Why would the authors of the study assume that adoption of black children into white families would result in cognitive benets?

To understand the rationale behind the study, note the following background details.

● Back in 1974, random samples of black and white participants did not perform equally well on tests of intelligence and school achievement (the average IQ for white participants was around 100 while the average IQ for black participants was around 85–90). This could mostly be attributed to a lower SES status of black families, as well as stronger exposure of the white population to the culture of achievement, schools and tests.

● The black population of Minnesota was small in 1974 (around 1% of the total population). There were many black children available for adoption and few black families to adopt them.

● Typically, adoption agencies place children in well-o families with higher-than-average SES and non-abusive environments.

All adoptive families that participated in the study could be classied as highly educated and above average in income.

● So a black child adopted into a white family at that time would typically end up in a richer environment. If intelligence is malleable, we can expect IQ scores of adopted children to be higher than the population baseline.