Final answer:
The debate related to the question is commonly known as the nature vs. nurture debate, discussing the roles of genetic inheritance and environmental factors in human development, including intelligence. Research has shown that racial groups do not differ in intelligence based on biology, emphasizing the role of nurturing factors like quality of education and socioeconomic status. Controversial works, such as Arthur Jensen's, that suggested genetic differences in intelligence based on race, faced substantial criticism and refutation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The debate around the foundations and influences on intelligence often revolves around the dichotomy of nature vs. nurture, and one of the options mentioned in the question. Fueling the nature vs. nurture debate are two other disturbing but agreed upon these facts: the notion that racial groups differ in their average intelligence scores and the correlation between high scoring people and groups and their likelihood to attain high levels of education and income. Historically, the concept of race determining intelligence was influenced by pseudoscientific beliefs and has been used to justify racist practices.
Research such as that done by Dickens in 2006, which showed the closing of IQ gaps with increased access to education, refutes the biological-racial basis for intelligence and supports the view that nurture plays a critical role. Additionally, studies have demonstrated that factors like socioeconomic status and the level of stress experienced by children living in poverty can significantly impact IQ scores and brain development.
Arthur Jensen's work in the late 1960s and early 1970s suggested a genetic basis for intelligence and posited racial differences in cognitive abilities, sparking controversy and debate. However, Jensen's methodology, and the racial bias in his work, including racist statements made in interviews, have been widely criticized. His research and conclusions have been challenged by further studies indicating that many factors, including both genetics and environment, contribute to an individual's intelligence level.