The measurement of intelligence : $b an explanation of and a complete guide for the use of the Standard revision and extension of the Binet-Simon intelligence scaleTerman, Lewis M. (Lewis Madison)
Science
The measurement of intelligence : $b an explanation of and a complete guide for the use of the Standard revision and extension of the Binet-Simon intelligence scale
Of 564 prostitutes investigated by Dr. Anna Dwyer in connection
with the Municipal Court of Chicago, only 3 per cent had gone
beyond the fifth grade in school. Mental tests were not made,
but from the data given it is reasonably certain that half or
more were feeble-minded.
Tests, by Dr. George Ordahl and Dr. Louise Ellison Ordahl, of
cases in the Geneva School for Girls, Geneva, Illinois, showed
that, on a conservative basis of classification, at least
18 per cent were feeble-minded. At the Joliet Prison, Illinois,
the same authors found 50 per cent of the female prisoners
feeble-minded, and 26 per cent of the male prisoners. At the St.
Charles School for Boys 26 per cent were feeble-minded.
Tests, by Dr. J. Harold Williams, of 150 delinquents in the
Whittier State School for Boys, Whittier, California, gave
28 per cent feeble-minded and 25 per cent at or near the
border-line. About 300 other juvenile delinquents tested by
Mr. Williams gave approximately the same figures. As a result of
these findings a research laboratory has been established at the
Whittier School, with Dr. Williams in charge. In the girls'
division of the Whittier School, Dr. Grace Fernald collected a
large amount of psychological data on more than 100 delinquent
girls. The findings of this investigation agree closely with
those of Dr. Williams for the boys.
At the State Reformatory, Jeffersonville, Indiana, Dr. von
Klein-Schmid, in an unusually thorough psychological study of
1000 young adult prisoners, finds the proportion of
feeble-mindedness not far from 50 per cent.
But it is needless to multiply statistics. Those given are but samples.
Tests are at present being made in most of the progressive prisons,
reform schools, and juvenile courts throughout the country, and while
there are minor discrepancies in regard to the actual percentage who are
feeble-minded, there is no investigator who denies the fearful rôle
played by mental deficiency in the production of vice, crime, and
delinquency.[1]
[1] See References at end of volume.
Heredity studies of "degenerate" families have confirmed, in a striking
way, the testimony secured by intelligence tests. Among the best known
of such families are the "Kallikaks," the "Jukes," the "Hill Folk," the
"Nams," the "Zeros," and the "Ishmaelites."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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