the assumption that performing SRT is so elementary and automatic that the task is unlikely to include higher level cognitive mechanisms. I criticize this idea in the light of a fundamental distinction between preparation and action, and conclude that we cannot plausibly think of even SRT as a task that does not call on basic components of intellectual function. G therefore remains a construct that is unsupported by more elementary principles governing brain function.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(044) IN LIGHT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, THE SCIENCE
OF MENTAL ABILITY IS EITHER SILLY OR POINTLESS
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Selmer Bringsjord
The Minds & Machines Laboratory
Dept. Philosophy, Psychology & Cognitive Science
Department of Computer Science
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
Troy NY 12180 USA
http://www.rpi.edu/~brings

selmer@rpi.edu
Abstract: Mental ability tests measure differences in tasks that will soon be performed for all of us by computational agents. Such abilities probably have nothing to do with genius.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(045) EVOLUTION, INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND SOCIAL COMMITMENTS
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Kristof Kovacs
Department of Psychology
Eotvos Lorand University
Budapest, Hungary

Csaba Pleh
Cognitive Science Group
Department of Psychology
University of Szeged
Szeged, Hungary
www.jate.u-szeged.hu/~pleh

kkristof@elender.hu pleh@edpsy.u-szeged.hu
Abstract: The Darwinian tradition has entered psychology in two different ways. The first is a conservative, deterministic approach, based upon the theory of natural selection and the idea of the survival of the fittest. The second emphasizes development and flexibility, treating variability itself as an evolutionary asset. We argue here that Jensen's is closer to the first, conservative and somewhat rigid approach. This is apparent in a general view of our species that is focused on the correlations of g. Although the one-factor theory of intelligence is obviously a cumulative scientific program, reducing data and treating mental ability in a unitary way, as an applied theory it leads to a conservative, impatient and one-sided view of society.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(046) INTELLIGENCE, PSYCHOMETRICS, IQ, G, AND MENTAL ABILITIES:
QUANTITATIVE METHODOLOGY DRESSED AS SCIENCE
Book Review of Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Paul Barrett
The State Hospital and University of Liverpool
Carstairs
Lanark Scotland
ML11 8RP
United Kingdom
www.liv.ac.uk/~pbarrett/paulhome.htm

p.barrett@liv.ac.uk
Abstract: Jensen's book is a masterpiece of scholarship and careful reasoning. It is the definitive presentation of the outcome of thinking and empirical work carried out in a substantive psychological domain of interest, work that extends back to the beginning of the 20th century. The sheer breadth of knowledge, didactic material, and empirical facts contained within this book make it virtually unique. Yet, I find it disquieting. Not because of its socio-political or socio-genetic aspects, but because it appears to exemplify a truly fundamental mistake made by many psychologists, who assume that they are doing science when in fact they are merely observing and classifying phenomena with ever more complex quantitative statistical methodologies. Whilst I stand back in awe of Jensen's profound scholarship in this book, I feel he has inadvertently written the epitaph of g as a meaningful scientific construct.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(085) THE HERITABILITY OF G PROVES BOTH ITS BIOLOGICAL RELEVANCE
AND ITS TRANSCENDENCE OVER SPECIFIC COGNITIVE ABILITIES
Reply to Bub on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA
94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Bub (2000) takes a wrong turn in his negative critique of my approach to exploring the nature and causal basis of psychometric g (Jensen, 1998, 2000). The fact that g is highly heritable proves that it has a physical basis that reflects more than learned knowledge and skills. Individual differences in heritable behavioral traits necessarily have some physical basis. Because heritable individual differences depend on some properties of the brain, the fundamental research problem with respect to g is to discover the inherited physical properties of the brain that can explain the g phenomenon. Progress toward this goal calls for the procedures of normal science: formulating models or hypotheses and testing them empirically. The first steps already taken in this process have led to the discovery of a number of behavioral correlates of g, such as reaction time (RT) and inspection time (IT) -- for which individual variation is related only slightly, if at all, to prior learning -- as well as certain anatomical and physiological brain measurements. Though we are at the beginning of this exploration, a number of promising correlates are already in evidence which suggest hypotheses worthy of further investigation. These are all indicated in THE G FACTOR (Jensen, 1998) and in many other publications cited therein. They surely amount to considerably more than Bub's characterization as mere "surmise".

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(086) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND G THEORY CONCERN DIFFERENT PHENOMENA
Reply to Bringsjord on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Although I took pains in my book and its Precis (Jensen, 1998, 1999) to distinguish between the meaning of the term 'intelligence' and the meaning of the g factor, Bringsjord's (2000) critique has unfortunately viewed 'intelligence' only in the conceptual form adopted by those who work in the field of artificial intelligence, which is something very different from what my book is about. Bringsjord also confuses 'genius' with 'intelligence', although I clearly distinguished between these concepts. Bringsjord's critique accordingly seems to lose all relevance.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(087) A POTPOURRI OF G-RELATED TOPICS
Reply to Kovacs & Pleh on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Kovacs & Pleh (2000) offer brief comments on such a widely varied selection of issues related to "The g Factor" (Jensen, 1998, 2000) that I can only attempt to reply to those of them that seem to based on some misunderstanding of my views. Many of Kovacs & Pleh's points are not at all incompatible with anything in my book and often express sensible and widely accepted views in applied psychometrics (but I will pass silently over the few remarks that seem idealogically inspired, such as that g theory is "conservative" and "deterministic.")

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics

11(088) A NIHILISTIC PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE FOR A SCIENTIFIC PSYCHOLOGY?
Reply to Barrett on Jensen on Intelligence-g-Factor
Arthur R. Jensen
Educational Psychology
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-1670

nesnejanda@aol.com
Abstract: Barrett's (2000) nihilistic notion of the philosophy of science is, I believe, very mistaken in its assumptions and limiting constraints, which would be largely rejected by most philosophers of science past or present. The conditions imposed by Barrett would greatly hinder or even prevent progress in understanding phenomena at the frontier of any relatively undeveloped science, not only for psychology, but in any other area of natural phenomena. The fallacy is in his assumption that we cannot measure anything until we already know everything about what we are attempting to measure. The history of every field of science amply contradicts this Draconian restriction.

Keywords: behavior genetics, cognitive modelling, evoked potentials, evolutionary psychology, factor analysis, g factor, heritability, individual differences, intelligence, IQ, neurometrics, psychometrics, psychophyiology, skills, Spearman, statistics