Personality Differences: African Americans vs. Caucasians
Psychological Differences between African-American and Caucasian Individuals: An Endless Controversy
Alana Carran
Psychology 308K 7980
Semester 1209
Alana Carran
Dawn K. Lewis
Psychology 308K
15 December 2012
Psychological Differences between African-American and Caucasian Individuals: An Endless Controversy
Introduction Investigating the psychological differences between African-Americans and their Caucasian counterparts has been fraught with contention, an endless debate revolving around whether or not the lower IQ scores of African-Americans to Caucasians is to be attributed to either environmental or biological factors, or both. Caucasians and African-Americans endure a number of both physical and psychological differences—large variations in the rate of childhood development, brain size and what this implies about intelligence, as well as behavior. Evidence exists to suggest these differences lie in the general socioeconomic inferiority of African-Americans and stereotype vulnerability, while separate studies both prove and disprove the theory that admixture African-Americans (those of European descent) score higher on IQ tests and behave more like “whites.” There is compelling, conflicting evidence in favor of African-Americans typically behaving more aggressively and impulsively than Caucasians as a result of genetics, while other evidence contends that this is a result of socioeconomic status. These various studies and theories concerning the behaviors and intellectual capacity of African-Americans versus their Caucasian counterparts will be explored and analyzed for accuracy in methodology and the implications of the results.
Physical Development African-Americans, on average, excel in sports. They are born a week earlier than the average Caucasian, but their bodies mature at a much faster rate (measured by bone development). By age six, they are able to perform all the physical activities that require short bursts of energy, such as
Alana Carran
Psychology 308K 7980
Semester 1209
Alana Carran
Dawn K. Lewis
Psychology 308K
15 December 2012
Psychological Differences between African-American and Caucasian Individuals: An Endless Controversy
Introduction Investigating the psychological differences between African-Americans and their Caucasian counterparts has been fraught with contention, an endless debate revolving around whether or not the lower IQ scores of African-Americans to Caucasians is to be attributed to either environmental or biological factors, or both. Caucasians and African-Americans endure a number of both physical and psychological differences—large variations in the rate of childhood development, brain size and what this implies about intelligence, as well as behavior. Evidence exists to suggest these differences lie in the general socioeconomic inferiority of African-Americans and stereotype vulnerability, while separate studies both prove and disprove the theory that admixture African-Americans (those of European descent) score higher on IQ tests and behave more like “whites.” There is compelling, conflicting evidence in favor of African-Americans typically behaving more aggressively and impulsively than Caucasians as a result of genetics, while other evidence contends that this is a result of socioeconomic status. These various studies and theories concerning the behaviors and intellectual capacity of African-Americans versus their Caucasian counterparts will be explored and analyzed for accuracy in methodology and the implications of the results.
Physical Development African-Americans, on average, excel in sports. They are born a week earlier than the average Caucasian, but their bodies mature at a much faster rate (measured by bone development). By age six, they are able to perform all the physical activities that require short bursts of energy, such as
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