The Journal Of Delinquency

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, psychological tests, and intellectual classifications presented in Henry H. Goddard's 1917 study on the mental testing of immigrants at Ellis Island.

Henry H. Goddard, Ph.D.

Director of Research at the Training School in Vineland, N. J., and author of the $1917$ study titled "Mental Tests and the Immigrant."

Ellis Island

The location where the study of steerage passengers was conducted in $1912$ and $1913$ to detect mental defectives.

Vineland laboratory

The institution urged to make a serious study of immigrants' intelligence using mental tests in the spring of $1913$.

Binet-Simon Scale

A measuring scale for intelligence consisting of $54$ tests graded by difficulty, designed to test native intelligence rather than school knowledge.

Moron

Defined by the English Royal College of Physicians as one capable of earning a living under favorable circumstances but incapable of competing on equal terms with normal fellows or managing affairs with ordinary prudence.

Healy Construction Test A

A performance test where five rectangular blocks of the same thickness but different sizes are fitted into a rectangular frame measuring $3 \times 4$ inches.

Healy Construction Test B

Also known as the "Fernald board," this test involves fitting $11$ interchangeable pieces into a wooden frame to classify mental ability.

Form Board

A performance test involving ten blocks where completing the task in $18$ or $20$ seconds is considered indicative of $IX$ year mentality.

De Sanctis Tests

A series of six graded tests used to establish degrees of intellectual defect, ranging from identifying balls to answering questions about weight and perspective.

Adaptation Board

A board with four holes (three identical and one larger) used to measure a subject's ability to adapt when the board's orientation is changed.

Mental Age

A rating of an individual's intelligence based on the standard performance of normal children of specific chronological ages.

75 per cent criterion

The customary statistical standard used to determine if a test question is valid for a specific age level or group.

Kohs' criteria

Normality standards where individuals testing above $XI^2$ are considered normal; those between $X^5$ and $XI^3$ are borderline; and those below are feeble-minded.

Feeble-minded

A general classification for individuals with mental defects, including both morons and imbeciles.

Imbecile

A classification of intellectual defect lower than a moron; the study found this grade in individuals who could not pass early De Sanctis questions.

Borderline

A mental classification for individuals whose test results fall between the standards for normal intelligence and feeble-mindedness.

Steerage

The "third class" of immigrants on arrival ships who were the primary subjects of Goddard's intelligence study.

Hereditary defect vs. deprivation

Two practical questions regarding low intelligence scores: whether the defect is inherited or caused by an environment lacking in educational opportunities.

Dr. Gertrude Hall

A researcher from the New York State Board of Charities who provided standardized results for performance tests based on $180$ public school children.

Construction Puzzle A (Functional Interpretation)

According to Dr. Bronner, this test measures "perception of relationship of form" rather than general intelligence or special age-level placement.