Psyche 77 Spring 2017_LR

PIONEERS AND LANDMARKS IN INTELLIGENCE TESTING
Edition, ‘The primary object was to
investigate whether and in what degree
natural ability was hereditarily transmitted’
(p.x). As Jensen (2002 , p.147) explained,
Galton ‘recognized...that the hereditary
component of “natural ability” is, at least
in part, a “general cognitive ability” that
could be manifested in many different
kinds of intellectual achievement’
Galton’s early Statistics
In the infancy of both Psychology and
Statistics, this was a truly landmark
study with imaginative use of what was
available. The pivotal statistical construct
of the research was Quetelet’s (1842,
1968) ‘law of deviation from the average’,
better known to us as the regular bellshaped
distribution curve for many human
attributes. With regard to ability, Galton
was able to demonstrate, empirically, that
the marks obtained from Royal Military
College at Sandhurst in December 1868
ranged ‘according to the law of deviation
from an average’ (pp. 3233).
Heritability hypothesis
Galton tested his hypothesis on the
heritability of general ability amongst
the top two echelons of the, exclusively
male, general population in terms of their
reputation. He differentiated between the
‘eminent’ and the ‘illustrious’ of history
by which we can infer from the data (p.
34) were the top 0.23% and the top
0.013% of the population, respectively.
He chose these subjects because data
on their ancestors and progeny were the
most accessible. His specific hypothesis
was that the illustrious would have more
and closer familial relationships with other
distinguished individuals than would the
merely eminent.
Support for the hypothesis came from a
variety of occupational groupings: English
judges, British and other statesmen, great
military commanders, literary figures,
scientists, poets, musicians, painters,
religious figures and academics.
Galton was emphatic that the root of
greatness was heritable ability not class
advantage:
I speak of those among them who are
of humble parentage, but have brilliant
natural gifts—who attracted notice as boys,
or, it may be, even as children, and were
therefore sent to a good school. There they
won exhibitions and fitted themselves
for college...The parentage of the Lord
Chancellors justifies my statement. There
have been thirty of them within the period
included in my inquiries. Of these...
Lord Eldon (whose brother was the great
Admiralty Judge, Lord Stowell) was son of
a “coal fitter;” (p.56).
Before we get carried away with Galton’s
dismissal of class advantage, it needs to
be pointed out that his ‘coal fitter’ was a
member of an elite merchant class which,
by ancient Royal Charter, controlled the
transport of coal from the River Tyne.
Note also that he was studying only
distinguished males. Contemporary culture
ensured that there were few eminent or
illustrious females recorded. It is far from
certain that all natural talent would have
risen to the top. Galton went on to argue
that what differentiated the two highest
levels of ability would apply across the
remainder of the distribution.
Regression to the mean
Since our inherited attributes derive
from both parents, Galton suggested
that these would emerge at a level
somewhere between those of our
mothers and fathers and, over time, the
national distribution would tend to be
more concentrated around the mean.
He supported immigration of the more
able to counterbalance such a tendency
and cited the beneficial impact of the
Norman conquest and Huguenot refugees.
He believed that the most able in Britain
were of lesser ability than those of
ancient Greece and blamed the church
for promoting celibacy amongst the most
highly educated. He also criticised the
practice of aristocrats marrying wealthy
heiresses seeing the latter as carriers
of low-fertility characteristics; a more
prolific family would have experienced no
difficulty in producing male heirs.
Eugenics
Galton invented this term and was
concerned to advocate measures to
improve that nation’s stock of ability.
He wrote:
I shall argue that the wisest policy is, that
which results in retarding the average
He believed that
the most able in Britain
were of lesser ability
than those of ancient
Greece and blamed the
church for promoting
celibacy amongst the
most highly educated.
PAGE 8 | PSYCHE NEWSLETTER | ISSUE 77 / JANUARY 2017