Lewis M. Terman: Pioneer in Psychological Testing

Lewis M. Terman, the man who popularized the concept of IQ, developed the best-known test of intelligence, known as the Stanford-Binet Revision, and who tirelessly publicized the implicaitons of this research for American society, has been denounced as a racist, elitist, and sexist whose work served to legitimize the inequities of capitalist society. Nevertheless, Terman played a prominent role in the history of social science and public policy between the world wars. He was one of the first psychologists to command large research grants from corporate philanthropists and was a pioneer in research that was both bureaucratically organized and capital intensive. Henry L. Minton's book provides the first comprehensive and analytical treatment of Terman's career and serves as an important reference for scholars in the history of American science and education. This important new biography provides a balanced view of this influential and controversial psychologist. Primarily based on Terman's papers, the book is supplemental with interviews and appropriate secondary literature. The vitriolic controversies that Terman sparked over such issues as the interpretationof World War I intelligence -test data, the role of compensatory education in raising IQ, and the social status of homosexuals are presented ina n effective and telling way. Terman comes alive in this presentation of his life. Hentry L. Minton helps us understand an important figure in the history of science who has been praised and damned in an inadequate context.