Robert Yerkes
Encyclopedia
Robert Mearns Yerkes was an American
psychologist
, ethologist, and primatologist
best known for his work in intelligence testing and in the field of comparative psychology
.
Yerkes was a pioneer in the study both of human
and primate
intelligence and of the social behavior
of gorilla
s and chimpanzee
s. Along with John D. Dodson, Yerkes developed the Yerkes-Dodson law
relating arousal
to performance.
As time went on, however, Yerkes began to propagate his support for eugenics in the 1910s
and 20s
. His works are largely considered politically incorrect
by modern anthropologists
and academics
.
He also served on the board of trustees of Science Service, now known as Society for Science & the Public
, from 1921-1925.
(near Ivyland, Pennsylvania
). Growing up on a farm in rural Pennsylvania, Robert Yerkes wanted to leave the hard life of the rural farmer and become a physician. With the financial help of an uncle, Yerkes attended Ursinus College
from 1892 to 1897. Upon graduating he received an offer from Harvard University
to do graduate work in Biology. Faced with a choice of Harvard or medical training in Philadelphia, he chose to go to Harvard.
At Harvard, Yerkes became interested in animal behavior, so much so that he put off further medical training to study comparative psychology
. He earned his Ph.D. in the Psychology Department in 1902.
His early career was strongly influenced by the debts Yerkes incurred paying for school. Upon his graduation from Harvard, he took up a position with the school as an instructor and Assistant Professor in Comparative Psychology. He had to supplement his income during the summer for several years by teaching general psychology at Radcliffe College. Another part-time job he took on was being the director of psychological research at the Boston Psychopathic Hospital
, Boston
, Massachusetts
.
In 1907, Yerkes published his first book, The Dancing Mouse. Among his friends during this time was future behaviorist John Watson
, with whom he exchanged ideas and collaborated. He was also a member of the Wicht Club (1903–1911).
(APA). Under his urging, the APA began several programs devoted to the war effort in World War I
. As chairman of the Committee on the Psychological Examination of Recruits, he developed the Army's Alpha and Beta Intelligence Tests, the first nonverbal group tests, which were given to over 1 million United States
soldiers during the war.
The test ultimately concluded that recent immigrants (especially those from Southern and Eastern Europe
) scored considerably lower than older waves of immigration (from Northern Europe), and was used as one of the eugenic motivations for harsh immigration restriction. The results would later be criticized as very clearly only measuring acculturation
, as the test scores correlated nearly exactly with the number of years spent living in the US.
In his introduction to Carl C. Brigham's
A Study of American Intelligence (which helped popularize eugenics
in the U.S.), Yerkes warned that "no citizen can afford to ignore the menace of race deterioration." The study was based on the findings of Yerkes and Brigham regarding the alarming results of the Army intelligence tests: nearly half of the white draft (47.3%) was feebleminded, with blacks and the newer immigrant groups achieving the lowest scores.
Although Yerkes claimed that the tests measured native intelligence, and not education or training, this claim is difficult to sustain in the face of the questions themselves: Question 18 of Alpha Test 8 reads: "Velvet Joe appears in advertisements of ... (tooth powder)(dry goods)(tobacco)(soap)." The tests themselves read like a kind of early 1900s Trivial Pursuit
.
Along with Edward L. Thorndike, Yerkes was a member and Chairman of the Committee on Inheritance of Mental Traits, part of the Eugenics Record Office
, which was founded by Charles Benedict Davenport, a former teacher of Yerkes at Harvard.
(NRC) and took the helm of the NRC Committee for Research in Problems of Sex. The Committee for Research in Problems of Sex helped Yerkes establish close relationships with officers from Rockefeller philanthropic foundations. These relationships later helped him to solicit substantial funds for his chimpanzee projects.
at Madame Abreu's colony in the early 1920s, and had returned from the trip determined to raise and observe chimps on his own. He began by purchasing two chimpanzees, Chim and Panzee, from a zoo. He brought the two chimps home, where they lived in a bedroom and ate with a fork at a miniature table. Chim was a particular delight for Yerkes, and the summer that chimp and psychologist spent together is memorialized in Almost Human (1924).
