Final answer:
The primary criticism of Herrnstein and Murray's 'The Bell Curve' is the failure to distinguish between correlation and causation, while also not accounting for environmental and societal influences on intelligence. Critics also argue that IQ tests may have cultural biases, making them unfair to individuals from less affluent backgrounds.
Step-by-step explanation:
One criticism of the conclusions offered by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray in The Bell Curve is that they failed to distinguish between correlation and causation, option C. Their book has sparked significant controversy by suggesting that intelligence is influenced by genetic factors and attempting to link those to race, which has been largely disputed by subsequent research. Critics argue that Herrnstein and Murray interpreted the data to mean a causal relationship between race and intelligence, without sufficiently considering other factors such as socioeconomic status, education, and environmental influences that can affect IQ scores and are not determined by race.
Furthermore, critics highlight that any generally lower IQ among a racial group was more about nurture than nature, suggesting a strong influence of the environment and societal factors. Conflict theorists also argue that IQ tests are inherently biased, as they may test cultural knowledge more than innate intelligence, thus rewarding individuals from more affluent backgrounds who have had greater exposure to the material being tested.