How psychological research enabled something to be achieved in the real world (i.e. outside psychology) that otherwise might not have been possible.
How did educators identify pupils who required additional support without assuming every child who struggled was incapable? In France in the early twentieth century, Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon designed the Binet-Simon scale, offering a possible solution. Its purpose was to assess children’s intellectual development, helping schools identify those needing additional support.
In 1882, French law made primary education compulsory and as school attendance increased, educators faced difficulties supporting children who struggled in mainstream education (Vial, 1990, as cited in Nicolas et al., 2013). Nicolas et al. (2013) found sources from that period, explaining that professionals often disagreed over who should assess and educate these children. These debates led the French government to bring together experts, including Binet, to consider how these children should be educated. However, Binet faced resistance from psychiatrists who advocated medical diagnosis and asylum-based education. Unlike the psychiatrists, Binet focused on psychological testing and educational intervention, believing children could benefit from the scale and specialised teaching.
The 1905 Binet-Simon scale asked children to perform tasks that tested memory, understanding, reasoning and attention. One advantage was that it offered more than identifying difficulties; it also helped psychologists gain a voice in a field traditionally dominated by psychiatry (Nicolas et al., 2013). However, with this sort of rivalry, there was arguably a risk that children’s individual needs could be overlooked. Before this, identifying learning difficulties usually relied on doctors’ judgement and observation. Binet and Simon (1905/1916) highlighted limitations to this approach, noting that different doctors could assess the same child yet reach different conclusions, demonstrating inconsistencies in their assessment. Of course, as they were the inventors who developed the test, their views may not have been impartial. Therefore, their recognition of this, highlighted the need for a systematic and standardised approach (Binet & Simon, 1905/1916).
Foschi and Cicciola (2006) linked Binet’s scientific background and educational work to French ideas about social cooperation, showing how his outlook informed his educational views. After all, Binet saw struggling learners as capable of developing through tailored teaching in special classes, suggesting he saw difficulties as a reason to provide support, not to exclude them from education. Despite the 1909 legislation for special classes, psychological testing remained limited in France, partly due to the opposition from psychiatrists who kept the authority over children’s assessment (Nicolas, et al., 2013; Schneider, 1992).
When the Binet-Simon scale reached America, Goddard introduced it before it was later revised by Terman into the Stanford-Binet scale. Carson (2007) argues that approaches to intelligence testing developed differently between the two countries, with American psychologists increasingly favouring IQ testing, while the French continued to place greater emphasis on clinical judgement. Unlike Binet’s educational intentions, Goddard extended the use of intelligence testing to immigration, applying the scale at Ellis Island to identify individuals with limited intellectual ability. (Gelb, 1986).
Binet and Simon’s scale introduced a more systematic approach to identifying children who required additional support for the first time. Although some psychiatrists opposed it, the scale offered a real alternative to the inconsistencies of clinical practice. The scale’s use in America also demonstrates how testing can be shaped by the intentions of those using it. While Binet intended the scale to identify children who needed support, Goddard used it to label immigrants on their assessed level of intelligence.
Reference List
Binet, A., & Simon, T. (1916). The development of intelligence in children (E. S. Kite, Trans.). Williams & Wilkins.
Carson, J. (2007). The measure of merit: Talents, intelligence, and inequality in the French and American republics, 1750–1940. Princeton University Press.
Foschi, R., & Cicciola, E. (2006). Politics and naturalism in the 20th century psychology of Alfred Binet. History of Psychology, 9(4), 267–289. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/1093-4510.9.4.267
Gelb, S. A. (1986). Henry H. Goddard and the immigrants, 1910–1917: The studies and their social context. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 22(4), 324–332. https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6696(198610)22:4%3C324::AID-JHBS2300220404%3E3.0.CO;2-Y
Nicolas, S., Andrieu, B., Croizet, J.-C., Sanitioso, R. B., & Burman, J. T. (2013). Sick? Or slow? On the origins of intelligence as a psychological object. Intelligence, 41(5), 699–711. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2013.08.006
Schneider, W. H. (1992). After Binet: French intelligence testing, 1900–1950. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 28(2), 111–132. https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6696(199204)28:2%3C111::aid-jhbs2300280202%3E3.0.co;2-w
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