IQ and Success :: Sociology Racism Prejudice Essays

IQ and Success Using data from a long-term survey, The toll Curve purports to show that IQ is a far better prognosticator of adult success than peasanthood socioeconomic status. solely the authors used an extremely limited number of accessible factors as the behind for their calculations. By taking into consideration a greater number of social factors (to make the study resemble a to a greater extent complete shew of real life), sociologists have been able to show that social factors, not IQ, be a much better predictor of future success. In The Bell Curve, authors Herrnstein and Murray claim that a childs IQ is a far better predictor of future success than a childs initial socioeconomic status (or SES). For example, a white child raised in the bottom 5 pct of SES is eight multiplication more likely to become poor than a child from the top 5 percent. But a white child whose IQ is in the bottom 5 percent is fifteen times more likely to become poor than a child whose IQ is in th e top 5 percent. (1)Is this true? (Well, no -- precisely more on this below.) It does seems obvious that intelligence is important to succeed in life, still it also seems obvious that social factors play a large, if not larger, role. For example, the quelling economic disparity between North and South Korea has nothing to do with IQ differences, and everything to do with different social and economic policies. Even on a personal level, intelligence is only one of countless factors that rear to success. Others include Access to education Training opportunities Personality type corporeal attractiveness Athletic ability Inheritance Nepotism Prejudice Social and melody connections Knowing someone who is successful Lobbying Congress Business cycle trends Fads Inventions Discoveries Wars conjecture Gambling Miserliness Insider trading Unfair market practices And, last but not least, dumb luck -- being at the right topographic point at the right time And the se be just the adult factors -- theres a whole host of childhood factors as well, which follow below. How the rules of the game are constructed determines which of these factors becomes most important for winning and losing, and therefore which individuals have the most virtuousness. For example, we capacity think that those who play professional baseball have the most merit -- that is, they are the best players in the game.