DOCSLIB.ORG

High Impact Science and the Case of Arthur Jensen

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
High Impact Science and the Case of Arthur Jensen EuwwsntEamm=nts HighImpact S&nce and the Case of Arthur Jensen o Number 41 October 9, 1978 Great science, whose importance times; 1976, 66 times and 1977, 61 is recognized, always has high im- times. Many of these citations, 101 pact. But not all high impact science to be exact, appeared in letters, is great science. notes and editorials in journals. The No other statement about citation rest, 537, were references in arti- analysis needs as much repetition. cles. We are unable to report in how However, only on rare occasions many books it was cited. can we identify specific examples of Since Jensen’s article was cited high impact papers that have a large so often it proved to be one of the percentage of critical or negative ci- papers on our list of 100 most-cited tations. The reason for this is sim- SSCl articles. z Consequently we ple. Scientists generally disregard wrote to Jensen asking him to write the obviously erroneous or the triv- a commentary on his article for Ci- iaI. Yet in the case of Arthur Jen- ~ation Classics. We are publishing sen’s 123-page work, “How much that commentary in this issue. can we boost IQ and scholastic As I promised in the essay ac- achievement?” 1 they did not disre- companying the SSC1 100 most- gard it. Perhaps scientists felt they cited articles list, we have con- could not disregard it. ducted an investigation into why the To appreciate the impact of Jen- Jensen article was so frequent~y cited. sen’s article in the 1969 Harvard Later in this editorial I will pre- Education/ Review one onfy has to sent the results of that investigation. look at the large number of citations Arthur Jensen was born August it has received. The Science Cita- 24, 1923 in San Diego, Califomia.3 tion Index@ (SCl@) and the So- He has a BA in psychology from the cial Sciences Citation Index TM University of California, Berkeley (SSCITM) indicate it was cited 638 (1945); MA in psychology from San times between 1969 and 1977. The Diego State College (1952) and a data for each year are as follows: Ph. D. from Teachers College of 1%9, 20 times; 1970,62 times; 1971, Columbia University (1956). Jen- 103 times; 1972, 74 times; 1973, 110 sen’s dissertation was entitled “ Ag- times; 1974, 67 times; 1975, 75 gression in fantasy and overt 652 behavior. ” After graduation, Jen- forts to produce lasting sen worked for a time with Hans changes in the IQs of disad- Eysenck, whose views on genetic vantaged children meant that determination of intelligence were the programs should be expressed in his 1971 book The lQ reevaluated. argumenf.4 His views seem to 2. Questioned the prevailing idea closely parallel Jensen’s. 5 At the that IQ differences are the re- time he wrote his controversial arti- sult of environmental factors. cle, Jensen was a member of the 3. Discussed the nature of intel- faculty of the University of Califor- ligence and gave a history of nia at Berkeley and of the Institute IQ testing. of Learning, where he still works. 4. Correlated occupation with According to Stanford University intelligence. education professor Lee Cronbach, 5. Using evidence presented by Jensen’s article was prepared in rel- Sir Cyril Burt, showed how ative haste.8 In his preface to IQ can be viewed as nearly Genetics and education 7 Jensen normally distributed through- himself notes that the article grew out a population. He then pro- out of two lectures he gave. One vided a variance model to was on “Social class, race, and explain how IQ could be genetics: implications for educa- broken into its genetic and tion” and dealt with the question of environmental components. educating children of differing learn- 6. Discussed heritability — a ing abilities. The other, on intelli- statistical tool used to assess gence testing, presented Jensen’s the degree to which differ- findings on the interaction among ences in intelligence within a social class, intelligence, and rote population are due to genetic learning ability. The graduate stu- factors. Backed by kinship dent editors of the Harvard Edu- studies by Burt and others, cational Review asked Jensen to Jensen proposed that there is synthesize the lectures into one a .8 heritability factor. This statement of views conforming to an means that 80% of the var- outline they presented. He did so. iance of intelligence in the Cronbach points out that Jensen let observed population can be other work crowd his schedule’ ‘un- attributed to genetic factors. tilmid-September and then put to- 7. Said that some environmental gether 50,000 words in two factors such as prenatal care months. ”e can influence intelligence. The Jensen articlel covers a lot of However, he asserted that so- territory. Some of its main points cial class and racial variations are listed below. In the article Jensen: in intelligence (such as the one 1. Argued that the failure of standard deviation, 15 point compensatory education ef- IQ difference between groups 653 of blacks and groups of paper were also gathered together m whites) cannot be accounted book form. 9 for by environmental factors. To examine the nature of the Jen- 8. Argued that a deprived envi- sen controversy we decided to do an ronment can keep a child from in-depth citation study at IS I@. performing up to his genetic Using both the SSCI and the SCl potential, but that an enriched we randomly selected 60 articles, educational program cannot (every 9th article) or about 10% push the child above that po- of the items that cited the 1%9 Jen- tential. sen work, to see why the authors 9. Presented his own theory that did so. people are endowed with two Of the 60 papers in our sample, 29 kinds of learning ability, as- cited Jensen’s article negatively. sociative or Level I and cogni- This number includes articles that tive or Level II. According to took exception to almost every Jensen, disadvantaged chil- point presented in the paper. It also dren do better on Level I tasks includes those in which the authors and not as well as advantaged debated specific points Jensen children on Level 11 tasks. made. Eight of the articles cited Level I tasks include rote Jensen’s paper as an example of a learning and selective trial and controversy. Eight more used the error learning with feedback article as a background reference. for correct responses. Level II Only fifteen of the articles cited tasks include concept learning Jensen in agreement with his posi- and problem solving. He con- tions, and seven of them only on cluded that education should minor points. Further readings have be changed. ‘LDiversit y rather contkmed that our sample is typi- than uniformity of approaches cal of the way authors have cited would seem to be the key to the Jensen work. making education rewarding Fourteen of the 60 papers cited for children with different pat- Jensen’s article as part of the con- terns of abilit y.” tinuing “gene vs. environment” From a quick reading of the controversy. This familiar argu- above highlights it is easy to see that ment, sometimes known as the many of Jensen’s conclusions were nature/nurture debate, pits those likely to provoke controversy. So who believe in environmental de- sure of this were the editors of flar- termination of IQ or other traits vard Edtdcarional Review that they against those who believe that these “arranged for a panel to provide traits are genetically determined. Of comments” on the work, Cronbach the 14 papers, five were clearly said. s Those comments were later against Jensen’s stand that genetic published in book forms Sub- factors, more than environmental sequent comments on the Jensen factors, account for differences in 654 IQ between individuals and be- ences and the correlations between tween racial and cultural groups. any two sets of measures are com- Four of the papers supported his pletel y independent of one another. stand. Five more used Jensen’s ar- There is no statistical basis “for ticle as an example of a study em- predicting one on the basis of broiled in the controversy. knowledge of the other,” as Jensen Eleven of the articles we selected seems to do in his article. called into question Jensen’s use of Eight of the papers in the sample data. None of them specifically specifically mentioned Jensen’s use supported his methodology. One of of IQ measurements. Six of the the articles attacking Jensen’s use of eight expressed opposition to the data was by David Layzer of the way the measurements were used. Harvard College Observatory.’0 In M. W. Feldman and biologist R. C. the article, called “Science or Lewontin, for example, discussed superstition (a physical scientist Jensen’s use of a variance model to looks at the IQ controversy ),” measure IQ populations in “The Layzer “analyzes the implicit as- heritability y hang-up.”’2 The sumptions underlying Jensen’s analysis of variance cannot really theoretical analysis and demon- “separate variation that is a result strates that they are untenable. ” He of environmental fluctuation from points out that the IQ measure- variation that is a result of genetic ments do not satisfy certain formal segregation, ” the authors said. The requirements needed to make them two articles not negatively citing reliable and meaningful. Thus, ac- this aspect of Jensen’s work refer- cording to Layzer, the estimates of enced the article as part of the de- heritability given by Jensen are bate over using IQ measurements.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • SOHASKY-DISSERTATION-2017.Pdf (2.074Mb)
    DIFFERENTIAL MINDS: MASS INTELLIGENCE TESTING AND RACE SCIENCE IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY by Kate E. Sohasky A dissertation submitted to the Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Baltimore, Maryland May 9, 2017 © Kate E. Sohasky All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Historians have argued that race science and eugenics retreated following their discrediting in the wake of the Second World War. Yet if race science and eugenics disappeared, how does one explain their sudden and unexpected reemergence in the form of the neohereditarian work of Arthur Jensen, Richard Herrnstein, and Charles Murray? This dissertation argues that race science and eugenics did not retreat following their discrediting. Rather, race science and eugenics adapted to changing political and social climes, at times entering into states of latency, throughout the twentieth century. The transnational history of mass intelligence testing in the twentieth century demonstrates the longevity of race science and eugenics long after their discrediting. Indeed, the tropes of race science and eugenics persist today in the modern I.Q. controversy, as the dissertation shows. By examining the history of mass intelligence testing in multiple nations, this dissertation presents narrative of the continuity of race science and eugenics throughout the twentieth century. Dissertation Committee: Advisors: Angus Burgin and Ronald G. Walters Readers: Louis Galambos, Nathaniel Comfort, and Adam Sheingate Alternates: François Furstenberg
    [Show full text]
  • Psychometric G: Definition and Substantiation
    Psychometric g: Definition and Substantiation Arthur R. Jensen University of Culifornia, Berkeley The construct known as psychometric g is arguably the most important construct in all of psychology largelybecause of its ubiquitous presence in all tests of mental ability and its wide-ranging predictive validity for a great many socially significant variables, including scholastic performance and intellectual attainments, occupational status, job performance, in- come, law abidingness, and welfare dependency. Even such nonintellec- tual variables as myopia, general health, and longevity, as well as many other physical traits, are positively related to g. Of course, the causal con- nections in the whole nexus of the many diverse phenomena involving the g factor is highly complex. Indeed, g and its ramifications cut across the behavioral sciences-brainphysiology, psychology, sociology-perhaps more than any other scientific construct. THE DOMAIN OF g THEORY It is important to keep in mind the distinction between intelligence and g, as these terms are used here. The psychology of intelligence could, at least in theory, be based on the study of one person,just as Ebbinghaus discov- ered some of the laws of learning and memory in experimentswith N = 1, using himself as his experimental subject. Intelligence is an open-ended category for all those mental processes we view as cognitive, such as stimu- lus apprehension, perception, attention, discrimination, generalization, 39 40 JENSEN learning and learning-set acquisition, short-term and long-term memory, inference, thinking, relation eduction, inductive and deductive reasoning, insight, problem solving, and language. The g factor is something else. It could never have been discovered with N = 1, because it reflects individual di,fferences in performance on tests or tasks that involve anyone or moreof the kinds of processes just referred to as intelligence.
    [Show full text]
  • An Analysis of Stormfront Discussions on Race
    “So Much for Darwin” An Analysis of Stormfront Discussions on Race Dianne Dentice Stephen F. Austin State University ABSTRACT Even though people who actively participate in the white nationalist movement appear to be a relatively small percentage of the global popula- tion, it appears that racist and anti-Semitic attitudes continue to inform a new generation of white nationalists, many of whom populate discussion forums on Stormfront, online since 1995 and billed as the first Internet site in the hate genre. Membership in extremist groups and support for sites like Stormfront embody specific attitudes about race, the importance of the exis- tence of biological races, intellectual superiority of whites, and justification for these beliefs that is sometimes framed with a religious perspective such as Christian Identity. This project is based on a content analysis of Storm- front discussion forums posted online between the years 2010 and 2017. The findings indicate that some discussants are willing to admit the exis- tence of small percentages of mixed DNA without giving up their white identity. They understand the concept of mass migration and human breed- ing patterns. Others stand ready to argue these points and discredit DNA testing whenever possible. Hatred of Jews is a recurrent theme throughout Stormfront forums, no matter the topic of discussion and both William Pierce and Wesley Swift are gaining currency with younger discussants on the site. Additionally and maybe most importantly, a mentoring system is in place where more mature and seasoned white racialists share race science anecdotes and articles from J. Philippe Rushton and Arthur Jensen, among others.
    [Show full text]
  • IQ Guru Talks to Skeptic Magazine? Given the Chance to Explain How He
    Heredity (2003) 90, 346–347 & 2003 Nature Publishing Group All rights reserved 0018-067X/03 $25.00 www.nature.com/hdy BOOK REVIEW IQ guru talks to Skeptic magazine? welfare state that will long continue to support the Given the chance to explain how he country’s Black underclass. Who were Jensen’s friends in martyrdom and what chose to endure denunciation for was the organization of the London School of which he ‘fascism’, psychologist Arthur Jensen became the revered intellectual head? (The journal holds his peace Intelligence recently devoted a Special Issue to him, calling him ‘A King among Men.’) What was the plan of Intelligence, Race, and Genetics: Conversations campaign for dealing with the rise of political correctness which was making even discussion of race impossible? with Arthur R Jensen Miele’s book has no index allowing tracing, but such F Miele crown princes of the London School as Phil Rushton Westview Press, Oxford. 2002; 236 pp. (who first linked the Mongoloid–Caucasian–Negroid d16.99, hardback. ISBN 0-8133-4008-X continuum to a wide range of psychological features, Reviewed by Chris Brand including sexuality – Rushton, 1985) and Richard Lynn Heredity (2003) 90, 346–347. doi:10.1038/sj.hdy.6800226 (who first noticed evidence that Black African IQ was actually only 70 – Lynn, 1991) certainly do not loom large in Jensen’s ‘conversation.’ Scrupulously aiming to avoid In 1969, Arthur Jensen (today Emeritus Professor at controversy, the man who first so sensationally attracted Berkeley) began his career of martyrdom with his it now disdains any interesting propositions about the Harvard Educational Review article saying that educability, human condition.
    [Show full text]
  • Hans Eysenck's Theory of Intelligence, and What It Reveals About Him
    Personality and Individual Differences 103 (2016) 116–127 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Personality and Individual Differences journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid Hans Eysenck's theory of intelligence, and what it reveals about him Linda S. Gottfredson School of Education, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA article info abstract Article history: Hans Eysenck was a highly analytical, objective, independent-minded experimentalist. He personified the biolog- Received 18 March 2016 ical perspective of the Galton–Spearman ‘London School of Psychology’, which he led for many decades. His first Accepted 6 April 2016 (1939) and last publications (1998) were on intelligence. Returning to the topic in the 1960s, he formulated, tested, and promulgated the theory that general intelligence (g) is a biological phenomenon with broad social Keywords: consequences. I examine the status of Eysenck's theory, advances in the field, and social reactions to them during Hans J. Eysenck – – London School of Psychology the 1960s 1970s, 1980s 1990s, and since 2000. My perspective is that of a sociologist who, in testing alternative Intelligence theories of social inequality, was drawn inexorably into the intelligence literature, policy debates over fairness in g factor employee selection, and first-hand observation of the sort of controversies he experienced. Eysenck's 1979 and Intelligence theory 1998 textbooks on intelligence mark developments in his theory and supporting evidence during the first two Biological psychology periods. They exhibit considerable knowledge about the philosophy and history of science, and the nature of sci- Scientificcontroversy entific controversy. Advances in intelligence since 2000, in particular, from neuroimaging and molecular genetics, Social inequality vindicate his biological perspective.
    [Show full text]
  • Flynn-2018.Pdf
    Journal of Criminal Justice xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Criminal Justice journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jcrimjus Academic freedom and race: You ought not to believe what you think may be true James R. Flynn Psychology Department, University of Otago, Dunedin 9001, New Zealand ABSTRACT There should be no academic sanctions against those who believe that were environments equalized, genetic differences between black and white Americans would mean that blacks have an IQ deficit. Whether the evi- dence eventually dictates a genetically caused deficit of nil or 5 or 10 or 20 IQ points is irrelevant. The hypothesis is intelligible and subject to scientific investigation. If that is so, you must have already investigated it if you are to know what is true or false. To prohibit others from investigation or publication of their results is to designate certain truths as the property of an elite to be forbidden to anyone else. It is to insulate them from whatever new evidence the scientific method may provide that would modify belief. A word to those who seek respectability by banning race/gene research: how much respectability would you get if your position were stated without equivocation? What if you were to openly say genetic equality between the races may or may not be true; and that is exactly why I forbid it to be investigated. Or: “I do not know if genetic equality is true and do not want anyone else to know.” There should be no academic sanctions against those who believe than white Americans.” First, that it makes a racial distinction and that that were environments equalized, genetic differences between black there are no such things as pure races, that is, there are no groups of and white Americans would mean that blacks have an IQ deficit.
