Mackintosh N.J. IQ and Human Intelligence

2nd edition. — Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. — 457 p.The question 'What is intelligence?' may seem simple to answer, but the study and measurement of human intelligence is one of the most controversial subjects in psychology. For much of its history, the focus has been on differences between people, on what it means for one person to be more intelligent than another, and how such differences might have arisen, obscuring efforts to understand the general nature of intelligence. These are obviously fundamental questions, still widely debated and misunderstood. New definitions of intelligence and new factors affecting intelligence are frequently being described, while psychometric testing is applied in most large industries. IQ and Human Intelligence provides a clear, authoritative overview of the main issues surrounding this fascinating area, including the development of IQ tests, the heritability of intelligence, theories of intelligence, environmental effects on IQ, factor analysis, relationship of cognitive psychology to measuring IQ, and intelligence in the social context. The clear, accessible style and numerous explanatory boxes make this the ideal text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in psychology.The early development and uses of IQ testsThe origins of IQ testing
Uses, misuses, and abuses of IQ testsFurther reading
Psychometric theories of intelligenceThe variety of IQ tests: one intelligence or many?
The factor analytic approachFurther reading
The search for cognitive processes underlying components of IQ: Gs or speed and efficiency of information processingGeneral intelligence as mental energy, speed, or efficiency
Behavioural measures of speed of processing
Interpretation of the correlations between IQ and speeded testsFurther reading
Verbal, spatial, and fluid abilities: Gc, Gv, and GfCrystallized ability (Gc)
Spatial ability (Gv)
Fluid ability (Gf)Further reading
Associative learning, working memory, and executive controlSecular changes in IQ
Between and withinfamily effects: CE vs SE
Environmental correlates and environmental causes
Education and IQ
Demography: family size and birth order
Parental behaviour and family environment
Social classFurther reading
Group differencesNational or ethnic differences
The blackwhite test score gap
Other ethnic groups
Test biasFurther reading
Sex differencesThe equality of the sexes: fact or artefact?
Are there sex differences in overall IQ (or g)?
Sex differences in particular abilities
Differences in variability: myth or reality?
Analysis of verbal, mathematical, and spatial abilities
ExplanationsFurther reading
EpilogueUse of tests for selection
IQ tests and educational selection
The wider importance of IQ
Politics and science
A statistical appendixAuthor index
Subject index