What do undergraduates learn about human intelligence? An analysis of introductory psychology textbooks.
https://ift.tt/SzM63CI Human intelligence is an important construct in psychology, with far-reaching implications, providing insights into fields as diverse as neurology, international development, and sociology. Additionally, IQ scores can predict life outcomes in health, education, work, and socioeconomic status. Yet, students of psychology are often exposed to human intelligence only in limited ways. To ascertain what psychology students typically learn about intelligence, we analyzed the content of 29 of the most popular introductory psychology textbooks to learn (a) the most frequently taught topics related to human intelligence, (b) the accuracy of information about human intelligence, and (c) the presence of logical fallacies about intelligence research. We found that 79.3% of textbooks contained inaccurate statements and 79.3% had logical fallacies in their sections about intelligence. The five most commonly taught topics were IQ (93.1% of b...