Psychology club discusses cultural biases in IQ tests

Harlee Forgacs, Reporter

The Psychology Club investigated the accuracy of common intelligence tests given to children in Maryland elementary schools on March 5.

In many Maryland schools, teachers turned to a test called CovAT to measure intelligence.

The results of the test found issues regarding cultural biases that may be present in certain testing, such as one test that studied children’s ability to string words together.

In one instance, psychologists told Maryland students to define the word “obey.”

Many of the children gave the answer “Old Bay is what you put on crabs.”

This is a wrong answer according to the IQ test, which inadvertently lowered students scores.

The discussion ended with most of the room finding numerous faults in the common methods of testing intelligence.

“I don’t believe that intelligence test are ever one hundred percent credible,” said second-year psychology student Ali Listman. “There is so many different personalities, cultural differences and overall understanding that one test isn’t reliable, but they do provide a way to analyze a person better than just guessing a problem.”

The Psychology Club meets Tuesdays at 2 in Room 117 in Careers. The group is planning on discussing their upcoming trip to a local zoo to study animal behavior.