Lecture 9 - Darwin -> Measuring the Mind with Galton & Individual Differences

What were 3 influential books that Darwin wrote and what did they propose?

1. On the Origin of Species - one of the landmark books of human history

2. Descent of Man - addressed that people evolved from lower creatures

3. The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals - we look like other animals but we also act like them in terms of emotions

• he noted not just similarities in form between humans and animals but also function

Why did Darwin stir up controversy?

eliminating the boundary between humans and animals

• The continuity of evolution between people and animals

• He focused mainly on emotions

• He noted not just similarities in form (bones, muscles, blood, vessels, etc.) but in function as well

• Similar to a mechanical Helmholtz perspective!

he was ultimately buried in Westminster Abbey - a very notable place

What was Darwin’s work on emotion?

Description argument for emotions but included facial anatomy and lots of comparison between humans and animals

• Not experimental work yet

• Examination of facial expressions

Pressed the argument: in addition to lower emotions, he argued that animals often display "higher" qualities (courage, kindness, etc.)

What was the time period of Darwin’s lifetime and what was the world like?

Darwin lived in a world where there was lots of racism (Victorian England/1800s)

• Strongly anti-slavery himself and believed in monogenesis - not possible to justify slavery as something done to another "species" (all people were descended from the same earlier animals so you can't justify slavery by saying that it’s a different species)

What did Darwin argue about human differences due to environmental differences? Where did the bad part of the legacy come in?

his theory suggested there might be some regional/racial differences in form due to different environments

• People better to survive in e.g. Arctic, Southern Africa

He argued that if certain physical characteristic make people better for certain environments, then maybe there are psychological characteristics too

• E.g. harsh northern climate makes certain psychological characteristics as well (intelligence and creative will be adaptive)

• For Darwin it was mild speculation BUT others 'ran with it' suggesting superiority of those with Northern European heritage (neglecting harsh southern and harsh northern Asian climates and others)

• Darwin raised this idea and set in motion something with diverse negative effects still today

What did emotions represent according to Darwin?

he believed in the importance of emotions

Darwin argued that emotions arose due to survival value

• fear, anger, disgust

• Physiological correlates can support survival, facial and other bodily expressions convey information about your status to others

Which psychologist later backed-up/confirmed the importance of emotions beliefs?

Paul Ekman later confirmed that there are strong cross-cultural similarities in facial expressions of fear, anger, disgust, sadness, happiness

How did psychology change in the late 1800s - early 1900s and post Darwin?

psychology's "big questions" didn't involve metaphysical processes nearly as much

Relative importance of innate vs. acquired processes important

1. More emphasis on individual differences

• Before then people tended to focus on broad psychological processes and they seem to work on everyone

• Darwin believed in various between individuals which ties into natural selection

2. More animal research

• Animals can provide useful info about e.g. learning

3. Still debate about tools to use

• Laboratory vs. introspection vs. interviews

• Qualitative vs. quantitative debate

What was Galton’s Anthropometric Laboratory?

Galton wanted to develop the earliest IQ tests

One of the first big studies was at a world exhibition

• He mounted a bunch of tests and participants would come try and he would use the data

• Measuring physical and sensory characteristics

Who was Francis Galton?

1822-1911

cousin of Darwin

Developed a of the methodology, correlation, statistics tools

Laying the foundations for modern intelligence testing and field of behaviour genetics

Started twin studies

What was Galton’s promotion of eugenics?

Evolutionary principles as an actual means to improve the human race

He tended to objectify others

He was smart, uninhibited and adventurous (he tested pharmacy items on himself)

He went off to Africa to travel and made contributions to geography and meteorology

Then he read On the Origin of Species -> he became obsessed with the idea that intellectual abilities were innate and key to selection and improvement of race

• People with high IQ should marry and have children together since that will improve the gene pool for future

• He clearly thought that his group was the one that could contribute to the future (my group should propagate and that group should not)

What was Galton’s approach to studying if intellectual abilities are innate? Despite some flaws, what were positives from the study?

Initial strategy: focus on families of high achieving people

Seeing if there were other people in the family that were high achieving as well

About 10% people were also high achieving (seemed better than chance via normal distribution)

• He was trying to separate heritable from environment/family influence

He looked at the degree of relatedness (association between index case high achievement and related high achievement) then its stronger evidence of heritability

• How close together are these family members

• Looked at adoption cases too

Some methodological improvements: looking at degree of relatedness

What book did Galton write?

Hereditary Genius

What positives toward psychology did Galton contribute?

contributed methodological improvements

What kind of more objective tests did Galton establish for the time?

Repeated assessments of accomplishments using self-report questionnaires

He began to develop even more objective intelligence tests

Which phrase did Galton coined related to genetics and environmental factors?

nature vs. nurture

What statistical contribution did Galton make?

Developed correlation to analyze relationships quantitatively; Pearson later refined it into Pearson’s r

Why did Galton study twins?

To help separate the effects of genetics and environment on intelligence and other traits

Describe the falsity and attempts for certain individuals to emphasize the importance of genes on IQ. Who were these individuals?

Galton may have over interpreted findings but he didn’t seem to have lied as others did

• he coined the term eugenics

• he was arguing for measures to encourage breeding among high IQ individuals

Cyril Burt: British psychologist who represented himself as Galton’s intellectual successor

• He published now-discredited twin research starting in the 1940s suggesting an extremely high heritability for intelligence

Arthur Jensen: American psychologist who used Burt's findings to argue that racial differences in IQ scores in the US were largely due to genetics

Why was heritability exaggerated during this time?

history of psych mixes with racism of the US in the 20th century

Some used genetic explanations to justify racist beliefs and discrimination

Made social inequalities seem biologically determined

What did Galton claim about eugenics?

Galton coined the term “eugenics”

Wanted it to be practically applied to human breeding

Encouraged reproduction among people he considered high IQ / “fit”

Also supported discouraging reproduction among people he considered “feeble”

Claimed certain groups/races had lower IQs

What occurred during the development of the eugenics movement in the early 1900s?

E.g. in 1907 Indiana was first state to require forced sterilization of some disabled but broaden quickly

• Becomes a social movement and eugenics parties and clubs

• Theodore Roosevelt talked about "race suicide"

• Carrel proposed the following eugenics approach

  • Killing 'unfit' people via euthanasia

  • Hitler eventually used eugenics laws as models for the reducing the number of 'unfit'

Would the Holocaust have happened without Galton? - almost certainly but his work provided an academic/scientific viewpoint of awful things

What is the historical connection between brain size, race, and intelligence?

Long tradition of researchers linking brain size/shape to:

• Intelligence

• Race

• Psychological ability

Often used to support racial hierarchies

Why was Gall’s phrenology controversial?

Claimed mental abilities could be inferred from brain structure/skull shape

Some used supposed differences to justify racial inequality and injustice

What did Paul Broca argue about brain size?

Suggested larger brain size was related to greater intelligence

Used brain measurements to study differences between groups

What was Philippe Rushton’s theory?

Incorrectly linked racial differences in brain size to:

• Intelligence

• Child-rearing practices

• Other behavioural differences

His claims were scientifically flawed

What is the broader lesson about psychology’s history?

Important to know that psychology had negative social impact (at least temporarily)

• sexism, racism, homophobia (e.g. via Freud)