Having been published nearly three decades ago it has been largely rendered irrelevant by work by renzuli, sternberg, gardner and carrol. In factor analyses of any and every large and diverse collection of measures of mental abilities, however varied the content of. The g factor 1998, an exposition of the reality of spearmans 1927 seminal concept ofg, the general factor of intelligence. The definitive word on intelligence american renaissance. Philippe rushton university of western ontario, canada few scientists have effects or laws named after them. An extensive exposition of g and its structure, heritability, biology, and correlates has been presented by jensen 1998 in his book the g factor. The jensen effectand the spearmanjensen hypothesis of black. Jensen provides a comprehensive treatment of one of the major construct. General intelligence, also known as g factor, refers to the existence of a broad mental capacity that influences performance on cognitive ability measures. General intelligence and its implications is a book by christopher brand, a psychologist and lecturer at the university of edinburgh. Jensen, jensenism, and the sociology of intelligence. In factor analyses of any and every large and diverse collection of measures of mental abilities, however varied the content of knowledge and skills they call upon, g emerges as the largest, most general source of differences between individuals and between certain subpopulations.
The jacket cover of this book describes jcnsen is having had a brilliant 40year career that has earned him a place among the most frequently cited figures in. Jensen the g factor the science of mental ability arthur r. The g factor is a comprehensive analysis conducted by jensen look at the general intelligence across a wide range of factors and their implications. Arthur jensens new book proves that jews are far more. Jensen, 9780275961039, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. The book is about the topic of the general factor of human mental. Spearman noted that while people certainly could and often. The science of mental ability, remains the most thorough treatment of general intelligence. Arthur robert jensen arthur jensen has systematically developed a seminal concept first discovered by charles spearman in the 1920s. Potential buyers should note that the g factor is not a pop science book, so if you are looking for an easily read introduction on the topic, this book is probably not for you.
He conceptualizes g as a construct or factor that he defines as a hypothet. The g factor use lower case is a latent trait that can be thought of as the common variance between all intelligence factors. According to spearman, this g factor was responsible for overall performance on mental ability tests. Jensen provides a comprehensive treatment of one of the major constructs of behavioral sciencegeneral mental abilitylabeled the g factor by its discoverer, charles spearman. Kendra cherry, ms, is an author, educational consultant, and speaker focused on helping students learn about psychology. Fullscale iq scores from a test battery will usually be highly correlated with g factor scores, and they are often regarded as estimates of g. Arthur jensen is among the preeminent psychometricians of the last halfcenturyit is a book that every scholar working in the area will have to read. Publication date 1998 topics general factor psychology, intellect, nature and nurture publisher westport, conn. The g factor consolidates the psychometric, neurophysiological, behavior genetic, and comparative. General intelligence factor psychology wiki fandom. A great book on iq and more spesifically the g factor itself. The jensen effect and the spearmanjensen hypothesis.
General intelligence, also known as g factor, refers to the existence of a. Level i abilities account for memory functions and simple associative learning, and level ii abilities comprise abstract reasoning and conceptual thought. In factor analyses of any and every large and diverse collection of measures of mental abilities, however varied the content of knowledge and skills. The jensen effect and the spearmanjensen hypothesis of. The g factor arthur r jensen bok 9780275961039 bokus. It is a variable that summarizes positive correlations among different cognitive tasks, reflecting the fact that an individuals performance on one type of cognitive task tends to be. Berkeley is one of the greatest social scientists of our time. The book deals with the intellectual history of the discovery of g and various models of how to conceptualize intelligence, and with the biological correlates of g, its heritability, and its practical. Westport, ct, praeger westport, ct, praeger kosslyn s, plomin r. The science of mental ability, arthur r jensen, politics and the life sciences, sept 1998 flynn effect links to loads of research examining the effect, or this. Jensen provides a comprehensive treatment of one of the major constructs of behavioral science. The book deals with the intellectual history of the discovery of g and various models of how to conceptualize intelligence, and with the biological correlates of g, its heritability. Spearman thought of g as mental energy that could be applied to mental tasks jensen, 1998.
The science of mental ability 1998 is considered by supporters to be jensens magnum opus on the general intelligence factor g. The book is about the topic of the general factor of human mental ability, or g. The science of mental ability 1998 is a book on the general intelligence factor g. This book builds on jensens work, and expands into some areas not covered by jensen. The g factor also known as general intelligence, general mental ability or general intelligence factor is a construct developed in psychometric investigations of cognitive abilities and human intelligence. The science of mental ability, examines the historical evolution of the g factor as well as many of the modernday implications of this development for psychologists. The jacket cover of this book describes jcnsen is having had a brilliant 40year career that has earned him a place among the most frequently cited figures in contempontry psychol ogy. The science of mental ability by arthur jensen online at alibris. Arthur jensen is among the preeminent psychometricians of the last halfcenturyit is a book. This book about the g factor has its origin in the aftermath of an almost booklength article my 77th publication that i wrote almost thirty years ago, titled how much can we boost iq and scholastic achievement.
