gFactorBookReview98
Book Reviews The g Factor: The Science of Mental Ability Arthur R. Jensen Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1998, 700pp. US$39.95 cloth. ISBN 0-2759-6103-6. Greenwood Publishing, 88 Post Rd. West, Box 5007, Westport, CT 06881, USA. J. Philippe Rushton University of Western Ontario, Few scientists have effects or laws named after them. Arthur Jensen's name is listed in a number of dictionaries as an "ism!" The Random House and Webster's Unabridged Dic- tionaries contain the following entry: Jen-sen-ism (jen'se niz'em), n. the theory that an individual's IQ is largely due to heredity, including racial heritage. [1965-1970]; after Arthur R. Jensen (born 1923), U.S. educational psychologist, who pro- posed such a theory; see -ism]—Jen'sen-ist, Jen'sen- ite', n., adj. The "theory" attributed to Jensen has, in fact, been around since the time of Francis Galton (1822-1911), whose He- reditary Genius (1869) predated by exactly one century Jensen's famous Harvard Educational Review article that led him to be labeled a "hereditarian." The dictionary defi- nition cannot be overly derided, however, as Jensen's (1969) review of the evidence that IQ is heritable and that genetic factors are involved in the Black-White IQ gap had enor- mous impact. Jensenism, one of the great heresies of twentieth-century science, is partly responsible for getting the Darwinian-Gal- tonian paradigm back on track in differential psychology after it had been derailed in the behavioral sciences for at least a generation following World War II. In a brilliant 40-year career that has earned him a place among the most frequently cited figures in contemporary psychology, Arthur Jensen has systematically researched and extended Charles Spearman's (1927) seminal concept of g, the general factor of intelligence. The g Factor is an awesome and monumental exposition of the case for the reality of g. It does not draw back from its most controversial conclusions—that the av- erage differences in IQ found between Blacks …