In 1924, Yerkes was hired as a professor of psychobiology, a field he pioneered, at Yale University
. He founded the Yale University Laboratories of Primate Biology in New Haven, followed by his Anthropoid Breeding and Experiment Station in Orange Park, Florida
with funds from the Rockefeller Foundation. After his death, the lab was moved to Emory University
in Atlanta, Georgia
, and is now called the Yerkes National Primate Research Center
. The primate language
Yerkish
was developed there. Yerkes retired from his position as Director in 1942, where he was replaced by Karl Lashley
.
Asked how to say his name, he told The Literary Digest
it was YER-keez.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
, ethologist, and primatologist
Primatology
Primatology is the scientific study of primates. It is a diverse discipline and researchers can be found in academic departments of anatomy, anthropology, biology, medicine, psychology, veterinary sciences and zoology, as well as in animal sanctuaries, biomedical research facilities, museums and zoos...
best known for his work in intelligence testing and in the field of comparative psychology
Comparative psychology
Comparative psychology generally refers to the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of non-human animals. However, scientists from different disciplines do not always agree on this definition...
.
Yerkes was a pioneer in the study both of human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
and primate
Primate
A primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...
intelligence and of the social behavior
Behavior
Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with its environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment...
of gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
s and chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
s. Along with John D. Dodson, Yerkes developed the Yerkes-Dodson law
Yerkes-Dodson law
The Yerkes–Dodson law is a claimed empirical relationship between arousal and performance, originally developed by psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson in 1908. The "law" asserts that performance increases with physiological or mental arousal, but only up to a point. When...
relating arousal
Arousal
Arousal is a physiological and psychological state of being awake or reactive to stimuli. It involves the activation of the reticular activating system in the brain stem, the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system, leading to increased heart rate and blood pressure and a condition of...
to performance.
As time went on, however, Yerkes began to propagate his support for eugenics in the 1910s
1910s
File:1910s montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Model T Ford is introduced and becomes widespread; The sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic causes the deaths of nearly 1,500 people and attracts global and historical attention; Title bar: All the events below are part of World War I ; French Army lookout...
and 20s
1920s
File:1920s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Sean Hogan during the Irish Civil War; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal throughout the entire decade; In...
. His works are largely considered politically incorrect
Politically incorrect
The phrase "politically incorrect" may refer to:* Someone or something which does not meet a standard of political correctness* Politically Incorrect, a late-night U.S. political talk show* Politically Incorrect, a German political blog...
by modern anthropologists
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and academics
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
.
He also served on the board of trustees of Science Service, now known as Society for Science & the Public
Society for Science & the Public
Society for Science & the Public , formerly known as Science Service, is a 5013 non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of science, through its science education programs and publications, including the weekly Science News magazine.Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the organization...
, from 1921-1925.
Education and early career
Robert Yerkes was born in Breadysville, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
(near Ivyland, Pennsylvania
Ivyland, Pennsylvania
Ivyland is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known as one of the finest collections of Victorian Buildings in the state and most of it is on the National Register of Historic Places...
). Growing up on a farm in rural Pennsylvania, Robert Yerkes wanted to leave the hard life of the rural farmer and become a physician. With the financial help of an uncle, Yerkes attended Ursinus College
Ursinus College
Ursinus College is a liberal arts college in Collegeville, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.-History:1867Members of the German Reformed Church begin plans to establish a college where "young men could be liberally educated under the benign influence of Christianity." These founders were hoping to...
from 1892 to 1897. Upon graduating he received an offer from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
to do graduate work in Biology. Faced with a choice of Harvard or medical training in Philadelphia, he chose to go to Harvard.
At Harvard, Yerkes became interested in animal behavior, so much so that he put off further medical training to study comparative psychology
Comparative psychology
Comparative psychology generally refers to the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of non-human animals. However, scientists from different disciplines do not always agree on this definition...
. He earned his Ph.D. in the Psychology Department in 1902.
His early career was strongly influenced by the debts Yerkes incurred paying for school. Upon his graduation from Harvard, he took up a position with the school as an instructor and Assistant Professor in Comparative Psychology. He had to supplement his income during the summer for several years by teaching general psychology at Radcliffe College. Another part-time job he took on was being the director of psychological research at the Boston Psychopathic Hospital
Boston Psychopathic Hospital
The Boston Psychopathic Hospital was the first mental health hospital in Massachusetts, USA.-History of the establishment:In November 1909 the site for the hospital was purchased on Fenwood Road, 5 minutes' walk from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Elmer E. Southard was appointed director of the...
, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
In 1907, Yerkes published his first book, The Dancing Mouse. Among his friends during this time was future behaviorist John Watson
John B. Watson
John Broadus Watson was an American psychologist who established the psychological school of behaviorism. Watson promoted a change in psychology through his address Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it which was given at Columbia University in 1913...
, with whom he exchanged ideas and collaborated. He was also a member of the Wicht Club (1903–1911).
Intelligence testing and Eugenics
In 1917, Yerkes served as president of the American Psychological AssociationAmerican Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
(APA). Under his urging, the APA began several programs devoted to the war effort in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. As chairman of the Committee on the Psychological Examination of Recruits, he developed the Army's Alpha and Beta Intelligence Tests, the first nonverbal group tests, which were given to over 1 million United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soldiers during the war.
The test ultimately concluded that recent immigrants (especially those from Southern and Eastern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
) scored considerably lower than older waves of immigration (from Northern Europe), and was used as one of the eugenic motivations for harsh immigration restriction. The results would later be criticized as very clearly only measuring acculturation
Acculturation
Acculturation explains the process of cultural and psychological change that results following meeting between cultures. The effects of acculturation can be seen at multiple levels in both interacting cultures. At the group level, acculturation often results in changes to culture, customs, and...
, as the test scores correlated nearly exactly with the number of years spent living in the US.
In his introduction to Carl C. Brigham's
Carl Brigham
Carl Campbell Brigham was a professor of psychology at Princeton University's Department of Psychology and pioneer in the field of psychometrics. His early writings influenced the eugenics movement and anti-immigration legislation in the United States, but he later disowned these views...
A Study of American Intelligence (which helped popularize eugenics
Eugenics
Eugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...
in the U.S.), Yerkes warned that "no citizen can afford to ignore the menace of race deterioration." The study was based on the findings of Yerkes and Brigham regarding the alarming results of the Army intelligence tests: nearly half of the white draft (47.3%) was feebleminded, with blacks and the newer immigrant groups achieving the lowest scores.
Although Yerkes claimed that the tests measured native intelligence, and not education or training, this claim is difficult to sustain in the face of the questions themselves: Question 18 of Alpha Test 8 reads: "Velvet Joe appears in advertisements of ... (tooth powder)(dry goods)(tobacco)(soap)." The tests themselves read like a kind of early 1900s Trivial Pursuit
Trivial Pursuit
Trivial Pursuit is a board game in which progress is determined by a player's ability to answer general knowledge and popular culture questions. The game was created in 1979 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, by Canadian Chris Haney, a photo editor for Montreal's The Gazette and Scott Abbott, a sports...
.
Along with Edward L. Thorndike, Yerkes was a member and Chairman of the Committee on Inheritance of Mental Traits, part of the Eugenics Record Office
Eugenics Record Office
The Eugenics Record Office at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, United States was a center for eugenics and human heredity research in the first half of the twentieth century. Both its founder, Charles Benedict Davenport, and its director, Harry H...
, which was founded by Charles Benedict Davenport, a former teacher of Yerkes at Harvard.
National Research Council
Immediately after World War I, Yerkes worked as a paid officer for the United States National Research CouncilUnited States National Research Council
The National Research Council of the USA is the working arm of the United States National Academies, carrying out most of the studies done in their names.The National Academies include:* National Academy of Sciences...
(NRC) and took the helm of the NRC Committee for Research in Problems of Sex. The Committee for Research in Problems of Sex helped Yerkes establish close relationships with officers from Rockefeller philanthropic foundations. These relationships later helped him to solicit substantial funds for his chimpanzee projects.
Primatology pioneer
Yerkes had a long and storied fascination with the study of chimpanzees. He had spent time observing chimpanzees in CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
at Madame Abreu's colony in the early 1920s, and had returned from the trip determined to raise and observe chimps on his own. He began by purchasing two chimpanzees, Chim and Panzee, from a zoo. He brought the two chimps home, where they lived in a bedroom and ate with a fork at a miniature table. Chim was a particular delight for Yerkes, and the summer that chimp and psychologist spent together is memorialized in Almost Human (1924).
