Use and Abuse of Intelligence Testing

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