Gender differences in intelligence?

Gender differences in intelligence? Sex differences in intelligence have been a popular argument for generations. Francis Galton had little doubt that men were more intelligent than women (Mackintosh, 2000, p. 182), whereas Cyril Burt and Louis Terman agree that this should be as straightforward as any concept, and can be answered through empirical evidence. In general intelligence, the findings of various studies have arrived at similar conclusions of either no difference, or men having a slightly higher IQ than women. In specific intelligence, men excel at spatial ability whereas women perform better at verbal tasks. (Lynn, 2005) The major inconsistencies of findings throughout studies have led to the critical analysis of intelligence tests. Implications of these findings will centre on employment and education opportunities, as well as criticisms of methods used leading to suggestions of how intelligence should be measured in the future. According to Maltby, Day and Macaskill (2007, p. 258), Sir Francis Galton is the forefather of intelligence tests. He made the first attempt to study sex differences in intelligence directly. He hypothesised that sex differences do exist between males and females. Alfred Binet created the first intelligence test for children called the Binet-Simon scale, which could determine the childs mental age. Charles Spearman aimed to test an individuals general intelligence. He was interested in relationships between subtests and found that if an individual scored highly in one subtest, they were likely to score highly in others. He found that these subtests correlated positively with each other. Through these findings Spearman developed his two factor theory. Specific intelligence refers to each type of intelligence that is used for a specific kind of task, such as verbal or spatial intelligence. General intelligence refers to the intelligence that is required to perform on all types of intelligence tests. In 1938, John Carlyle Raven published his Ravens Progressive Matrices, which were free from cultural influences and did not depend of language capabilities In 1939, David Weschler developed the first intelligence test based on Spearmans two factor theory called the Wechsler-Bellevue test. This test concentrated on specific abilities and how they correlated with each other to form an overall measure of general intelligence. In 1955 Weschler introduced the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). These scales included a set of subtests to analyse specific intelligence. Lewis Terman (1916) studied almost 100 school children between the ages of four and sixteen using the Stanford-Binet test and found that the girls had slightly higher IQs. Charles Spearman (1927) found no sex difference in intelligence, as did Raymond Cattell. Raymond Cattell theorised the differences between fluid and crystallised intelligence, finding no difference on the two dimensions. Fluid intelligence is free of culture and is innate whereas crystallised intelligence is based on cultural experiences and acquired through learning. J.H Court (1983) conducted a meta-analysis of 120 studies on information provided on the Raven Progressive Matrices. He found mixed results with half of the studies finding no difference and the other half finding a slightly higher IQ in males. However, Court concluded that there were no differences. Jensen (1998) and Mackintosh (1998) found similar results with the only differences being very small with males having a slight advantage of one to two IQ points. Anderson (2004) reviewed literature on the Ravens Progressive Matrices and the Weschler intelligence test and concluded that they show no difference. Richard Lynn and Paul Irwing (2005) did a meta-analysis of 57 studies from 30 countries, covering 80,000 people who gave information on the Ravens Progressive Matrices. They found no sex differences among children up to the age of fifteen, which does not parallel with Termans findings. After the age of fifteen, males gradually scored higher IQ points than women, totalling up to five points when they reached adulthood. However, when looking at the effect sizes of Lynn and Irwings findings, the difference in IQ scores are not very significant. The effect size allow[s] us to determine the importance of the findings. (Maltby, 2007, p. 352) An effect size of .2 or below is considered as insignificant whereas an effect size of .8 represents a larger difference. Lynn and Irwings finding of males having a slightly higher IQ than females in between the ages of fifteen to nineteen had an effect size of .16, whereas males scoring five IQ points higher than women had an effect size of .2-.3, the refore this finding is not significant. Lynn and Irwings meta-analysis also showed that males scores had a larger variance than women. Irwing and Lynn report that there are twice as many men with IQ scores of 125 and 155, there were 5.5 men for every woman. (Maltby, 2007, p. 353) However, Terman (1916) and Herrnstein and Murray (1994) both disagree with these findings. They claimed that they found no difference in the variations of IQ scores. Although other studies that used the Weschler test agreed with Lynn and Irwing, showing that men had a variance of five percent larger than females. Even though it has been concluded that there is no significant difference between men and women in general intelligence, specific intelligence is another matter. The agreed hypothesis is that men and women differ on specific aspects of intelligence. Eleanor Maccoby and Carol Nagy Jacklin (1974) concluded that men perform better on tests of spatial ability and women, tests on verbal ability. M. C. Linn and A. C. Petersen (1985) found an effect size of .44 of males performing better on spatial perception. J. S. Hyde and M. C. Linn (1988) also found an effect size for -.33 of women performing better on speech production, which supports Maccoby and Jacklins conclusion. However, due to the small effect size of verbal abilities, Hyde and Linn believe that this is not significant enough to claim that the difference exists. When considering the validity and reliability of types of measurements, intelligence tests have been criticised. Maltby et al. (2007, p. 298) claims that intelligence is probably much more than what can be measured by intelligence tests; rather, [it is] the result of the individual engaging in a variety of skills and information within their cultural context. It would be a challenge to measure a concept such as this which is so dependent upon if the individual is truly willing to take part. Another difficulty is the dilemma of knowing the most reliable measurements. Measures of intelligence produce inconsistencies. Nybourg (2005) states that in half of various studies, there have been no difference found, whereas in the other half, males have a slightly higher IQ, averaging at 3.8. Jensen (1998) found that when certain subtests were eliminated from a study that favoured either sexes, the findings were very different, therefore the findings depend very much on which subtests are used. In conclusion to knowing the extent of sex differences in intelligence, due to Lynn and Irwings meta analysis; there is an insignificant