Psychology's Influence On Eugenics

It is undeniable that Psychology’s involvement in Eugenics is not considered one of its high points. The exact definition has been debated upon since the term was coined by Francis Galton. The core of the term deals with the idea that “eminent men have eminent sons” and that “individual greatness or genius occurred within families far too often to be explained solely by environmental influences”(115). Ethically speaking, Eugenics should have been quickly defamed; however, its long term impact has be eminent as per The Detroit News on August 14, 2011. The “science” of Eugenics has grown and developed starting from the mid 1800s from contributions of Charles Darwin, Herbert Spencer, The Zeitgeist, Adolf Hitler, intelligence testing, and events …show more content…
His cousin, Francis Galton, was utterly fascinated after reading his publication stating that it “‘made a marked epoch in my own mental development, as it did in human thought generally” (quoted in Gillham, 2001, p. 155)”(115). What first captivated Galton was the biological aspect of evolution, but later, he further investigated the consequences of blood transfusions among rabbits in attempt to resolve whether acquired characteristics could be handed down. The evolutionary implications did not hold Galton’s enthusiasm for long, although, “the social implications guided Galton’s subsequent work and determined his influence on modern psychology”(115). Indeed, Galton published many papers on inheritance including English Men of Science (1874), Natural Inheritance (1889), and Hereditary Genius …show more content…
There was great public concern that the physicians at Ellis Island, an entry point for millions of European immigrants into the United States, were rejecting “mentally retarded people from entering the country”(169). Goddard’s evidence from the mental tests “was later used to support federal legislation restricting the immigration of racial and ethnic groups assumed to be inferior in intelligence”(170). Furthermore, the findings of different levels of racial intelligence received more support when findings of World War I recruits were made public. The findings supported that blacks as well as immigrants from Latin American and Mediterranean countries had lower IQs than whites. This raised concerns among scientists, politicians, and journalists, toying with questions such as: “Should groups with low IQs be allowed to vote? Should the government refuse entry to immigrants from low-IQ countries? How could the notion that all people were created equal be