1. Use and Abuse of Intelligence Testing

2. Broca’s Craniometry
Men were more intelligent because they had larger brains
The difference between contemporary men and women’s brains was greater than between prehistoric men and women
Why? Evolution – men more involved in a competition for survival – they had to adapt quicker and be more intelligent
Opinion widely accepted and led to global discrimination of women in education that lasted for nearly a century

3. Broca’s Craniometry (cont.)
These “findings” influenced by prevailing beliefs of the time
He looked for explanations that were consistent with the beliefs
Commonly believed that younger adults more intelligent than older, Primitive people less intelligent than modern people, and women less intelligent than men.
Needed to find a reason – brain size

4. Mismeasurement of Man Re-examined Broca’s data
When age differences accounted for difference between men and women reduced to 113 grams instead of 181
Prehistoric data based upon 13 brains – very small sample
Body size not taken into account

5. Alfred Binet
1st objective and standardized form of intelligence testing
Binet studied hypnotism with Jean Charcot
Self-taught psychologist and demonstrated poor critical thinking skills – accepted without question the views of people he thought were smart

6. Binet and Fere Use of hypnotism and magnets
The action on one side of the body of a hypnotized person can be moved to the other side by moving a magnet
Under hypnosis a person’s motivation and perception could be changes to the opposite using a magnet
Problem – no one could replicate his results

7. Binet and Fere Experiments poorly done with little controls
Libault reported that Binet’s results were the result of suggestion, subjects knew what they were supposed to do
Binet proved wrong when Libault and others showed that Binet’s results could occur without magnets
Binet forced to admit that he and Charcot were wrong, hypnosis and hysteria not linked to a deteriorating nervous system

8. Binet and intelligence testing
Given the task of developing an objective assessment of children that could identify those who would need help to perform in a normal classroom
1906 – Binet and Simon developed the Binet-Simon Scale of general intelligence
Test began to be given under very controlled situations to determine its validity

9. Testing validity
Identify two groups a normal group and an abnormal group
Give each group the test
Identify which tests items differentiate the 2 groups – on which items did the 2 groups consistently perform differently

10. Binet-Simon Scale of Intelligence
Purpose was to identify children who would need help
Based on 2 assumptions of Binet
Intelligence not a unitary ability, but a combinations of many abilities
Inheritance may place a limit on intelligence, but no one reaches their full potential therefore everyone can grow intellectually

11. 1908 Revised Binet-Simon Scale
Mental level included – a 5 year old should perform at a 5 year old level
Mental level was changeable- a strong environmental position
Strongly opposed the idea of the Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
IQ developed by Louis Stern (1912)
Concept of mental level evolved into mental age – opposed by Binet

12. Spearmen’s general intelligence
Intelligence a unitary ability and inherited
American’s accepted Spearman’s perspective of intelligence

13. Binet – Simon scale introduced to the U.S.
1911 version brought to the U.S.
Principally by Henry Goddard and Louis Terman
Goddard face by the same problem in New Jersey as Binet faced in Paris

14. Henry Goddard
Took Spearman’s innate perspective to intelligence and used his English translations as tests
Heavily influenced by Mendel’s study of heredity in plants
Study of the Kallikac family
Supported concept of eugenics and helped lead to forced sterilzation of people determined to be mentally deficient
Study seriously flawed

15. Goddard and the Vineland School for the Feebleminded
Tested his English translation of the Binet-Simon scale using children in the Vineland School and compared them to children in public schools
The 2 groups of children scored very different so he concluded it was a good test
Ignored important result ignored

16. Goddard and immigration
More people from southern and eastern Europe immigrating to the U.S.
Method needed to screen new immigrants to exclude mental deficients
Goddard “showed” that the Binet test could identify people with mental defects. Thousands excluded because they failed the test
Test used made up of questions only a U.S. resident would be likely to answer

17. Later Goddard
Began work with gifted children that was followed up by Terman
Gifted do not end up maladjusted and that enriched programs can help them
Rejected his previous view of intelligence and adopted Binet’s , but the damage had been done

18. Louis Terman Intelligence inherited
Low intelligence the cause of all criminal and immoral behavior
Modified the Binet test to the Stanford-Binet
Showed the Stanford-Binet correlated with academic success
Extensive work with gifted children – longitudinal study of Terman’s Termites

19. Louis Terman’s longitudinal study
Findings:
Most children excelled in school and later excelled in college
Most were highly successful professionally- making many professional contributions
Problems:
Sample unrepresentative of the population
They knew and were repeatedly told how special they were
Very few comparison’s with a control group
Terman helped many of them with scholarships and letters of recommendation
No really great leader, scholar, or scientists were among them

20. Robert Yerkes
Army intelligence tests – used to test army recruits and draftees
Purpose:
To segregate the mentally incompetent
Classify according to mental ability
Identify those most competent for special training
Characteristics of test
Group testing
Intelligence independent of education
Challenging to brightest but could be taken by those of lesser ability
Toke less than an hour to take

21. Results of Army Alpha and beta Tests
Reported to be the greatest thing to come out of psychology
Psychology and psychologists status as a science grew tremendously
Problem average score on the test was below normal – the idiot level - adults scoring at the 13 year old level

22. Impact of the army test
Edison did his studies of American intelligence and found people to be “amazingly ignorant”
Poor scores blamed on the deterioration of the national intelligence due to immigration of certain ethnic groups and reproduction of inferior people
Resulted in further immigration restrictions and sterilization
No one questioned the validity of the test and the testing conditions

23. The challenge to Goddard, Terman , and other psychologists
!922 Horace English – data from test were misread
1923 – F. N. Freeman – mental testers conclude that thereis no way to compare intelligence of peopleof different upbringing
Walter Lippmann in 1922 and 1923
The average adult intelligence cannot be less than the average adult intelligence
Average intelligence on the Stanford-Binet was at a 16 year level on the army test it was 13
Supported the original ideas of Binet and highly criticized later psychologist
Terman tried to respond to Lippmann’s articles, but should have known better than debate a great journalist in a public forum