Motivation, race, social class, and IQ.

Administered the Performance subscales of the WISC to 208 male and 208 female junior and senior high school students (aged 12-16 yrs) to test the prediction that if performance responded to the manipulation of the testee's motivation state, the size of interracial differences in mean IQ would be more flexible than was suggested by A. R. Jensen's (1969) review of the literature. The variables of test atmosphere (evaluative or gamelike), tester expectation (high or low), race of tester (Black or White), and race of S (Black or White) were manipulated. The pattern of mean IQ scores as well as self-ratings of mood indicated that test performance was optimal at moderate levels of motivational arousal. A replication of the experiment employing 208 male Ss increased cell sizes to the point that socioeconomic status could be treated as an independent variable. Results suggested that interracial differences in mean IQ might be erased depending upon the social psychological characteristics of the test setting and the socioeconomic background of the testee. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)