Howard Andrew Knox: Pioneer of Intelligence Testing at Ellis Island

344 Pages·2011·5.32 MB·English

by  John Richardson

R
i
c
h
praise for a
R
d
(Continued from front flap) Howard an drew Knox s HOWARD AnDREW KnOx (1885–1949)
o
n served as assistant surgeon at Ellis Island
Their work presents a useful and extremely during the 1910s, administering a range of
human portrait of psychological testing verbal and nonverbal tests to determine
and its limits, particularly with regard “John Richardson’s work does much to bring us a new look at our past. the mental capacity of potential immi-
to the predicament of the people His book tells of an important chapter in American history and psychology and grants. An early proponent of nonverbal
examined at Ellis Island. Richardson provides new insights into our ongoing struggles to understand the intelligence testing (largely through the
concludes with the development of expression of our cognitive abilities and limitations.” use of formboards and picture puzzles),
Knox’s work in later decades and its HH Knox developed an evaluative approach
david B. BaKer, University of Akron and the
changing application in conjunction oo that today informs the techniques of prac-
Center for the History of Psychology
with modern psychological theory. ww titioners and researchers. Whether adapted
to measure intelligence and performance
“Howard Andrew Knox is comprehensive and compelling. John Richardson aa
in children, military recruits, neurological
has created a very original work, and his examination of a previously unknown rr
and psychiatric patients, or the average job
contributor to the science of intelligence testing
dd applicant, Knox’s pioneering methods are
is insightful and original.”
part of contemporary psychological prac-
JoHn T. e. ricHardSon is the professor eric TurKHeimer, University of Virginia aa tice and deserve in-depth investigation.
of student learning and assessment at nn
the Open University in the United Kingdom
“With respect to the centrality of psychological testing on a truly dd Completing the first biography of
and a former professor of psychology and
global scale today (not to mention human resource recruitment, personality as- rr this unjustly overlooked figure, John T. E.
head of the Department of Human Sciences
sessment, and terrorism defense), John Richardson’s book will acquire a ee Richardson, former president of the Interna-
at Brunel University. He is an academician of
wide readership extending far beyond the community of psychologists and histori- ww tional Society for the History of the neurosci-
the U.K. Academy of Social Sciences, a fellow
ans of psychology and immigration. In fact, the audience for this book ranges
ences, takes stock of Knox’s understanding
of the British Psychological Society, and a from scholars in American history, historians of science, and public and popu-
fellow of the Society for Research into Higher KK pioneer of intelligence testing of intelligence and his legacy beyond Ellis
lation health researchers to a wide general readership. Richardson focuses on a
Education. He is an associate editor of the nn at ellis island Island. Consulting published and unpublished
long-forgotten forebear and a pioneering test protocol, which often goes
sources, Richardson establishes a chronology
British Journal of Educational Psychology and Psy- oo
unnoticed in many standard psychology and behavioral medicine textbooks.
of Knox’s life, including details of his medi-
chology Teaching Review, and among his fifteen xx
His book is an original contribution.”
cal training and his time as a physician for the
coauthored and coedited books are Gender
FranK w. STaHniScH, University of Calgary, Alberta U.S. Army. He describes the conditions that
Differences in Human Cognition; Imagery: Current
gave rise to intelligence testing, including the
Developments; The Future for Higher Education;
public’s concern that the United States was
Intelligent Systems in a Human Context; HHoowwaarrdd aannddrreeww KKnnooxx
opening its doors to the mentally unfit. He
and Mental Imagery and Human Memory.
then recounts the development of intelligence
columBia univerSiTY PreSS • new YorK c
o tests by Knox and his colleagues and the
cuP.columBia.edu PrinTed in THe u.S.a. l
u widely discussed publication of their research.
JacKeT image: © Brown BroTHerS, “docTor Knox m
. .
TeSTing a Female immigranT.” b j o h n t e r i c h a r d s o n
JacKeT deSign: SHaina andrewS ia (Continued on back flap)
HOWARD ANDREW KNOX
CC55663311..iinnddbb II 88//2255//1111 11::1144 PPMM
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS - NEW YORK
CC55663311..iinnddbb IIII 88//2255//1111 11::1144 PPMM
PIONEER of INTELLIGENCE TESTING
AT ELLIS ISLAND
HHOOWWAARRDD AANNDDRREEWW KKNNOOXX
. .
J O H N T E R I C H A R D S O N
CC55663311..iinnddbb IIIIII 88//2255//1111 11::1144 PPMM
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
Copyright © 2011 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Richardson, John T. E.
Howard Andrew Knox : pioneer of intelligence testing
at Ellis Island / John T. E. Richardson.
p. cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-14168-0 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-0-231-51211-4
(ebook : alk. paper)
1. Nonverbal intelligence tests—United States. 2. Knox,
Howard Andrew, 1885–1949. I. Title.
BF432.5.N65R53 2011
153.9′3092—dc22
2011010220

Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and
durable acid-free paper.
This book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
References to Internet Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may
have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
CC55663311..iinnddbb IIVV 88//2255//1111 11::1144 PPMM
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations vii
List of Tables ix
Foreword by Robert J. Sternberg xi
Preface xv
Chronology xix
Key People in the Text xxiii
Introduction xxv
PART I: BEFORE ELLIS ISLAND
1 Early Years 3
2 Army Days 14
PART II: THE CONTEXT
3 Immigration, Intelligence, and the Public Health Service 35
4 The Measurement of Intelligence 47
5 At Ellis Island 69
PART III: DEVELOPING THE ELLIS ISLAND TESTS
6 The Ellis Island Tests 97
7 Popularizing the Work at Ellis Island 142
CC55663311..iinnddbb VV 88//2255//1111 11::1155 PPMM
8 Practical Issues in Intelligence Testing 168
9 After Ellis Island 186
PART IV: THE LEGACY
10 Developing Performance Scales 197
11 Borrowing the Ellis Island Tests 218
12 What Do Performance Tests Measure? 241
13 An Appraisal 250
References 273
Index 297
CONTENTS VI
CC55663311..iinnddbb VVII 88//2255//1111 11::1155 PPMM
ILLUSTRATIONS
I.1 A partial family tree of Howard Andrew Knox xxvii
1.1 Howard Reuben Knox; Jennie Mahaffy Knox with
Howard Andrew Knox 4
1.2 The family of Aquilla and Dolly Blackwell 6
1.3 Leander and Jennie Blackwell 8
1.4 Howard Andrew Knox, upon his graduation from
Dartmouth College 11
2.1 Howard Andrew Knox, just after he enlisted in the
Medical Reserve Corps of the U.S. Army 15
2.2 Howard Andrew Knox, shortly before his graduation from
the U.S. Army Medical School 18
3.1 The immigration station at Ellis Island, New York Harbor 39
5.1 Doctors Knox, Vogel, Glueck, Laughlin, and Gwyn at
Ellis Island 92
6.1 The Seguin Form Board 102
6.2 The Mare-and-Foal Picture Form Board 103
6.3 Healy and Fernald’s Construction Puzzle (A) 104
6.4 Healy and Fernald’s Construction Puzzle (B) 105
6.5 The Visual Comparison Test 109
6.6 The Diamond Frame Test 111
6.7 Knox’s Cube Imitation Test 112
CC55663311..iinnddbb VVIIII 88//2255//1111 11::1155 PPMM
6.8 The Geographical Puzzle 113
6.9 The Imbecile Test 116
6.10 The Moron Test 117
6.11 The Construction Blocks Test 119
6.12 Two models of the Casuist Test 120
6.13 The Feature Profi le Test 121
6.14 The Ship Test 127
6.15 Gwyn’s Triangle Form Board and Kempf’s Diagonal
Form Board 131
6.16 The Inkblot Imagination Test 133
6.17 Howard Knox testing a female emigrant at Ellis Island 139
6.18 Howard Knox testing a male emigrant at Ellis Island 140
7.1 Surgeon Louis L. Williams and his staff at Ellis Island 153
7.2 Dr. Harry White testing a female emigrant 154
7.3 Dr. Harry White testing a male emigrant 155
7.4 The modifi ed version of the Cube Imitation Test 161
9.1 Howard Knox in a 1916 Oldsmobile 187
9.2 Howard and Maka Knox in their New Jersey garden 191
ILLUSTRATIONS VIII
CC55663311..iinnddbb VVIIIIII 88//2255//1111 11::1155 PPMM
TABLES
4.1 Binet and Simon’s 1905 Series of Tests 53
4.2 Binet and Simon’s 1908 Measuring Scale of Intelligence 56
5 .1 Glueck’s Series of Tests 91
6.1 Knox’s Performing Test Examination 126
6.2 Scale for Estimating Mental Defects 128
6.3 Sources of Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Inkblots 137
7.1 Additional Tests for Educated Emigrants 152
10.1 The Psychological Tests Developed at Ellis Island 198
11.1 The Structure of the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale 232
11.2 Variations of the Cube Imitation Test 237
CC55663311..iinnddbb IIXX 88//2255//1111 11::1155 PPMM