The dark history of IQ tests - Stefan C. Dombrowski

Translator: Mojca Ješe Reviewer: Nika Kotnik

In 1905, psychologists Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon

Leta 1905 sta psihologa Alfred Binet in Théodore Simon

designed a test for children who were struggling in school in France.

zasnovala test, namenjen otrokom z učnimi težavami, v Franciji.

Designed to determine which children required individualized attention,

Da bi odkrila, kateri izmed otrok so potrebovali individualizirano pomoč,

their method formed the basis of the IQ test.

sta ustvarila metodo, ki je podlaga za IQ test.

Beginning in the late 19th century,

Že v poznih letih 19. stoletja so znanstveniki menili,

researchers hypothesized that cognitive abilities like verbal reasoning,

da kognitivne sposobnosti, kot so jezikovna razprava,

working memory, and visual-spatial skills

delovni spomin in vizualno-prostorske sposobnosti,

reflected an underlying general intelligence, or g factor.

kažejo na splošno inteligenco oziroma faktor "g".

Simon and Binet designed a battery of tests to measure each of these abilities

Simon in Binet sta zasnovala več testov za merjenje vsake izmed teh sposobnosti,

and combine the results into a single score.

in združila rezultate v en sam končni izid.

Questions were adjusted for each age group,

Vprašanja so bila prilagojena vsaki starostni skupini,

and a child’s score reflected how they performed relative to others their age.

rezultat posameznika pa relativen, glede na rezultate njegovih vrstnikov.

Dividing someone’s score by their age and multiplying the result by 100

Deljenje posameznikovega rezulata z njegovimi leti, pomnoženo s 100,

yielded the intelligence quotient, or IQ.

nam da inteligenčni kvocient ali IQ.

Today, a score of 100 represents the average of a sample population,

Danes IQ=100 prestavlja povprečje vzorčne populacije,

with 68% of the population scoring within 15 points of 100.

pri čemer je rezultat 68 % populacije znotraj 15 točk odstopanja od 100.

Simon and Binet thought the skills their test assessed

Simon in Binet sta menila, da sposobnosti, ki ju njun test meri,

would reflect general intelligence.

odsevajo splošno inteligenco.

But both then and now,

Vendar tako takrat kot tudi danes

there’s no single agreed upon definition of general intelligence.

ni enotne potrjene definicije splošne inteligence.

And that left the door open for people to use the test

In to je omogočilo odprt dostop za koriščenje testa

in service of their own preconceived assumptions about intelligence.

za podporo njihovih lastnih predsodkov o inteligenci.

What started as a way to identify those who needed academic help

Kar se je začelo s prepoznavanjem otrok, ki so potrebovali učno pomoč,

quickly became used to sort people in other ways,

je kmalu postal način razvrščanja ljudi na drugačen način,

often in service of deeply flawed ideologies.

pogosto na podlagi globoko zgrešenih ideologij.

One of the first large-scale implementations

Ena izmed prvih množičnih implementacij je bila v ZDA,

occurred in the United States during WWI, when the military used an IQ test

med 1. svetovno vojno, ko je vojska uporabila IQ test

to sort recruits and screen them for officer training.

za razvščanje in pregled novincev za usposabljanje uslužbencev.

At that time, many people believed in eugenics,

Takrat je veliko ljudi verjelo v nauke evgenike,

the idea that desirable and undesirable genetic traits

idejo, da lahko zaželene in nezaželene genetske značilnosti

could and should be controlled in humans through selective breeding.

pri ljudeh nadzorujemo s selektivnim razmnoževanjem.

There were many problems with this line of thinking,

Pri takšnem razmišljanju je veliko pomislekov,

among them the idea that intelligence was not only fixed and inherited,

med njimi tudi prepričanje, da je inteligenca ne le vnaprej določena

in podedovana, temveč tudi povezana z raso.

but also linked to a person’s race.

Under the influence of eugenics,

Pod vplivom evgenike

scientists used the results of the military initiative

so znanstveniki uporabili rezultate vojaške iniciative

to make erroneous claims that certain racial groups

za deljenje zmotnih trditev, da so določene rasne skupine

were intellectually superior to others.

intelektualno superiorne drugim.

Without taking into account that many of the recruits tested

Brez da bi upoštevali dejstvo, da so mnogi testirani novinci

were new immigrants to the United States

novi imigranti v Združenih državah Amerike,

who lacked formal education or English language exposure,

ki nimajo formalne izobrazbe ali niso bili izpostavljeni angleškemu jeziku,

they created an erroneous intelligence hierarchy of ethnic groups.

so vzpostavili zmotno inteligenčno hierarhijo etničnih skupin.

The intersection of eugenics and IQ testing influenced not only science,

Presek evgenike in testiranja IQ je vplivalo ne le na znanost,

but policy as well.

temveč tudi na notranjo politiko.

