"Mainstream Science on Intelligence" was an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal on December 13, 1994.[1] It was written by psychology professor Linda Gottfredson, and signed by Gottfredson and 51 other professors specializing in intelligence and related fields. It listed 25 statements which claimed to uphold findings on the subject of intelligence research discussed in the controversial book, The Bell Curve. The opinion piece was reprinted in the psychology journal Intelligence in 1997 with additional information and a bibliography.
Eight signers, including Gottfredson, sit on the editorial board of Intelligence which reprinted it; Detterman, one of the signers, founded the journal in 1977 and is its editor. [2]
The book The Bell Curve Debate edited by UCLAhistorian Russell Jacoby and N. Glauberman[4] is a compilation of history, documents and opinions from scholars, representing a wide spectrum of disciplines weighing in on the subject of the controversies sparked by The Bell Curve which was written by the late psychologist Richard Herrnstein and political scientist Charles Murray of the American Enterprise Institute. Controversy surrounding the book's methods and conclusions sparked numerous responses from the academic community. Race and IQ, edited by the late Ashley Montagu, compiles some responses to the book.[5]
The opinion piece that first appeared in the Wall Street Journal represents the side of the debate that supports the claims and conclusions by Herrnstein and Murray. Montagu's book portrays critical commentary.
Signers of the opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal
