Individual Differences – and R.A

and its development by later British biostatisticians including Karl Pearson Individual differences – and R.A. Fisher. Indeed, the first ARTICLE verifiable psychometric laboratory in the world was set up as part of Francis Galton’s Anthropometric Laboratory in the British context South Kensington, London. Its lineal descendant, the Galton Laboratory, was Gerald Matthews and K.V. Petrides open a series of articles on established (as the Eugenics Record differential psychology Office and Biometric Laboratory) at University College London in 1904, where it has survived as part of the This article briefly surveys some ndividual differences’ seems an Department of Genetics, Evolution and of the historical landmarks of innocuous term, but the normalising Environment. Galton was also differential psychology in Britain, ‘I of differential psychology is relatively instrumental in the foundation of the first covering both personality and recent in Britain. The brilliant but formal, university-based, laboratory of ability research. The focus is controversial figure of Hans Eysenck psychology in Britain, inaugurated in especially on the contributions and sparked polarising debates over questions 1898 at UCL. enduring influence of the ‘London such as the heritability of intelligence, the A year earlier Charles Spearman had School’ initiated by Charles educational prospects of those low in ‘IQ’, embarked on his doctoral research under Spearman’s work on general and the reduction of personality to neural the supervision of Wilhelm Wundt in intelligence at University College circuits. At the dawn of psychological Leipzig. However, the defining influence London. Also considered are science, Darwin’s cousin Francis Galton on Spearman was not Wundt’s parallel developments in the was not only a Victorian genius but an psychophysics, but Galton’s psychometrics, applied use of standardised tests. enthusiast for eugenics. With the as originally set out in his 1883 Inquiries subsequent advance of neuroscience, into Human Faculty and its Development. many of the scientific arguments have lost Following a hiatus occasioned by military their sting. It is now more remarkable to service, Spearman ended the controversy identify a trait that is not inherited than surrounding Galton’s theories by providing one that is. Popular controversies have conclusive positive proofs in his derived more from social policy breathtaking 1904 paper on general inferences than from the basic science: intelligence. The paper complemented the how much would the public care about contributions to psychometric testing of IQ if the construct had not been Alfred Binet, together with which it embraced by professional educators? In provided the foundation for the modern fact, implications for policy have not gone science of psychometrics. Spearman’s work away, but there is a mood of greater also solidified the idea of a unitary general caution among both scientists and intelligence that could be understood in Is psychometrics the royal road to policymakers in applying findings from relation to mental processes, laying the understanding personality and psychology in general. foundations both for the practical individual differences? In describing some of the key assessment of the general factor ‘g’ and, question question developments in British differential eventually, the modern cognitive psychology, we will dwell more on psychology of ability. The 1904 paper also substantive scientific progress than on introduced factor analysis, the statistical British Society for the Psychology of controversies. A longer piece than this technique that some would later use to Individual Differences: might dwell further on the colourful attack the assumption of a unitary g. www.bspid.org.uk characters the field attracted (see In 1907 Charles Spearman was Corr, P.L. & Matthews, G. (Eds.) (2009). Buchanan, 2010). However, the appointed Reader in Experimental resources Cambridge handbook of personality. counterpoint is that, especially at the Psychology at UCL, where he founded Cambridge: Cambridge University applied end of the field, much important, what has come to be known as the Press. systematic work was conducted soberly, ‘London School of Psychology’. A without undue fanfare. We will emphasise distinguished member of the school, Paul especially how some of the broad ideas Kline, in 1986 became the first Professor that shaped the British contribution have of Psychometrics in Britain, at Exeter proven foundational to much of University. After Spearman’s retirement in contemporary psychology. 1931 and the migration of his disciple R.B. Buchanan, R.D. (2010). Playing with fire: The controversial career of Hans J. Eysenck. Cattell, the influence of psychometrics in Oxford: Oxford University Press. Beginnings – Galton and Britain started to wane, with a number of Cooper, C. (1998). Individual differences. prominent labs and psychometricians references London: Arnold. Spearman assuming the mantle in North America. Eysenck, H.J. (1972). Psychology is about Lacking psychological measurement, people. London: Allen Lane. personality psychologists would have Gray, J.A. (1987). The psychology of fear and clinical observation and qualitative social The applied context for stress. Cambridge: Cambridge University constructivism, but little natural science. standardised testing Press. Modern psychometrics owes much to The years following World War I featured Galton’s work on variance and correlation increasing interest in the applied use of 18 vol 26 no 1 january 2013 individual differences psychometric tests, especially in explores how cognitive ability influences major figure, Jeffrey Gray. He obtained his occupational and educational contexts. health across a person’s lifespan (see p.30, PhD from the Institute of Psychiatry in In 1920, the Civil Service introduced a this issue). 1964. After lecturing at the University of psychological test paper for candidates for Oxford, he took over from Eysenck as clerical posts in the service. By 1945, the Chair of Psychology at the Institute in service had its own research unit tasked London calling – the theories of 1983. Gray’s work featured a more overt with supplying intelligence tests for Eysenck and Gray focus on animal models of emotion and administrative, executive and clerical The London School was to be revived motivation as the basis for understanding grades. In 1924 the Board of Education by Hans Eysenck, who obtained his PhD human personality. His theory of traits, published the Hadow Report, which from UCL in 1940, and became director now known as reinforcement sensitivity aimed to assess the utility of various tests of the Psychology Department of the theory (RST), emerged as a worthy for determining ‘educable capacity’ University of London’s Institute of competitor to Eysenck’s arousal theory (academic aptitude). The report, while Psychiatry, located at the Maudsley during the 1970s (e.g. Gray, 1987). Gray emphasising the unreliability of Hospital, in 1950. Eysenck made pivotal also addressed the ‘hard problem’ of assessments of aptitude at age 11, broadly contributions across the spectrum of consciousness in typically original style endorsed the use of intelligence tests in individual differences research, most in his book published in the year of his schools. The report also prefigured future famously through his work on both the death, 2004. Again, we will see the controversies over personality assessment psychometrics and the biological bases of influence of Gray across this special issue, with the trenchant statement that ‘tests of personality, and to a much lesser extent particularly in the next article, which notes temperament and character, in their intelligence. His personality work that work on RST continues in Britain, led present state of development, are established the extraversion and by Philip Corr and Alan Pickering. practically useless to teachers’ [for neuroticism traits as central for the field. However, the theory has now attained assessing educable capacity]. His arousal theory of personality, international status, guiding work on The educational applications of testing although often challenged, stimulated personality neuroscience worldwide. were taken up by the Scottish School of experimental studies that answered Educational Research, following the 1925 Cronbach’s famous call for an integration arrival of Godfrey of differential and Applied differential psychology Thomson at the experimental psychology. in contemporary Britain Moray House Eysenck’s numerous It would be remiss to omit the British teacher training articles and books on contribution to the assessment of college in intelligence were arguably individual differences in applied Edinburgh. less original, but more psychology. We are returning here to the Thomson was controversial, in promoting world of civil service testing and the a notable critic Arthur Jensen’s Scottish School of Educational Research. of Spearman, hereditarian view of Numerous tests and scales developed by preferring a notion intelligence, who was a British psychologists have been used in of overlapping postdoctoral researcher at occupational, educational and clinical ‘bonds’ to the the Institute from 1956 to psychology, but we will briefly dwell on general 1958. Eysenck’s critiques two more general social trends: the retreat intelligence factor of psychoanalytic from aptitude testing in schools, and the g. As an educator, treatments also shook up increasing acceptance and regulation of his concern

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