In 1924, Yerkes was hired as a professor of psychobiology, a field he pioneered, at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. He founded the Yale University Laboratories of Primate Biology in New Haven, followed by his Anthropoid Breeding and Experiment Station in Orange Park, Florida
Orange Park, Florida
Orange Park is a town in Clay County, Florida, USA, and a suburb of Jacksonville. The population was 8,412 at the 2010 census. The name "Orange Park" is additionally applied to a wider area of northern Clay County outside the town limits, covering such communities as Fleming Island, Lakeside, and...
with funds from the Rockefeller Foundation. After his death, the lab was moved to Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, and is now called the Yerkes National Primate Research Center
Yerkes National Primate Research Center
The Yerkes National Primate Research Center, originally established and located in Orange Park, Florida but was later relocated to Atlanta, Georgia at Emory University, is one of eight national primate research centers funded by the National Institutes of Health...
. The primate language
Great Ape language
Research into non-human great ape language has involved teaching chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans to communicate with human beings and with each other using sign language, physical tokens, and lexigrams; see Yerkish...
Yerkish
Yerkish
Yerkish is an artificial language developed for use by non-human primates. It employs a keyboard whose keys contain lexigrams, symbols corresponding to objects or ideas....
was developed there. Yerkes retired from his position as Director in 1942, where he was replaced by Karl Lashley
Karl Lashley
-External links:*...
.
Asked how to say his name, he told The Literary Digest
Literary Digest
The Literary Digest was an influential general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, Public Opinion and Current Opinion.-History:...
it was YER-keez.
Publications
- 1907, The Dancing Mouse, A Study in Animal Behavior
- 1911, Introduction to Psychology
- 1911, Methods of Studying VisionVisual perceptionVisual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision...
in Animals (with John B. Watson) - 1914, Outline of a Study of the SelfSelf (psychology)The psychology of self is the study of either the cognitive and affective representation of one's identity or the subject of experience. The earliest formulation of the self in modern psychology derived from the distinction between the self as I, the subjective knower, and the self as Me, the...
- 1915, A Point Scale for Measuring Mental Ability (with co-authors)
See also
- Great Ape personhoodGreat Ape personhoodGreat ape personhood is a movement to create legal recognition of bonobos, common chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans as bona fide persons.-First steps:...
- Yerkes-Dodson lawYerkes-Dodson lawThe Yerkes–Dodson law is a claimed empirical relationship between arousal and performance, originally developed by psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson in 1908. The "law" asserts that performance increases with physiological or mental arousal, but only up to a point. When...
- YerkishYerkishYerkish is an artificial language developed for use by non-human primates. It employs a keyboard whose keys contain lexigrams, symbols corresponding to objects or ideas....
- The mind of an apeThe Mind of an ApeThe Mind of an Ape is a 1983 book by David and Ann James Premack. In it, the authors argue that it is possible to teach language to great apes...
External links
- Emory.edu - 'Innovation and Science: The History of Yerkes', Yerkes National Primate Research CenterYerkes National Primate Research CenterThe Yerkes National Primate Research Center, originally established and located in Orange Park, Florida but was later relocated to Atlanta, Georgia at Emory University, is one of eight national primate research centers funded by the National Institutes of Health...
- Indiana.edu - 'Robert Mearns Yerkes (1876–1956) American Comparative Psychologist', Indiana University
- IPFW.edu - 'Intelligence Tests' (historical overview)
- Karoo.net - 'A Nation of MoronMoronMoron may refer to* Moron , disused term for a person with a mental age between 8 and 12, and a common insult for a person considered stupid * "Moron" * "Moron"...
s' (critique of the Army Alpha Intelligence Test), Stephen Jay GouldStephen Jay GouldStephen Jay Gould was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. He was also one of the most influential and widely read writers of popular science of his generation.... - YorkU.ca - 'Autobiography of Robert Mearns Yerkes', Robert Yerkes, York UniversityYork UniversityYork University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
(1930)