Intelligence Discrepancies in Criminals and Delinquents
It has long been discussed that IQ, or intelligence quotient, is responsible for how well we perform intellectually. Some have argued that it is insignificant, but arguments of its irrelevance are old and have little evidence. In Kurt Vonnegut’s Hocus Pocus, he presents the idea that the prisoners at a nearby correctional facility are more intelligent than the students at a university. As interesting as this may seem, this situation is unrealistic. Psychologists suggest that those with an IQ score below 90 are more likely to exhibit delinquent behavior because of their lack of verbal IQ. Because of advances in technology and methodology, it has become easier to measure IQ more accurately …show more content…
For example: Mental health problems and complications correlate negatively with IQ scores. Those who have some sort of mental issue will almost always have an IQ score below 90 (Hayes). Both of these factors can be linked to creating criminal behavior. Someone experiencing one or both of these is certainly expected to show delinquent behavior in their lifetime. From this, it can be inferred that the criminals at Athena prison will likely have a low IQ. In addition, 27% of all accounted prisoners have IQ scores in the intellectual disability range, meaning that they are not fully responsible for their actions because of some sort of shortcoming (Hayes). These people with low IQs are actually twice as likely to be questioned by authority for suspicion of criminal behavior. (Hirschi …show more content…
The scientists at Cornell agree that low IQ at any age is responsible for delinquent behavior (Cornell). Looking back at information previously mention, it has been stated that a lack of intelligence can be related criminal tendencies, but now it is clear that they are directly related. The average criminal in studies conducted by both Cornell and Hirschi will have a discrepancy of 9-14 IQ points from non criminals (Cornell)(Hirschi 573). It has been proven that past or present criminals do in fact have lower intelligence quotients. Cornell University researchers conducted a study of the Performance IQ of criminals versus their Verbal IQ. Performance IQ is “the score resulting from a test that assesses mental capacity dealing with nonverbal skills” (“Performance”) while verbal IQ “measures ability to reason and understand” (“Verbal”). Results showed that 35% of the delinquents in the study had a significantly higher performance IQ than verbal IQ by at least 12 points (Cornell). From this it can be deduced that an individual with a low verbal intelligence will be more likely to commit a criminal
It has long been discussed that IQ, or intelligence quotient, is responsible for how well we perform intellectually. Some have argued that it is insignificant, but arguments of its irrelevance are old and have little evidence. In Kurt Vonnegut’s Hocus Pocus, he presents the idea that the prisoners at a nearby correctional facility are more intelligent than the students at a university. As interesting as this may seem, this situation is unrealistic. Psychologists suggest that those with an IQ score below 90 are more likely to exhibit delinquent behavior because of their lack of verbal IQ. Because of advances in technology and methodology, it has become easier to measure IQ more accurately …show more content…
For example: Mental health problems and complications correlate negatively with IQ scores. Those who have some sort of mental issue will almost always have an IQ score below 90 (Hayes). Both of these factors can be linked to creating criminal behavior. Someone experiencing one or both of these is certainly expected to show delinquent behavior in their lifetime. From this, it can be inferred that the criminals at Athena prison will likely have a low IQ. In addition, 27% of all accounted prisoners have IQ scores in the intellectual disability range, meaning that they are not fully responsible for their actions because of some sort of shortcoming (Hayes). These people with low IQs are actually twice as likely to be questioned by authority for suspicion of criminal behavior. (Hirschi …show more content…
The scientists at Cornell agree that low IQ at any age is responsible for delinquent behavior (Cornell). Looking back at information previously mention, it has been stated that a lack of intelligence can be related criminal tendencies, but now it is clear that they are directly related. The average criminal in studies conducted by both Cornell and Hirschi will have a discrepancy of 9-14 IQ points from non criminals (Cornell)(Hirschi 573). It has been proven that past or present criminals do in fact have lower intelligence quotients. Cornell University researchers conducted a study of the Performance IQ of criminals versus their Verbal IQ. Performance IQ is “the score resulting from a test that assesses mental capacity dealing with nonverbal skills” (“Performance”) while verbal IQ “measures ability to reason and understand” (“Verbal”). Results showed that 35% of the delinquents in the study had a significantly higher performance IQ than verbal IQ by at least 12 points (Cornell). From this it can be deduced that an individual with a low verbal intelligence will be more likely to commit a criminal