genetic cause of retardation； and occurs in approximately one of every 1；000 live births。 The
incidence of this disorder has decreased as a function of the ability to detect it through
amniocentesis and chorionic villi sampling。 The next most mon genetic cause of retardation is
phenylketonuria （PKU）； a metabolic disease carried by a recessive gene。 It can be detected shortly
after birth and controlled。 There are a number of other relatively rare genetic causes of mental
retardation； including Tay…Sachs disease； Klinefelter’s syndrome； and Niemann…Pick disease。
Intrauterine infection or trauma。 Infections contracted by the mother can cause mental retardation。
These causes include encephalitis； rubella； and syphilis。 Brain damage to the fetus can also result
from malnutrition and dietary deficiencies； poisoning by lead or carbon monoxide； or drug use by
the mother； especially alcohol； during the mother’s pregnancy。 Recent evidence supports a
correlation between use of crack cocaine and fetal injury。
The birth process。 Premature children sometimes have an immature nervous system； and anoxia
（oxygen deprivation） or head injury during birth can damage the brain and cause mental
retardation。 All of these causes together probably account for no more than 30 percent of all cases of
developmental delay/disability； and all have identifiable physical causes。 In many cases； these
children have physical deficiencies and deformities in addition to their retardation。 It is striking to
note how many of such cases could be prevented or avoided； given appropriate prenatal care of the
mother； and the mother’s knowledge and acceptance of her responsibility to protect her unborn
child。
Cultural—familial causes。 The majority of cases of retardation fall into this category。 Children in
this category are usually mildly delayed or disabled。 Usually； they do not have other physical
handicaps and generally do not look any different from normal children。
Cultural—familial retardation is most likely to occur among the children of the poor； often in
families that have struggled against poverty for several generations。 There are often several
developmentally delayed or disabled individuals among the relatives； and sometimes one or both of
the parents is or are delayed or disabled。 In cultural—familial retardation； it is difficult to separate
the effects of heredity and environment； because neither is favorable。 Many psychologists currently
think that heredity sets an upper limit； and that environment determines how closely an individual
will approach his or her maximum intellectual capacity。 For example； in the case of a child with
cultural…familial retardation； the genes may set a limit of 80 or 90； or higher； but because of lack of
language and cognitive stimulation； his or her test score could be 60 or 65。
The study of the Hollow Children is highly instructive。 There was a group of people of English and
Scots…Irish descent who settled and lived as a little subculture near the Atlantic coast in Virginia for
many years。 The land they lived on was subsequently granted to German immigrants and the Scots…
Irish were forced to move into hollows in the Blue Ridge Mountains。 They formed a number of small
munities that varied in degree of isolation from civilization。 In 1932； an investigator named
Sherman studied these people； reasoning that the citizens of the various Hollows munities had
a mon gene pool； and he was interested in whether isolation from civilization had affected the
intellectual ability of the children。 Isolation meant things like no road in and out； no post office； no
newspapers or magazines； and； of course； since the study was done in the early 1930s； there was no
radio or TV。 In Colvin Hollow； the most isolated of the munities； school had been in session for
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a total of 16 months during the years between 1918 and 1930； and there were only three literate
adults in the munity。 To test the children’s intelligence； Sherman used the Stanford…Binet and
other tests that are not so language dependent。
The results showed that the more isolated the munity； the lower the IQ scores of the children。
The average of the test scores in the least isolated munity was close to the population mean；
while the average of the scores of the children in the most isolated munities was below 70。
Sherman tested children from 6 to 16 years of age； and one of his notable findings was that IQ
scores declined with age。 In the more isolated munities； the IQs of the 6… to 8…year…olds averaged
about 80。 The scores of the 14… to 16…year…olds averaged about 50。
There are a number of other studies that confirm the negative effect an impoverished environment
can have on intellectual development。 It is a challenge to a society to dedicate resources for the
prevention of cultural—familial retardation。 Because of President Johnson’s “war on poverty；”
funds for Operation Head Start were made available in the mid…1960s。 A problem arose because
