One of the most controversial issues for anyone studying Psychology or Physiology is the correlation of Race and Intelligence. There are many academicians who view intelligence as based on race, overlooking the complexity that this issue presents. For example, both University Professors and Medical Doctor and other professionals have for long struggled with the issue of Race and Intelligence and, even today there has not been any conclusive agreement among them.
On this space, I will soon be posting my End of Term Paper, entitled Prenatal Environment and Behaviour, presented in 1989 to Dr. Neil Wiener, then a Neurology and Physiological Psychology Professor at York University, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Essentially, my paper argues that Race has very little if any effect on Intelligence or Behaviour. I further assert that most behaviour, which is an expression of intelligence, is determined by Genetic Factors, and that these latter factors can be fuelled by Environmental Factors, and my definitionm of environmental factors includes everything that happens to a mother and the child, from conception to birth, i.e., the quality of a mother’s living conditions and environment, existence or not environmental pollutants, the quality of food and water, cultural habits, tobacco and alcohol consumption, etc.
If anyone out there has some new ideas on this matter, I would be very grateful to hear from him/her.
Joaquim A. Castro DoCastelo
Maputo, Mozambique