In 1924, the state of Virginia created policy

Leta 1924 je zvezna država Virginia implementirala program,

allowing for the forced sterilization of people with low IQ scores—

ki je dovoljeval prisilno sterilizacijo ljudi z nizkimi rezultati IQ -

a decision the United States Supreme Court upheld.

odločitev, ki jo je podprlo tudi Ustavno sodišče Združenih držav Amerike.

In Nazi Germany, the government authorized the murder of children

V nacistični Nemčiji je vlada dovolila umor otrok,

based on low IQ.

glede na njihov nizki IQ.

Following the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement,

Po holokavstu in gibanju za človekove pravice,

the discriminatory uses of IQ tests

so začeli diskriminatorne rabe IQ testov

were challenged on both moral and scientific grounds.

izpodbijati, tako iz vidika moralne kot tudi znanstvene podlage.

Scientists began to gather evidence of environmental impacts on IQ.

Znastveniki so začeli zbirati dokaze o vplivih okolja na posameznikov IQ.

For example, as IQ tests were periodically recalibrated over the 20th century,

Na primer, ker so bili IQ testi uporabljeni periodično skozi 20. stoletje,

new generations scored consistently higher on old tests

so imele nove generacije na starih testih dosledno višje rezultate

than each previous generation.

kot vsaka prejšnja generacija.

This phenomenon, known as the Flynn Effect,

Ta fenomen, poznan kot Flynnov učinek,

happened much too fast to be caused by inherited evolutionary traits.

se je odvil prehitro, da bi nanj lahko vplivale podedovane evolucijske lastnosti.

Instead, the cause was likely environmental—

Resničen razlog je bil tako najverjetneje v okolju -

improved education, better healthcare, and better nutrition.

boljša izobrazba, zdravstveni sistem in prehranjevalne navade.

In the mid-twentieth century,

V sredini 20. stoletja

psychologists also attempted to use IQ tests

so psihologi z IQ testi

to evaluate things other than general intelligence,

poskušali umeriti tudi druge lastnosti, razen splošne inteligence,

particularly schizophrenia, depression, and other psychiatric conditions.

na primer šizofrenijo, depresijo in druga psihiatrična stanja.

These diagnoses relied in part on the clinical judgment of the evaluators,

Te diagnoze so delno slonele na kliničnem mnenju ocenjevalcev,

and used a subset of the tests used to determine IQ—

ob uporabi podtestov za določanje IQ-ja -

a practice later research found does not yield clinically useful information.

kar so kasnejše študije pokazale, ne prinaša klinično uporabnih rezulatov.

Today, IQ tests employ many similar design elements and types of questions

Danes, IQ testi uporabljajo mnogo podobnih osnovnih elementov in tipov vprašanj

as the early tests,

kot zgodnji testi,

though we have better techniques for identifying potential bias in the test.

imamo pa boljše tehnike prepoznavanja potencialnih predsodkov v testih.

They’re no longer used to diagnose psychiatric conditions.

Ne uporabljamo jih več za diagnosticiranje psihiatričnih stanj.

But a similarly problematic practice using subtest scores

Je pa podobno problematična praksa uporabe rezultatov podtestov,

is still sometimes used to diagnose learning disabilities,

ki se včasih uporablja za diagnosticiranje učnih težav,

against the advice of many experts.

kljub opozorilom mnogih strokovnjakov.

Psychologists around the world still use IQ tests

Psihologi po svetu še vedno uporabljajo IQ teste

to identify intellectual disability,

za identifikacijo intelektualnih motenj,

and the results can be used to determine

rezultati pa se uporabljajo za določanje

appropriate educational support, job training, and assisted living.

zadostne podpore izobraževanju, usposabljanje za delo in bivanje v domu.

IQ test results have been used to justify horrific policies

IQ teste so izrabljali, da bi upravičili grozljive politične odločitve

and scientifically baseless ideologies.

in ideologije, brez vsakršne znanstvene podlage.

That doesn’t mean the test itself is worthless—

To še ne pomeni, da je sam test neučinkovit -

in fact, it does a good job of measuring the reasoning and problem-solving skills

v bistvu dobro meri sposobnosti utemeljevanja in reševanja problemov,

it sets out to.

kar je tudi njegov namen.

But that isn’t the same thing as measuring a person’s potential.

Vendar to ni enako kot merjenje človekovega potenciala.

Though there are many complicated political, historical, scientific,

Čeprav je s testiranjem IQ povezanih mnogo političnih, zgodovinskih,

and cultural issues wrapped up in IQ testing,

znanstvenih in kulturnih zapletov,

more and more researchers agree on this point,

se vedno več znanstvenikov v tej točki strinja

and reject the notion that individuals can be categorized

in zavrača mnenje, da lahko posameznika kategoriziramo

by a single numerical score.

na podlagi enega samega številskega rezultata.