    [Show full text]
  • Basis of These Accrued Meanings. in This Article, Jensen Restates
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 063 445 UD 012 444 AUTHOR Jensen, Arthur R. TITLE On Jensenism": A Reply to Critics. PUB DATE 7 Apr 72 NOTE 62p.; Address made at the AmericanEducational Research Association annual convention, Ill., April 7, 1972 Chicago, EDRS PRICE MF$0.65 HC-$3.29 DESCRIPTORS Academic Achievement; Ar:ademicPerforzrance; *Cultural Disadvantagement; Culture FreeTests; Disadvantaged Youth; Environment; *Genetics; Heredity; Intelligence; *Intelligence Differences; *Intelligence Quotient; IntelligenceTests; Prenatal Influences; Social Differences; *Social Disadvantagement; Social. Factors; Social Influences ABSTRACT In this address, Jensen discusseshis views on the effects of heredity and environmenton human intelligence, in an attempt to clarify his originalstatements on this subject. Since his article appeared in the "HarvardEducational Review" in 1969, the term "Jensenism" has accrueda variety of meanings through popular usage (according to Jensen) and his ideashave been attacked on the basis of these accrued meanings.In this article, Jensen restates his original views on the nature-nurtureargument, deals with the types of reactions to and criticismsof "Jensenism," heritability,and teachability, with particularreference to heritability in theNegro population, and discusses theeducational implications (namely, compensatory education) of his ideas.(SB) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO. DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM 04. THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIG. INATING IT. POINTS OF VIEW OROPIN. IONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDI.). CATION POSITION OR POLICY. 1.11.1 ON "JENSENISM": A REPLY TO CRITICS Arthur R. Jensen Institute of Human Learning University of California, Berkeley Invited Address. American EducationalResearch Association Annual Convention. Chicago, Illinois April 7, 1972 044 "PERMISSION TO REPROOUCE THIS COPY.
    [Show full text]
  • Arthur Jensen: Consensus and Controversy 5 B.F.Skinner: Consensus and Controversy ARTHUR JENSEN
    ARTHUR JENSEN Consensus and Controversy Essays in Honour of Arthur Jensen Falmer International Master-Minds Challenged Psychology Series Editors: Drs Sohan and Celia Modgil 1 Lawrence Kohlberg: Consensus and Controversy 2 Hans Eysenck: Consensus and Controversy 3 Noam Chomsky: Consensus and Controversy 4 Arthur Jensen: Consensus and Controversy 5 B.F.Skinner: Consensus and Controversy ARTHUR JENSEN Consensus and Controversy EDITED BY Sohan Modgil, Ph.D. Reader in Educational Research and Development Brighton Polytechnic AND Celia Modgil, Ph.D. Senior Lecturer in Educational Psychology London University CONCLUDING CHAPTER BY Arthur R.Jensen University of California, Berkeley The Falmer Press (A Member of the Taylor & Francis Group) New York Philadelphia and London USA The Falmer Press, Taylor & Francis Inc., 242 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106–1906 UK The Falmer Press, Falmer House, Barcombe, Lewes, East Sussex, BN8 5DL © Selection and editorial material copyright Sohan and Celia Modgil 1987 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. First published in 1987 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title: Arthur Jensen: consensus and controversy. (Falmer international masterminds challenged; 4) Contents: General introduction/Julian Stanley— Human learning/Philip Vernon and Lazar Stankov— Genetics of Human abilities/Robert Plomin, Oscar Kempthorne, and Thomas Bouchard—[etc.].
    [Show full text]
  • Personal Politics: the Rise of Personality Traits in The
    PERSONAL POLITICS: THE RISE OF PERSONALITY TRAITS IN THE CENTURY OF EUGENICS AND PSYCHOANALYSIS IAN J. DAVIDSON A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN PSYCHOLOGY YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO AUGUST 2020 © IAN J. DAVIDSON, 2020 ii Abstract This dissertation documents personality psychology’s development alongside psychoanalysis and eugenics, offering a disciplinary and cultural history of personality across the twentieth century. Using the psychological concepts of neurosis and introversion as an organizational framework, personality’s history is portrayed as one of “success:” a succession of hereditarianism and its politics of normativity; a successful demarcation of the science of personality from competing forms of expertise; and a successful cleansing of personality psychology’s interchanges with unethical researchers and research. Chapter 1 provides background for the dissertation, especially focusing on turn-of-the- century developments in the nascent fields of American psychology and the importation of psychoanalytic ideas. It ends with a look at Francis Galton’s eugenicist and statistical contributions that carved a key path for psychological testers to discipline psychoanalytic concepts. Part I details the rise of personality testing in the USA during the interwar years, while also considering the many sexual and gender norms at play. Chapter 2 tracks the varied places in the 1920s that personality tests were developed: from wartime military camps to university laboratories to the offices of corporate advertisers. Chapter 3 takes stock of popular psychoanalytic notions of personality alongside the further psychometric development of personality testing. These developments occurred at a time when American eugenicists— including psychologists—were transitioning to a “positive” form that emphasized marriage and mothering.