By coincidence, on tile day that i started to write this piece, i received a copy of arthur jensens most recent book. The jensen effectand the spearmanjensen hypothesis of. Arthur jensens research on the biological basis of mental ability has culminated in his encyclopedic new work the g factor 1998 which massively confirms spearmans 1927 hypothesis that blackwhite iq differences vary systematically as a function of each tests g loading. Philippe rushton university of western ontario, few scientists have effects or laws named after them. Isbn 0275961036 issn 10632158 precis of jensen on intelligencegfactor arthur r. In his book the g factor 1998, arthur jensen cited data which showed that iq was generally negatively associated with crime among people of all races, peaking between 80 and 90. This book about the g factor has its origin in the aftermath of an almost book. Amy morin, lcsw, is a psychotherapist, author of the bestselling book things mentally strong people dont do, and a highly soughtafter speaker. An individual test takers g factor score, representing his or her relative standing on the g factor in the total group of individuals, can be estimated using the g loadings.
According to jensen 1998, the g factor is the highestorder common factor that can be extracted in a hierarchical factor analysis from a large battery of diverse tests of an assortment of cognitive abilities. The science of mental ability arthur robert jensen. Plus, free twoday shipping for six months when you sign up for amazon prime for students. The primacy of the g factor in scholastic performance is delineated, and educational implications of individual. The book deals with the intellectual history of g and various models of how to conceptualize intelligence, and with the biological correlates of g, its heritability, and its practical predictive power. He virtually singlehandedly resurrected the scientific study of intelligence, and he has been at the center of many breakthroughs in this field. The g factor i found to be a thoughtful and thorough book, and i quite enjoyed jensens relaxed but serious voice. The validity of g is most conspicuous in scholastic performance, not because gloaded tests measure specifically what is taught in school, but because g is intrinsic to learning novel material, grasping concepts, distinctions. However, the construct of interest usually is defined by psychometric methods as a general factor common to all mental abilities called the gfactor jensen, 1998. Jensens tome does not draw back from jensenist conclusionsthat the average difference in iq found between blacks and white has a. All in all, i thank grey enlightenment for his response to my article, though it leaves a lot to be desired and if he responds to this article then i hope that its much more nuanced. He looked at gender difference which found relatively little differences, heritability some evidence suggesting this, job performance highly predictive, etc. The book takes over 700 pages to finally deliver jensens conclusions.
That block buster stood the race debate on its head and brought out the forces to do battle over the causes of human nature, specifically the 100 years of testing that consistently showed. Fluid intelligence, the focus of several cognitive training studies, is one of several broad intelligence factors and it. The science of mental ability human evolution, behavior, and intelligence by jensen, arthur r. In light of artificial intelligence, the science of mental ability is either silly or pointless.
The g factor is about individual differences in mental abilities. Jensen accepts spearmans idea of a general factor in human intelligence, and his own theory divides intelligence into two distinct sets of abilities. The science of mental ability by arthur jensen 1998. Jensens tome does not draw back from jensenist conclu. In factor analyses of any and every large and diverse collection of measures of mental abilities, however varied the content of knowledge and skills they. Jensen, the g factor, praeger publishers, 1998, 648 pp. Publication date 1998 topics general factor psychology, intellect, nature and nurture publisher. The g factor is a book that an academic publisher should kill for. Jensens long intellectual march has culminated triumphantly in his latest book, the g factor 1998, an exposition of the reality of spearmans 1927 seminal concept of g, the general factor of intelligence. Recommended for anyone with an interest in iq research, as the book covers pretty much anything related to iq. Jensens tome ds not draw back from jensenist conclu sionsthat the average difference in iq lbund between blacks and whites has a substan 220 rushton tial hereditary component, that this difference is related mainly. Charles spearman first described the existence of general intelligence in 1904. The science of mental ability finally puts an end to the bell curve debate started in 1994 by herrnstein and murray.
90 1037 1348 264 1107 36 277 231 1423 981 1231 736 1365 1529 502 272 700 603 35 468 280 1408 90 526 1301 704 1188 798 1290 1384 1279 943 782 1086