[lbo-talk] Sam Smith on Doug Henwoodlbo

[Miles Jackson]

B. wrote:
> When did they become valid predictors of success in
> "white collar" fields? 
> 
> IQ tests were designed to test for mental retardation
> for adolescent age kids in schools.
> 
> Pop culturally, they've become pissing contests.
> 
> -B.

This is a well establishing finding.  One relevant meta-analysis:

Hunter, J.E. and Hunter, R.F. (1984). Validity and utility of alternate 
predictors of job performance. Psychological Bulletin, 96(1):72-98.

If you go back to Binet around 1900, yes, his test was originally 
developed to identify children with "learning problems".  However, 
shortly after that, in the early 1900s, psychometricians like Terman 
began arguing that IQ score = intelligence in the general population.

Miles