amount of difference in general intelligence between males and females. However, when considering specific intelligence, many studies have shown that men clearly have a better spatial ability, whereas women perform better on verbal tasks. When including each of the specific abilities, they cancel each other out to reach a sum of no difference. Another fact to acknowledge is that male IQ has a much wider spread than females. Females have more of an average grouping of IQs whereas males reach wider ends of the spectrum, either reaching a score of 120 and being labelled as a genius, or scoring lower than 50 and being labelled as mentally challenged. The fact that males have such a large variance in their IQ scores has implications on how IQ should be measured. In the future, IQ should be measured by specific intelligence rather than general due to this large variance belonging to males. When looking at the implications for males and females in everyday life, these findings will have a big impact on education and employment opportunities. Leatta Hough (1992) found that intelligence effects various aspects in the work place such as competence and creativity. These aspects will affect future employment for the individual because of how their previous employers will reference them for their prospective employers. The implication of the previous findings regarding males have a slightly higher IQ score than women will directly influence the employers decision about who to hire. Employers are more likely to hire men because of their higher intelligence scores. These findings may also have an impact on what type of job males and females can work in. Due to the findings of specific intelligence, males are more likely to work in jobs that require spatial performance such as construction work, whereas females are more likely to work as a presenter or interviewer which requires high-quality verbal performance. However, this finding would not have an impact on school children due to Lynn and Irwings findings of there being no difference between children up to the age of fifteen. This finding does not however generalise to further education such as applying for universities. Educators and professors of a specific university will want the most intelligent students to study at their university; therefore they are more likely to choose males over females after considering their A Level grades as well as taking into consideration the above findings. However, certain universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge, who interview every candidate maybe more in favour of females due to them being statistically better at verbal tasks. The interviewers knowing this statistic maybe biased before the candidate enters the room which could affect their chances of entry. In general, the above findings will have an impact on general stereotypes in society. Women are commonly seen as below men in many areas of life, such as the work place. The findings of men having slightly higher IQs than women will add to this typecast of women being secondary. Although Lynn and Irwing claim that these findings are insignificant, in todays society, the fact that men do have, on average a higher IQ score in general intelligence will outweigh the psychologists findings. The inconsistency of the above findings shows that researching specific intelligence is more accurate than studying general intelligence. General intelligence is a very wide and open research topic, and the precision of studying this form of intelligence is not as clear cut as studying specific aspects of intelligence. Institutions should therefore use specific IQ scores to make decisions, because the specific scores would show the employer or educator where lies the individuals strengths and weaknesses, rather than ordering them in order of intelligence. In conclusion, when considering general intelligence, males have a slightly higher IQ score than females. However, the effect size for this finding is .2 meaning that the difference in too small to be significant. Specific intelligence tests show that males perform better at spatial tasks whereas women perform better at verbal tasks, therefore cancelling each other out. Due to males and females performing better at different things, their scores average out to be very similar for general intelligence. This difference does not occur until the individual reaches the age of fifteen. In early adolescents Lynn and Irwing discovered there are no sex differences at all. Although males score higher on IQ tests, they have a much larger variance in their scores. When looking along the spectrum of intelligence, males tend to score on either end of the scale, whereas females score closer to the average IQ of 100. The implications of these findings will have a great impact on further education for students, depending on how the university or college base their decisions on. For adults, the findings will impact on what type of job they are more likely to work in. Due to criticisms of past studies, implications for further studies are that more tests should be conducted for researching specific intelligence rather than general, due to the wide scope of what general intelligence tests can include. Education: The Backbone of a Nation | Essay Education: The Backbone of a Nation | Essay Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits. The wealth of knowledge acquired by an individual after studying particular subject matters or experiencing life lessons that provide an understanding of something. Education requires instruction of some sort from an individual or composed literature. The most common forms of education result from years of schooling that incorporates studies of a variety of subjects. The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character that is the goal of true education. The goal of education is not to increase the amount of knowledge but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover, to create men who are capable of doing new things. It is the most powerful weapon which we can use to change the world. Education is good but can be really bad and unproductive when it becomes indoctrination. When one talks about education and being educated in this part of the world, people are quick to think about going to the university. They see those that have access to the university education who are regarded as being educated and those without the privilege as illiterate. Having seen and experienced this, I realize that when schooling becomes indoctrination, only the truly educated ones become successful. Now, what does it mean to be truly educated? What does it mean to be indoctrinated? What connection do these two have with schooling? To answer these three significant questions, we will need to define the nouns or verbs from which each of them is derived and analyze them. Longman Dictionary defines education, a noun from which educated is derived from: the process by which your mind develops at school, college or university. Indoctrinate, a verb from which indoctrination is derived, according to Longman dictionary means: to train someone to accept a particular set of political or religious beliefs and not consider any others. The English dictionary defines indoctrinate as