IQ gap

(noun)

The gap in average IQ scores between populations, usually measured along racial lines, though with much disagreement.

Related Terms

Examples of IQ gap in the following topics:

  • Tilting the Tests: Discrimination by IQ

    • Yet these IQ gaps are only observed in average scores and say very little about individuals.
    • Thus, the implications of the IQ gaps are unclear.
    • And while the existence of racial IQ gaps is well-documented, researchers have not reached a consensus as to their cause.
    • But research suggests that differences in socioeconomic status cannot entirely explain the IQ gap.
    • Discuss the various explanations for the IQ gap, ranging from genetic to environmental factors

  • Teachers' Expectations

    • In this experiment, Rosenthal predicted that, when given the information that certain students had higher IQs than others, elementary school teachers may unconsciously behave in ways that facilitate and encourage the students' success.
    • Teachers' expectations may also be gendered, perhaps explaining some of the gender achievement gap.

  • Learning the Gender Gap

    • This implies that the gender gap stems from social, rather than biological, origins.
    • In order to determine whether the gender gap is a result of implicit or explicit discrimination, we can look at the adjusted and unadjusted wage gap.
    • The remaining part of the raw wage gap that cannot be explained by variables that are thought to influence pay is then referred to as the adjusted gender pay gap and may be explicitly discriminatory.
    • The total wage gap in the United States is 20.4 percent.
    • This PSA by the European Union illustrates the gender pay gap in Europe.

  • The Gifted

    • Since the early 20th century, definitions of "gifted" have been based on IQ, or intelligence quotient.
    • Different schools may set different cut-offs for defining giftedness, but a common standard is the top 2% of students with an IQ score of about 140 or above.
    • Early IQ tests were notorious for producing higher IQ scores for privileged races and classes and lower scores for disadvantaged subgroups.
    • Although IQ tests have changed substantially over the past half century, and many objections to the early tests have been addressed by "culture neutral," IQ testing remains controversial.

  • Research Examples

    • Rosenbaum was interested in the effects of high school tracks on IQ.
    • Rosenbaum's hypothesis was that students who followed the lower tracks (non college-preparation) would score lower on IQ tests over time than would students who followed the higher tracks (college-preparation).
    • Rosenbaum then compared IQ scores for individuals in the different tracks at two time points.
    • As it turns out, tracking does have a significant effect on IQ.
    • People in lower tracks can actually see a decline in IQ compared to a possible increase among those in the upper track.

  • Family and Gender Issues

    • Social expectations that women manage childcare contribute to the gender pay gap and other limitations in professional life for women.
    • In the United States, there is an observable gender pay gap, such that women are compensated at lower rates for equal work as men.
    • The gender pay gap is measured as the ratio of female to male median yearly earnings among full-time, year-round (FTYR) workers.
    • Economists who have investigated the gender pay gap have also noted that women are more likely to choose jobs based on factors other than pay.
    • Recall at least three reasons why there might be a gender pay gap

  • Defining the Problem

    • For instance, we might administer an IQ test, which uses specific types of questions and scoring processes to give a quantitative measure of intelligence.
    • Of course, others might dispute the validity of these operational definitions of intelligence by arguing that IQ or years of education are not good measures of intelligence.

  • Inequalities of Work

    • Frequently referred to as the gender pay gap, this phenomenon observes that women are consistently paid less for performing the same tasks as men.
    • Part of the pay gap can be attributed to the fact that, more often than men, women tend to engage in part-type work or work in lower-paid industries.
    • This explanation of the pay gap invokes the notion of the pink-collar worker.
    • The larger schema into which the gender pay gap fits is the notion of a "glass ceiling" for women in the workplace.
    • Certainly, the pay gap and other economic issues play into the notion of a glass ceiling, but the term also refers to more general power dynamics.

  • Gender Differences in Aging

    • Aging to sex ratios show women living longer than men, but this gap has been quickly narrowing since 1990.
    • However, in the United States, that gender gap is beginning to close.
    • However, for the very oldest members of the population, the gender gap still holds true.
    • Thus, even though the gender gap is narrowing, women are still expected to live longer than men .
    • Analyze the gender gap that exists leading to women generally living longer than men

  • Growing Gap Between Rich and Poor

    • Economic inequality (also known as the gap between rich and poor) consists of disparities in the distribution of wealth and income.
    • The gap between the rich and poor can be illustrated by the fact that the three wealthiest individuals in the world have assets that exceed those of the poorest 10 percent of the world's population.
    • The income gap between highly skilled workers and low-skilled or no-skills workers;
    • The gap in wages produces inequality between different types of workers.
    • Using Gini coefficients, this map illustrates the extent to which each country in the world has internal inequality, or a gap between its richest and poorest citizens.