although money was available； the educators lacked the background research to develop a clear
idea concerning how one goes about giving a child a “head start。” Some years later； the program
was pronounced a failure and used as a rationale for reducing funds for early childhood education。
In reality； the program was not an unqualified failure。 In some places； it was quite successful； and
provided a wealth of data concerning methods and techniques。 If we made another concentrated
effort； maybe it would be very successful。 We are often very shortsighted； unwilling to spend a
dollar today to save hundreds of dollars in the future。 Perhaps we would serve ourselves and our
children better； if we realized that no amount of money saved in the future can obviate the fact that
our children are our future。
Single versus Multiple Intelligence
Is intelligence a single； inborn ability that is relatively unaffected by the environment； as suggested
by Spearman’s “g…factor？” Or is intelligence really a bination of several different abilities； as
suggested by Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences。 Or does it involve a bination of some
inborn factor that accounts for some intellectual abilities and a variety of specific intellectual skills
that operate independently of each other？ This is a great discussion topic that students usually
have strong opinions about。 You might add； that part of the problem； even among the “experts” in
this field； is there is no single； universally accepted definition of intelligence from which to focus
the argument。 How you feel about intelligence can vary greatly depending upon how you define it。
The average student or person on the street tends to view intelligence differently than the average
teacher or professor。 And both of them tend to view intelligence differently than the average
scientific researcher studying intelligence。 With this type of disagreement； is it possible to know
how many different types of intelligence there are？
IQ Tests and Labeling
One of the dangers in assigning people IQ scores in grade school is the danger of labeling the
student based on an IQ score； and then having that label bee a self…fulfilling prophecy。 While IQ
can be useful for identifying children who are either gifted or retarded； how useful is it to assign
numbers and labels to those falling within the middle ranges？ If one assumes that IQ is measuring
primarily a set of school skills； rather than one’s ability to learn across the board； is it fair to label
someone as “smart” or “stupid” based on an IQ score？ While； no one officially uses such terms as
“stupid” to label someone based on IQ； it informally happens all the time； and children can be
vicious in their use of such labels on each other。 Since people tend to have stereotypes about what
“smart” and “stupid” mean； how does such a label positively or negatively affect a child？ Can it
change the way parents and teachers interact with such children？ Could such labels cause a child
to lose self…confidence； leading to even worse future performance； thus fulfilling the label？ Many
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people believe that labeling can create a self…fulfilling prophecy。 The Rosenthal and Jacobson （1968）
study； discussed in the text； found evidence of a positive self…fulfilling prophecy when teachers
were led to believe that certain students were “smart。” A reverse negative self…fulfilling prophecy
seems just as possible when students are labeled “stupid” or “not smart。” The text also discusses
this issue in regard to the larger effect of stereotypes and the poorer performance of African
Americans on tests when they believe the tests measure intelligence than when they are just lab
experiments。 The results of the Steele and Aronson （1995） study indicate that just being a member of
a group that has been stereotyped as not being smart can lower individual performance。 How much
more does believing that you； as an individual； are not smart； affect performance？ Given how many
areas of practical intelligence that IQ does not seem to measure or predict； we need to be very careful
about negatively labeling children on the basis of IQ alone。 This means doing a better job of
educating people on the limitations of what intelligence tests tell us about children’s abilities。
BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILES
Alfred Binet （1857—1911）
Born in Nice； France； Binet received his law degree from Lycee St。 Louis in 1878； and his Ph。D。 in
science from the University of Paris in 1894。 Binet was perhaps the most respected French
psychologist near the turn of the century and was responsible； with colleague Henri Beaunis； for
founding the first French psychological laboratory。 Binet was fascinated by the concepts of
hypnotism and suggestibility； and became known for his studies of these phenomena before 1900。
Binet’s reputation in psychology； however； stems most from his and colleague Theodore Simon’s
first test of intelligence； for which Binet was missioned by the French minister of p