    [Show full text]
  • Arthur R. Jensen, 1923–2012
    Twin Research and Human Genetics Volume 16 Number 1 pp. 499–500 C The Authors 2013 doi:10.1017/thg.2012.143 OBITUARY Arthur R. Jensen, 1923–2012 John C. Loehlin University of Texas at Austin Arthur R(obert) Jensen was born August 24, 1923, in San esis worthy of further investigation. ‘The fact that a rea- Diego, and died on October 22, 2012, in his home in sonable hypothesis has not been rigorously proved does Kelseyville in northern California at the age of 89. At the not mean that it should be summarily dismissed. It only timeofhisdeathhewasProfessorEmeritusoftheUniversity means that we need more research for putting it to the test’ of California (Berkeley), in whose Department of Educa- (p. 82). tional Psychology he had served since his initial academic Jensen’s views received wide publicity and were anathema appointment in 1958. in many intellectual circles. Radical groups disrupted his Three events shaped his intellectual career. In 1956, after public lectures. Students chanted outside his classroom: Dr. receiving a PhD from Columbia University (his disserta- Jensen is inside. He is teaching genocide. His car tires were tion was on the ineffectiveness of a particular projective slashed. He received death threats against himself and his test in predicting aggression), Jensen spent two postdoc- family. For a period, the university provided him with a toral years in H. J. Eysenck’s laboratory in London, where pair of bodyguards when he moved about campus, and the he was exposed to the psychometric, genetic, and individual police X-rayed his mail before he was permitted to open difference traditions stemming from Galton, Pearson, and it.
    [Show full text]
  • Arthur R. Jensen (1923–2012)
    OBITUARIES Arthur R. Jensen (1923–2012) Arthur R. Jensen epitomized the “London School” of psycho- Art respected Symonds but felt that his interest in pro- logical thought, studying human individuality as a branch of jective techniques was more a literary exercise than important biology by teaming evolutionary, genetic, and experimental/ science, a feeling that intensified during Art’s clinical intern- multivariate/quantitative methods to examine psychological ship at the University of Maryland’s Psychiatric Institute diversity. His intellectual ancestry traces back through his (1955–1956). Yet, he drew on important advice from Sy- mentor Hans Eysenck to Cyril Burt, Charles Spearman, and, monds, who told him that if he really wanted to be a top ultimately, Sir Francis Galton. Haggbloom et al. (2002, Re- academic, he should work with a leading expert for a few view of General Psychology) ranked him among the top 50 years after obtaining his PhD, rather than taking the most eminent psychologists of the 20th century primarily for his attractive or best-paying position—not to learn more psychol- work on the construct of general intelligence (g) and its ogy or acquire more through reading, but to see how leading antecedents. But he was also known for his studies in human contributors structure their lives and priorities. learning, memory, the cumulative deficit hypothesis, Spear- During the evenings of his internship, Art read widely in man’s hypothesis, the speed of information hypothesis, and psychology, seeking a mentor. Eysenck’s The Scientific Study test bias. Yet, because of the controversial nature of his work, of Personality (1952) resonated with him, as did other lumi- his career was conspicuously marked by tensions: The extent naries in individual-differences/psychometrics.
    [Show full text]
  • Victim of Scientific Hoax
    40 / SOCIETY * MARCH/APRIL 1994 Victim of Scientific Hoax J. Philippe Rushton Yril Bun's report of a preponderant genetic con- Butt was concerned with differences of social class and C tribution to mental ability in monozygotic twins only rarely strayed into discussion of race or gender raised apart, flew in the face of two of this century's differences. He held that the British upper classes most powerful ideas: environmentalism and genetic contained a larger proportion of high genetic intelli- equalitarianism. In 1961 Henry Garrett, a president of gence than did the British lower classes, even though, the American Psychological Association, referred to in absolute numbers, there would be more gifted chil- these as the "equalitarian dogma." In its strongest dren outside of the upper classes than inside of them. form, this dogma holds that all social groups--classes, (Child prodigies of humble origin were of special races, and sexes--are genetically created equal in in- interest to him.) Because of his belief in the degree of tellectual capacity and that disproportionate achieve- overlap in the distributions, and also because of his ment was entirely the result of opportunity and other belief that entrance into advanced school systems social factors. should be based on test and examination performance Cyril Bun is featured in many psychology text- rather than the privilege of birth, Bun was considered books, not for his scientific discoveries, which were a liberal in his day. many, but for his alleged misrepresentation of data. By Bun's "day" was the 1920s and 1930s. He was born implication, the genetic basis of giftedness and intelli- in 1883, the son of a medical doctor, and entered gence is then held still not to be established.
    [Show full text]