PAPERS PRESENTED AT GENERAL SESSIONS 39 



ity. All enormous amount of observational material lias 

 been accumulated both here and abroad in connection 

 with mental tests in our schools, in the Army during the 

 war. and in industry. The results seemed surprising to 

 many, and talented writers whose imaginations were 

 te of the apparent implications have run wild 

 in their generalizations. Evidence of the danger of too 

 hasty generalizations in this held is furnished by the 

 numbers of books that have come, often from the pens of 

 distinguished writers, in regard to Bace questions. 



ions in regard to immigration often 

 to bitter differences of opinion in r ility 



of erecting hard and fast rul 3 on mental 



nation may be simplified in tl 

 Intel ably n< tly by | 



- at all, but in tlie ordinary individual th 



tal ability of th relligenee. 



re, the method i 

 nd. Wi ith the approxinuv 



urement of a quality which is universally ] 

 all human beings. It comes nndei a ry therei 



of ;/■ aparable to the quality of tall- 



p si the quality of pigmentation, and to 



other similar qualities. If determinations are mad 



■iently large groups the results will be • - 

 follow r another curve of distribution. There is no 



evidence adduced so far to indicate that a particular rat- 

 . n such an intelligence scale will indicate the presence 

 or absence of pathological factors. In spite of repeated 

 attempts to do so. all who have tried to indicate at what 

 point on the intelligence distribution curve for the United 

 States Army the pathological threshhokl may be pi; 

 have failed. On the contrary during the war it became 

 apparent that a very low rating by intelligence meas- 

 urement did not indicate feebleminde a though 

 the rating was well within that regarded as charac*. 



£ the mentally deficient. Large numbers of men thus 

 rated were found to be extremely useful in various types 

 of labor and employment, and in fact were more satis- 

 factory than those who rated higher. Most of the actual 



