The Science & Politics of IQ - Leon Kamin

This book attacks the notion that I.Q. is largely inherited. It contends that the 'I.Q. test has served as an instrument of oppression against the poor-dressed in the trappings of science, rather than politics'.

In the early years of this century I.Q. test scores were used in the US to foster the passage of eugenic sterilization laws and overtly discriminatory immigration policies. In the present time it has profoundly influenced social and economic policies, contributing to the myth that 'those on the bottom are genetically inferior victims of their own immutable defects'.

To demonstrate the falsity of such ideas Professor Kamin analyses the classical I.Q. data, studies on separated twins, kinship correlations and adoptions, and pre-natal stress.

He also shows how the errors and inconsistencies of early I.Q. workers have been built upon by subsequent researchers thus enshrining myth as fact. The Science and Politics of I.Q. not only maps out a deeply interesting area, but will also serve as a basic text for all social science students.