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t 2 i 6 An American Dilemma
respectively. In 1929-1931, Malzberg found the difference even less: 19.2 for whites
and 44.4 for Negroes. See Benjamin Malzberg, “Mental Disease among American
Negroes” in Klineberg (editor), Characteristics of the American Negro, manuscript
page 10.
It is interesting to observe that, almost from the beginning of those studies showing
race differences, there has been a minority of scholars who have remained skeptical and
have ably contested the findings. In 1897, Charles Horton Cooley beautifully demon-
strated the complete invalidity of the findings of Francis Galton, in the famous essay,
“Genius, Fame and the Comparison of Races” (The Annals of the American Academy
of Political and Social Science [May, 1897], pp. 317-358). Other early critics of the
use of the doctrine of innate differences included: Franz Boas, “The Mind of Primi-
tive Man,” The Journal of American Folk-lore (January-March, 191 1), pp. i-l I j
and
The Mind of Primitive Mast (1911); William I. Thomas, Sex and Society (1907),
John Dewey, “Interpretation of Savage Mind,” The Psychological Review (May,
1902), pp. 217-230.
^®G. O. Ferguson, “The Psychology of the Negro,” Archives of Psychology, No. 36
(April, 1916). See also, W. 11 . Pyle, “The Learning Capacity of Negro Children,”
Psychological Bulletin (1916), pp. 82-83.
Ferguson’s example, as well as others cited in this section, have been taken from
the summary prepared for this project by Klineberg, “Racial Differences as Shown by
Tests and Measurements” in Klineberg (editor). Characteristics of the American
Negro,
Albert L. Crane, “Race Differences in Inhibition,” Archives of Psychology, No,
63 (March, 1923).
Boas, The Mind of Primitive Man (1911), pp. 114-115.
Ibid,, pp. 2 y\-lj 2 , Boas later changed his position on these points. In the 1938
edition of The Mind of Primitive Man, the above statements are not to be found, and
there is a new emphasis on “variability of function” accompanying any given structure.
Julian S. Huxley and A. C. Haddon, We Eurofcans (1936), p. 69.
Ibid,, pp. 96-97.
A history of these trends in psychological research, with special reference to the
Negro is contained in two research memoranda written for this study by Otto Klineberg,
“Experimental Studies of Negro Personality” and “Tests of Negro Intelligence,” to be
published in Klineberg (editor). Characteristics of the American Negro,
While some authors report Negro-white differences in memory, others say they
cannot^find any. For a discussion of this subject, see Klineberg, “Tests of Negro Intelli-
gence,” in Klineberg (editor). Characteristics of the American Negro, manuscript
pages 16 and 1 18.
No one has sought a representative sample of either white or Negro children to
determine what proportions were very superior, but the only investigators who have
sought superior Negro children had no special trouble in finding them. Witty and
Jenkins studied 26 Negro children with I.Q.’s of 140 and above, who came from
grades 3-8 in 7 Chicago public schools. (Paul A. Witty and Martin A. Jenkins, “The
Educational Achievement of a Group of Gifted Negro Children,” The Jourttal of
Educational Psychology (November, 1934), pp. 585-597.) The same authors report
on one nine-year old Negro girl with a Stanford-Binet l.Q. of 200. “The Case of ‘B’—
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