Task Force on Intelligence, Test Scores, and Differences Meets

Prompted by the release of The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life (Free Press, NY, 1994), an APA Task Force met in January and March to examine scientific perspectives on intelligence tests and group differences in test scores. The APA Task Force on Intelligence, Test Scores, and Differences--a joint effort of the Board of Scientific Affairs and the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest--plans to release a report of its deliberations this fall.

The Task Force report will focus on five controversial issues: (a) the range of different views or conceptualizations of intelligence; (b) the meaning, importance, and predictive power of IQ test scores; (c) genetic contributions to individual differences in intelligence; (d) environmental contributions to those differences; and (e) group differences. Subcommittees of the Task Force are writing final drafts of each section and incorporating them into a single report for review by the sponsoring boards early this summer.