Seymour William Itzkoff (born 1928) is an American psychologist and writer who has published research on intelligence.
[4] Itzkoff suggests in Why Humans Vary in Intelligence that hereditary factors probably account for 70% to 80% of variability in IQ.
"[9] In 1994 he was one of 52 signatories on "Mainstream Science on Intelligence", an editorial written by Linda Gottfredson and published in the Wall Street Journal.
[10][11] The editorial was published in response to the controversy over the publication of the book The Bell Curve by Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray.
According to Cooter, the book "fails to offer the reader any new insights and does a rather poor job of packaging the old (and sometimes bitter) wine in new bottles".
Philosopher Michael Ruse praised the book's writing and optimistic tone as appropriate for high school students or early undergrads, while saying that Itzkoff did not support many of his arguments and assumptions.