The dark history of IQ tests - Stefan C. Dombrowski

翻译人员: Ivy Jin 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

1905 年，心理学家 阿尔弗雷德 · 比内特 (Alfred Binet)

In 1905, psychologists Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon

和西奥多 · 西蒙 (Théodore Simon)

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

在法国为学校里 表现不佳的孩子们设计了一款测试。

Designed to determine which children required individualized attention,

这款测试可以帮助判断 哪些孩子更需要特别关注，

their method formed the basis of the IQ test.

后来成为了 智商 （IQ）测试的基础。

Beginning in the late 19th century,

从 19 世纪后期开始， 研究人员假设认知能力，如表述推理、

researchers hypothesized that cognitive abilities like verbal reasoning,

working memory, and visual-spatial skills

工作记忆、视觉空间技能等能力

reflected an underlying general intelligence, or g factor.

反映了潜在的智力， 或一般智力因素 (g 因素）。

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

西蒙和比内特设计了一组考试， 用于测试不同方面的能力，

and combine the results into a single score.

然后将结果合并为一个分数。

Questions were adjusted for each age group,

题目会根据不同年龄段做调整，

孩子的分数反映了相对于 他们所处年龄段的表现情况。

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

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

把受测者的分数除以他们的年龄， 再将结果乘以 100，

yielded the intelligence quotient, or IQ.

就可以得出智商 （intelligence quotient），或 IQ。

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

如今，100 分代表样本人口的平均值，

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

68％ 的人得分在 85 分到 115 分之间，

Simon and Binet thought the skills their test assessed

西蒙和比内特原本认为 他们的测试所评估的能力

would reflect general intelligence.

将反映出一般智力水平。

But both then and now,

但是无论曾经还是现在，

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

人们从没在智力的定义上 达成过共识。

这也默许了人们使用这种测试

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

in service of their own preconceived assumptions about intelligence.

为自己对智力的认知所用。

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

起初，这个方法是为了 找出哪些人在学习上需要帮助，

却很快变成了 对人们进行分类的方法，

quickly became used to sort people in other ways,

often in service of deeply flawed ideologies.

并且常常被一些根深蒂固、 有缺陷的意识形态所利用。

该方法最早的大规模应用之一

One of the first large-scale implementations

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

是在一战时期的美国， 军队使用智商测试

to sort recruits and screen them for officer training.

来筛选新兵，并且为军官训练做测试。

At that time, many people believed in eugenics,

当时，很多人都相信 优生学（eugenics），

the idea that desirable and undesirable genetic traits

形容理想和不理想的遗传性状

could and should be controlled in humans through selective breeding.

可以且应该通过选择性育种来控制。

There were many problems with this line of thinking,

这种想法存在许多的问题，

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

包括智力不仅是固定且遗传的，

but also linked to a person’s race.

而且还跟一个人的种族有关系的想法。

在优生学的影响下，

Under the influence of eugenics,

scientists used the results of the military initiative

科学家们利用军事倡议的结果，

to make erroneous claims that certain racial groups

提出了一种错误的主张：

某些种族的人们 在智力上优于其他种族。

were intellectually superior to others.

Without taking into account that many of the recruits tested

没有考虑到许多接受测试的新兵

were new immigrants to the United States

都是刚到达美国的新移民，

who lacked formal education or English language exposure,

并且缺失正式的教育 和对英语环境的充分接触，

they created an erroneous intelligence hierarchy of ethnic groups.

他们依据不同种族创造了 一种错误的智力阶级制。

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

优生学和智商测试之间 形成的关联不仅影响了科学，

but policy as well.

也影响了政策。

In 1924, the state of Virginia created policy

1924 年，费吉尼亚州制定了

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

强制让低智商人群绝育的政策——

a decision the United States Supreme Court upheld.

美国的最高法院也维持原判。

在纳粹德国，政府允许 在基于低智商的情况下

In Nazi Germany, the government authorized the murder of children

based on low IQ.

谋杀儿童。

大屠杀和民权运动后，

Following the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement,

the discriminatory uses of IQ tests

智力测试的使用

were challenged on both moral and scientific grounds.

受到了道德和科学的挑战。

Scientists began to gather evidence of environmental impacts on IQ.

科学家们开始收集 环境对智商产生影响的证据。

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

例如，由于智力测试 在 20 世纪是被定期校准的，

new generations scored consistently higher on old tests

新一代的人一直在旧的考试中

than each previous generation.

比旧一代获得更好的成绩。

This phenomenon, known as the Flynn Effect,

这个现象叫做 费林效应（Flynn Effect），

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

它发生得太快，不可能是 通过先天进化特征实现的。

Instead, the cause was likely environmental—

原因应该很大几率 来源于环境的变化——

improved education, better healthcare, and better nutrition.

更好的教育体系， 更好的医疗体系，和更好的营养。

In the mid-twentieth century,

在二十世纪中期，

psychologists also attempted to use IQ tests

心理学家也尝试过用智力测试

to evaluate things other than general intelligence,

评估除智力外的其他东西，

particularly schizophrenia, depression, and other psychiatric conditions.

尤其是精神分裂症、 抑郁症和其他精神疾病。

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

这些诊断部分取决于 评估者的临床判断，

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

并使用了测试的一部分 来判断智商——

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

在后来的研究中发现，这种做法 无法产生对临床诊断有用的信息。

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

如今，智商测试采用了

和早期测试相似的问题类型和元素，

as the early tests,

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

不过我们有更好的技术， 可以识别测试中的潜在偏见。

They’re no longer used to diagnose psychiatric conditions.

智商测试不再被用于诊断精神疾病。

But a similarly problematic practice using subtest scores

但使用测验分数的做法

is still sometimes used to diagnose learning disabilities,

依然被用于诊断学习障碍，

against the advice of many experts.

违反了许多专家的建议。

Psychologists around the world still use IQ tests

世界各地的心理学家 仍然使用智商测试

to identify intellectual disability,

来诊断智力残疾，

and the results can be used to determine

结果则被用来决定

appropriate educational support, job training, and assisted living.

适当的教育支持、 在职培训和日常看护。

IQ test results have been used to justify horrific policies

智商测试的结果曾被用来 为骇人的政策

and scientifically baseless ideologies.

和无科学依据的意识形态进行辩护。

That doesn’t mean the test itself is worthless—

这并不意味着测试本身是无用的——

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

事实上，它可以衡量

推理和解决问题的能力。

it sets out to.

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

但这跟衡量一个人的潜力不是一回事。

Though there are many complicated political, historical, scientific,

虽然智商测试存在许多 与复杂的政治、历史、科学

and cultural issues wrapped up in IQ testing,

和文化相关的问题，

more and more researchers agree on this point,

越来越多的研究人员 已经在这一点上达成了共识，

and reject the notion that individuals can be categorized

并拒绝使用一个单一的数字或分数

by a single numerical score.

来衡量每一个独立的个体。