The need for contextual approaches to the history of mental testing.

Abstract

Much has been published on Binet and the history of intelligence testing. The effort to lo cate the origin and follow the historical devel opment of mental tests comes as no surprise, given the success the tech n iq u e enjoyed throughout the 20th century. It is a controver sial, yet also essential, professional tool that characterizes the work of the psychologist in contemporary society. Why write more on this subject? I will argue that although we have a great number of publications at our disposal, new contributions are needed to reinterpret this crucial episode in the history of psychology from different angles. Although unable to cover the huge number of publications, I will first comment briefly on some contributions that marked historical research in the second half of the 20th century. In doing so, I will focus on works that aim to explain the origin and histor ical developm ent o f m ental testing. I will thereby leave aside the debate regarding the reliability of some empirical data gathered by certain psychologists and the social conse quences of intelligence testing. I will then move on to evaluate the status quo by considering Carson's (2007) ambitious research and the his toriographical idea guiding this monographic issue.

History of Psychological Testing from the Perspective of Test Developers in Japan1

“…Yet, test developers were unaware of how they were influenced by social conditions; each generation was just motivated differently. This indicates that although "Psychology is imbedded in its social context and therefore linked to overall historical changes" (Mülberger, 2014), test developers, the subject of this history, carried on without being aware of their own historical meanings. Other contributions brought by engaging in the study of oral histories include highlighting future concerns.…”

Psychology in Brazilian Assistance to the Insane: First Half of the 20th Century

“…In 1944 it replaced the HNA itself, now under the name National Psychiatric Center (Centro Psiquiátrico Nacional). (Facchinetti, Ribeiro, Chagas, & Reis, 2010) [4] Good exceptions to it are Rose's book, on different uses of psychological tests (Rose, 1996) and Anette Mulberger's work (see, for example, Mulberger, 2014;. In 2014, the journal History of Psychology published a special issue on the topic as well.…”

Psykiatri og professionssamarbejde – betydningen for differentiering i skolesystemet i Danmark i 1930-1950

“…At forstå psykiatriens rolle i skolens elevdifferentiering tager i saerlig grad afsaet i den forskning, der har bidraget med viden testningens og skolepsykologiens bidrag til videnskabeliggørelsen af elevdifferentieringen i skolen gennem testning (Bendixen 2006;Axelsson 2007;Ydesen 2011;Hamre 2012;Hamre & Ydesen 2014). Ud over den skandinaviske forskning er etableret et stort internationalt forskningsfelt omkring den historiske sammenhaeng mellem eugenik, psykologiens opståen og samfundsmaessige funktion, og mental testning (Rose 1985;Gould 1996;Carson 2007;Mülberger 2014). Analyserne har i saerlig grad bidraget til at forstå psykologiens og IQ-testningens samfundsog skolemaessige funktion.…”