Henry H. Goddard and The Pursuit of American Intelligence
Zurisadai Ochoa
University of North Texas
Since the introduction of standardized testing in the field of psychology in the United States, it has become one of the most traditional and important methods for classifying intelligence. Originating in France by psychologist Alfred Binet, he introduced the test to assess and categorize student performances during specific reasoning tasks. The adaption that we know today, is the translated research and work of Henry H. Goddard with broader research on Eugenics. For this research paper I will be discussing Goddard’s work with American intelligence and eugenics, along with his early influences of heredity by Sir Francis
…show more content…
Upon discovering the Binet- Simon Scale, Goddard sought it out as a crucial piece for psychological testing to separate those who suffered from poor environmental caused health and those with mental deficiency. With this test, he believed that it could help measure the nature of this problem and began to promote it across the United States. His version of the test, "The Binet and Simon Tests of Intellectual Capacity” was adopted by schools, as well as hospitals. According to biographer Leila Zenderland, PhD, Goddard quickly convinced American physicians to use the test to make proper decisions about treatment. Consequently, court offices invested in the value of the test to help determine the intelligence of criminal defendants as well as the military pursued the practice of the test to screen new potential …show more content…
Among the contributions were the advocacy of mental testing through his adaptation of the Binet- Test, special education with the study of feeble-minded children, and those in gifted education. Although it was in a matter of controversy, Goddard’s ill-used methods for his research and conclusions were something he himself acknowledged later in life. One could say that in a matter of influence, Goddard had initially a naïve and closed-mind for the origin of American intelligence.
References
Benjamin, L. T., Phd. (2009). The Birth of American Intelligence Testing. Retrieved March 12, 2018, from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/01/assessment.aspx
Cohen, R. J., & Swerdlik, M. E. (2018). Psychological testing and assessment: An introduction to tests and measurement (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
University of Missouri. (2011, March 07). Henry Goddard's The Kallikak Family. Retrieved March 12, 2018, from https://library.missouri.edu/exhibits/eugenics/kallikaks.htm
Zenderland, L. (2001). Measuring minds: Henry Herbert Goddard and the origins of American intelligence testing. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University
For the American intelligence community, George Washington is considered the father of intelligence. The introduction of the intelligence concept and its application in some missions during the early days of America helped America’s Founding Fathers to succeed against t...
Lewis Terman created the IQ tests that many schools used to test student’s intellect capacity. This test caused many students to only be taught how to work in factories rather than learning material that could get them into better careers.
Hunt, E., Carlson, J. (2007). Considerations relating to the study of group differences in intelligence.
Explain your thoughts regarding an intelligence test that has a dual theoretical basis, based on your readings and review of the theoretical influences on these tests. Explain your position by including consideration of validity.
Sternberg, R. J., Grigorenko, E. L., & Kidd, K. K. (2005). Intelligence, race, and genetics. American Psychologist, 60, 46-59.
Similar to Sternberg, Binet came to the conclusion that intelligence is the sum of mental processes (Flangan, Harrison, 2005). He developed the first intelligence test in order to categorize how much children benefitted from school education. The Binet-Simon scale, keeping in mind that Binet believed in intelligence consisting of different components, thus included language component, auditory processing, learning and memory, as well as judgement and problem solving (Kamin, 1974). The results were supposed to identify the student’s mental age. Lewis Terman introduced the Binet-Simon test to America and adapted it to sort army recruits in World War I (Comer et al., 2013). The Stanford-Binet test, developed by Terman in 1916, aimed to be an improved version that was able to measure mental age more appropriately (Kamin, 1974). He was convinced that intelligence is the ability to form concepts and to think abstract (Comer et al., 2013). The Stanford-Binet test has been described by Maud Minton to be superior to other intelligence tests of that time because it was very precise, it had detailed guidelines, it measured the IQ which became the standard marking system (Flangan, Harrison,
3. Seymour W. Itzkoff, 1994, The Decline of Intelligence in America. London: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
In this world, there are many different individuals who are not only different in demographics but also different neurologically. Due to an immense amount of people it is important to first understand each individual, in order, to better understand them and to help them when it comes to certain areas such as education, the work force, and etc…. For this reason psychologists have aimed to further understand individuals through the use of psychological assessments. This paper aims to examine a particular assessment tool, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (Fifth Edition), which measures both intelligence and cognitive abilities (Roid, 2003). This assessment is usually administered by psychologists and the scores are most often used to determine placement in academics and services allotted to children and adolescents (despite their compatibility for adults) (Wilson & Gilmore, 2012). Furthermore before the investigation dives into the particulars of the test, such as its strengths and weakness’, it is best to first learn more about the intelligence scales general characteristics.
One of the most interesting and controversial areas in behavioral genetics, human intelligence is currently assumed to be subject to both genetic and environmental influences.
This is an essay about the different theories of intelligence; it will discuss which theory is best at determining intelligence in my opinion. The information provided will help describe the pros and cons of each of the theories being used to define intelligence, explain why is it important to assess children’s intelligence, and discuss the type of intelligence I possess. The different theories of intelligence are complex and understanding the elements of each can help an individual choose the one that they believe is the best for determining intelligence. Comparing the positive and the negative elements of each theory of intelligence will allow an individual to see both sides of the theory and the flaws that may be twisted
Sir Francis (Galton, 1869) believed intelligence was inherited, and saw conceptualised general mental ability as a largely inheritable trait, and very much like physical traits, having a normal distribution in the population. Biologically, siblings share genes, and evidence shows that (Schacter, Gilbert & Wegner, 2012) intelligence test scores of siblings to be much more similar than the intelligence scores of unrelated people. Identical twins(monozygotic) share 100% DNA and studies show
Gardner believes that all people excel in at least one category of intelligence. However, he cautions teachers using the multiple intelligence approach in the classroom: “Do not label kids as ‘spatial, but not linguistic’ or, for that...
On the ‘nature’ side of the debate is the psychometric approach, considered to be the most dominant in the study of intelligence, which “inspired the most research and attracted the most attention” (Neisser et al. 1996, p. 77). It argues that there is one general (‘g’) factor which accounts for intelligence. In the 1880s, Francis Galton conducted many tests (measuring reaction times to cognitive tasks), (Boundless 2013), in order to scientifically measure intelligence. These tests were linked to the eugenic breeding programme, which aimed to eliminate biologically inferior people from society. Galton believed that as intelligence was inherited, social class or position were significant indicators of intelligence. If an individual was of high social standing, they would be more intelligent than those of a lower position. However he failed to show any consistency across the tests for this hypothesis, weakening his theory that social class correlated with intelligence. Nevertheless, his creation of the intelligence test led many to continue to develop...
Visser, B. A., Ashton, M. C., & Vernon, P. A. (2006). g and the measurement of multiple intelligences: A response to Gardner. Intelligence, 34(5), 507-510.
The study of IQ and how it operates in the education field has been argued through various theories. Theorist such as Howard Garner, R...