to teach with a biased, one-sided or uncritical ideology. School, a noun from which schooling is derived, is defined in the English dictionary as: (U.S.) an institution dedicated to teaching and learning; an educational institution. (British) an educational institution providing primary and secondary education, prior to tertiary education (college or university). It must be noted that school is not limited to a certain institution, it is simply any institution for learning and education can be derived from any of these institutions. It is only indoctrination that makes people glorify one ahead of the other. Almost all of us belong to the school of thought that without university education a person is not educated. A polytechnic graduate is always rated lower than a university graduate regardless of intelligence of the former; thus certification has taken the place of real intellectualism and technicality. This indoctrination is a great tragedy to youth development. We have been made to believe that without a university education, we are no better than illiterates are. When we talk about intelligence, people are fast to measure it by the good grades acquired through formal education. We also have not been studious enough to see the difference: being a university graduate does not guarantee a successful life. The pieces of evidence are here but we couldnt see. Thats indoctrination. It is a gross waste of time to sit down and wait for admission when what we want to study in school is unrelated to what we really want to become, perhaps in what we are skilled. It is a lack of vision to accept a change of course just to be a university student, but our society has provided us with no other choice than to join them if we cant beat them. Everyone just wants to answer the name university graduate just for the sake of it. Therefore, we forgo our visions, dump our dreams for the title that comes with certificates which we might dump in our wardrobes and not make use of for the rest of our lives. It is true no knowledge is lost but such indoctrination comes with lesser or no profit. For the records, not being a university student does not make a person less or an illiterate. Let us overcome this wrong mentality in which we have been so much enslaved. University education with a good certificate is an achievement on its own, but it is not the most accurate determinant of efficiency nor does it necessarily enhance productivity or efficiency in the labor market. Year in year out, young boys and girls register for universities entrance exams and when they fail to make the required grades, they are considered failures. The ones that are tired of trying settle for colleges of educations, technical schools or polytechnics while the so-called determined ones, most of whom have no idea what they want to do with their lives, continue in the struggle of rewriting university entrance examinations. They keep making money for the universities when it is certainly most of them have no business being university students. Now, what does it mean to be truly educated? Going by the definition of education in Longman dictionary, it is the process by which your mind develops at school, college or university. The dictionary only mentions school, college or university in order to foster understanding in a layman, but the true meaning of education is the process by which mind and the whole being is developed through learning. This learning can be acquired in any designated institution. However, there can be no true education where there is indoctrination. Education is all about learning how to achieve ones passion and goals while indoctrination, going by its definition, is believing what one is told or what seems agreeable, convenient and best in order to avoid the stress of learning and engaging in its practicality. If one who doesnt ever attend university is considered educated, then who is uneducated? An uneducated person is a person who doesnt know anything about his lifes visions and goals and how to pursue them; one who does not have what it takes to succeed in his chosen lifestyle. For instance, if we want to be in life is a footballer and we go to school to study mechanical engineering when we should register ourselves into a football academy and develop our skills, we are simply uneducated. It doesnt matter if we have a Ph.D. in it. Ph.D. in mechanical engineering will never make us a better footballer. Imagine if Messi and Ronaldo have left football academy to go to university, will they have become the famous and successful footballers that we know today? However, being an illiterate who is unable to read and write; having less than an expected standard of familiarity with language and literature, or having a little formal education; not conforming to prescribed standards of speech or writing, will always limit anyones level of education. Of course, there are natural talents that do not require being taught in order to have them. If one is unable to read and write, he or she will definitely have limited education. Education can be acquired via other sources but literacy or the ability to read and write is vital. However, being a university student is not the proof that one is educated. For one to be able to sit for university entrance examination he or she must be educated, that is, he or she must be a literate and have at least ordinary level of formal education. That means one can be educated even without a university education. Tertiary education is not for everybody and those who are there are not superior to those who are not. It is only a required type of education for those whose goals and dreams in life could be shaped thereby, but if not it is a gross waste of time and wrong indoctrination. We should understand and discover our dreams and passions and should give them the most priority. We should take our destinies into our own hands, follow our dreams and not unnecessarily crave for university education and become a nuisance after graduating even with good grades. When schooling becomes indoctrination, only the truly educated ones become successful. To be successful in life requires more than just university education and most significant success stories in life are not as a result of it. The truly educated people are those who are original, resourceful and creative, who dream dreams and think out of the box to attain their dreams and fulfill their passions. They are those that acquire the only type of education that liberate their passions and help them to reach their set goals, not university graduates. True education is concerned not only with practical goals but also with values. Our aims assure us of our material life, our values make possible our spiritual life. In true education, anything that comes to our hand is as good as a book: the prank of a page- boy, the blunder of a servant, a few table talks they are all part of the curriculum. True education flowers at the point when delight falls in love with responsibility. No group and no government can properly prescribe precisely what should constitute the body of knowledge with which true education is concerned. No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness, and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.