Synopsis
Exposes previously classified files and interviews with surviving subjects to follow up on the studies of psychologist Lewis Terman, who believed intelligence was inherited and tried to prove it by working with gifted children in 1921.
Reviews
Terman (1888-1956), the famed psychologist who developed the Stanford-Binet IQ test, believed that "the right education of . . . superior children" in large part would determine the future welfare of our country. In 1922 he constructed the prototype of longitudinal psychological studies when he and his associates began the study of 1500 California children whose IQs were 135 or higher. With periodic follow-ups that remain active, the "Termites," as they were dubbed, provided an enormous database that may not have disclosed the nature of genius but did prove one of Terman's points--gifted children become gifted adults. The research of academic Shurkin, given access to the guarded files on certain conditions of confidentiality, reveals some of the human stories of the Termites, less than half of whom are still alive. Not all felt blessed by the patronage of Terman, who is shown as paternalistic to a fault and wrong-headed regarding feminine and sexual traits and other important characteristics in his experimental group. Shurkin, who teaches journalism as Stanford and is the author of Intensive Care and other books, personalizes a landmark study.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
A revelatory report on the late Lewis Terman's extraordinary study of nearly 1,500 intellectually ``gifted'' children, a study that began in 1921 and continues today. Terman, developer of the Stanford-Binet test for intelligence, believed that geniuses were born, not made. He also believed that bright people were not maladjusted nerds but were capable of productive, happy lives. To prove his theories, he designed a study that would identify children with unusually high IQs and track them to the end of their lives. Many of the ``Termites,'' as they were dubbed, are still alive and are still being studied by Terman's academic heirs. Shurkin, a teacher of journalism at Stanford--where Terman was based--was given free access to the files, and he interviewed many of the subjects. A mix of biography, case history, and academic review, his book is also an amazing expos‚ of major flaws in this long-heralded sociological investigation. Shurkin points out, for instance, that there was no control group. Moreover, he says, over the years, Terman constantly meddled in the lives of his subjects, urging them to further education, wrangling scholarships, influencing admissions to college, and exchanging soul-searching letters with many of them. Despite these flaws, though, the sheer mass of material collected by Terman and his followers has made the study of immense value to later researchers. The study's results have in fact undermined the idea that intelligence is all in the genes--family influence has had a strong impact on Termites' achievements. The results, though, have upheld Terman's belief that intelligence contributes to a rewarding life- -rewarding, but with no creative breakthroughs. Shurkin's last sentence is telling: ``The Terman kid who may have had the greatest impact on our society was a comedy writer''--Jess Oppenheimer, the originator of I Love Lucy. Shurkin successfully humanizes the Terman study at the same time that he lifts the veil of romance from its subjects. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Shurkin (journalism, Stanford) presents an important investigation of Lewis Terman's longitudinal study, launched in 1921, which identified gifted children and followed them throughout their lives. Examining the history of intelligence testing and the development of the study, the author argues that Terman's many biases (which included racism and sexism) strongly affected 20th-century ideas about intelligence and the gifted, especially since the Stanford-Binet IQ test he originated has become the norm. In addition, Terman's belief in tracking led to an elitist system now held up as a model by school "reformers." Readers of Howard Gardner's Frames of Mind ( LJ 10/1/83) and Jeannie Oakes's Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality ( LJ 5/15/85) will also find this enlightening.
- Nancy E. Zuwiyya, Binghamton City Sch. Dist . , N.Y.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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