The New York herald., 1922-11-13
PSYCHOLOGY TESTS
MAY HIDE A GENIUS
Chicago Professor Says Such
a Mind Might Be Registered
as Defective.

Special Dispatch to THE NEW York HERALD.
CHICAGO, Nov. 12.-The futility OF tag
ging student with number or a
letter denoting his grade In psyche
logical test" and expecting him TO live
up TO the label was the theme OF an
address by Prof. Forest A. Kingsbury
Of the University OF Chicago.s psy-
chology department
He characterized the results OF tests
on adults as only vague classified :
tions." The A-plus subject may be the
LATEST In the group. he said. whereas
the fellow who thinks the Russia de-
bacle is a vaudeville act may be dill
gent. ambitious and kind TO his folks.
Prof Kings sbury's views were inspired
by exhaustive tests on university stu
dents with the Alpha tests, the Binet
tests and others.
Human ability is n tremendously
complex thing" he said, "and to at
tempt an accurate and reliable meas
iirement is even more complex. At
Test our general intelligence tests can
give only one dimension of mans
ability. However. we know that the
intelligence quotient--the relation of the
subjects mental age with their chrono-
logical age-remains practically the
same through life"
Not an Exhaustive Method.
The general intelligence test, he said
Is by no means slide rule or a hy-
drometer for measuring an individual s
ability. musical. a mathematical or
a mechanical genius. he told his audi
ence. might rate even as low as "E,''
in an examination of this kind. while
the bright chap with the 175 quotient
might not be able to repair kids
tricycle. or play a single chord on the
lac jo.
Psychology. the intelligence test es-
pecially," said Prof Kingsbury, "has
suffered from exploters ana faddists.
Unfortunately, no general test has been
devised to measure the ability of an
adult. We can make only vague classi-
fications.
1--WE can take children ard classify
them according to their mental age
The average -year-old child can
tell you the day or the week and
month, repeat four digits backward,
make change and give YOU rhymes for
spring or day. The child who emergcs
with a 120 quotient Is unusually ntelli-
gent. The same child viii, be found in
the child with seventy quotient will
seldom rise above II. Repeated tests
show that superiority is constant
May Discover Laziness.
"Often we find, however. as the child
advances elements of laziness or in
difference enter into the equation. Thus.
II college student who is dull in his
stu1ies covers himself with glory in
m intelligence teet we know exactly
what's wrong and can warn him If he
doesn't apply himself better to his work
he will be dropped.
"Thosc who are backward in their
studies and at the same time show up
poorly in the Alpha test perhaps ought
to be doing something else-speciallz-
ing in music or working in a machine
shop"
Prof. Kingsbury's audience received a
blow to their dignity when he assured
them that the normal probability
curve" showed that out OF 100, 900 people
the general run were no brighter than
they should be. while the geniuses and
near geniuses approximated in number
the imbeciles and morons.
The A-plus Individual. the person
with the 175 quotient," he ADDED, "is
extremely rare"