Stanley Porteus
Encyclopedia
Prof. Stanley David Porteus (April 24, 1883 - October 21, 1972) was a psychologist
, academic and author.
Stanley Porteus was born in 1883 at Box Hill, Victoria
, Australia
, a suburb of Melbourne
, Victoria, where he went to school. After marriage, Porteus attempted study at the University of Melbourne
but with mixed success and he never graduated.
He was the initial head teacher at Victoria's first Education Department sponsored school for feeble-minded children and in 1916 he took on extra work in an informal arrangement with the University of Melbourne, lecturing to students in this developing field. Following his own requests, the Education Department awarded him the title of Superintendent of Special Schools, although this was a hollow appointment with no viable function or separate salary.
Having the task of selecting feeble-minded children for his small school, Porteus experimented with notions of head size and the emerging pencil and paper tests of intelligence that emerged in the early years of the twentieth century. He soon devised a new intelligence test of his own, the Porteus Maze Test
, a non-verbal intelligence test, which is still in use today.
In 1918 Porteus was invited to join the Vineland Training School
in New Jersey
, USA, moving there to become Director of Research. This invitation came at a good time, as his full-time employment as a head teacher with the Victorian Education Department was souring and although he had no university degree, the new job launched him into a life-long academic career. In [1922] he moved to Hawaii where he founded the Psychological and Psychopathic Clinic at the University of Hawaii
, eventually becoming professor of clinical psychology and its director and Dean of the Psychology Department in 1925.
The author of many papers and books, Porteus also to create a racial hierarchy of intelligence
using his maze devise which he believed was "a valid, culture-free measure of general intelligence--despite the fact that among his South African samples one group that already knew a 'labyrinth game' outscored all neighboring groups that did not know the game" (Cole 56). His theories about the superiority of intelligence of white races has led to recent controversy, including protests by students at the University of Hawaii
. Porteus was an early contributor to Mankind Quarterly
, helped William Shockley
organize the Foundation for Education on Eugenics and Dysgenics, and served on the executive committee of the International Association for the Advancement of Ethnology and Eugenics
.
He died in 1972 at Honolulu, where the University social sciences building, Porteus Hall, was named after him in 1974. However, university students mounted a full-scale protest at Porteus' perceived "blatantly racist theories" and eventually, in 1998, the authorities relented and his name was removed from the building.
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, academic and author.
Stanley Porteus was born in 1883 at Box Hill, Victoria
Box Hill, Victoria
Box Hill is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 14 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whitehorse. At the 2006 Census, Box Hill had a population of 8,616....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, a suburb of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria, where he went to school. After marriage, Porteus attempted study at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
but with mixed success and he never graduated.
He was the initial head teacher at Victoria's first Education Department sponsored school for feeble-minded children and in 1916 he took on extra work in an informal arrangement with the University of Melbourne, lecturing to students in this developing field. Following his own requests, the Education Department awarded him the title of Superintendent of Special Schools, although this was a hollow appointment with no viable function or separate salary.
Having the task of selecting feeble-minded children for his small school, Porteus experimented with notions of head size and the emerging pencil and paper tests of intelligence that emerged in the early years of the twentieth century. He soon devised a new intelligence test of his own, the Porteus Maze Test
Porteus Maze Test
The Porteus Maze Test is a nonverbal test of intelligence developed by University of Hawaii psychology Professor Stanley Porteus . The Maze test consists of a set of paper forms on which the subject is required to trace a path through a drawn maze of varying complexity. There is no time limit for...
, a non-verbal intelligence test, which is still in use today.
In 1918 Porteus was invited to join the Vineland Training School
Vineland Training School
The Vineland Training School is a non-profit organization in Vineland, New Jersey with the mission of educating the developmentally disabled so they can live independently. It has been a leader in research and testing....
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, USA, moving there to become Director of Research. This invitation came at a good time, as his full-time employment as a head teacher with the Victorian Education Department was souring and although he had no university degree, the new job launched him into a life-long academic career. In [1922] he moved to Hawaii where he founded the Psychological and Psychopathic Clinic at the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
, eventually becoming professor of clinical psychology and its director and Dean of the Psychology Department in 1925.
The author of many papers and books, Porteus also to create a racial hierarchy of intelligence
Race and intelligence
The connection between race and intelligence has been a subject of debate in both popular science and academic research since the inception of intelligence testing in the early 20th century...
using his maze devise which he believed was "a valid, culture-free measure of general intelligence--despite the fact that among his South African samples one group that already knew a 'labyrinth game' outscored all neighboring groups that did not know the game" (Cole 56). His theories about the superiority of intelligence of white races has led to recent controversy, including protests by students at the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
. Porteus was an early contributor to Mankind Quarterly
Mankind Quarterly
The Mankind Quarterly is a peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to physical and cultural anthropology and is currently published by the Council for Social and Economic Studies in Washington, D.C. It contains articles on human evolution, intelligence, ethnography, linguistics, mythology,...
, helped William Shockley
William Shockley
William Bradford Shockley Jr. was an American physicist and inventor. Along with John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain, Shockley co-invented the transistor, for which all three were awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics.Shockley's attempts to commercialize a new transistor design in the 1950s...
organize the Foundation for Education on Eugenics and Dysgenics, and served on the executive committee of the International Association for the Advancement of Ethnology and Eugenics
International Association for the Advancement of Ethnology and Eugenics
The International Association for the Advancement of Ethnology and Eugenics was a prominent group in the promotion of eugenics and segregation, and the first publisher of Mankind Quarterly.-History:...
.
He died in 1972 at Honolulu, where the University social sciences building, Porteus Hall, was named after him in 1974. However, university students mounted a full-scale protest at Porteus' perceived "blatantly racist theories" and eventually, in 1998, the authorities relented and his name was removed from the building.
Sources
- Cole, Michael. "Cross-Cultural Investigations." Cultural Psychology. (1996): 55-56. Print.