Lewis Terman

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Lore & Background

Terman was born in Johnson County, Indiana, the son of Martha P. (Cutsinger) and James William Terman. He received a Bachelor of Science, BPd (Bachelor of Pedagogy), and Bachelor of Arts from Central Normal College in 1894 and 1898, and a BA and Master of Arts from Indiana University Bloomington in 1903. He received his PhD from Clark University in 1905. He worked as a school principal in San Bernardino, California in 1905, and as a professor at Los Angeles Normal School in 1907. In 1910, he joined the faculty of Stanford University as a professor of educational psychology at the invitation of Ellwood Patterson Cubberley and remained associated with the university until his death. He served as chairman of the psychology department from 1922 to 1945. His son, Frederick Terman, is widely credited with being the father of Silicon Valley. Terman published the Stanford Revision of the Binet-Simon Intelligence Test in 1916, with revisions in 1937 and 1960. He adopted William Stern's suggestion that mental age/chronological age times 100 be made the intelligence quotient or IQ. Later revisions adopted David Wechsler's cohort-norming of IQ. The first mass administration of IQ testing was done with 1.7 million soldiers during World War I, when Terman served in a psychological testing role with the United States military. Recruits were given group intelligence tests including Army Alpha (text-based) and Army Beta (picture-based for nonreaders); 25% could not complete the Alpha test. Scores ranged from 'A' through 'E', with 'A' recruits trained as officers and 'D' and 'E' recruits never receiving officer training. After the war, Terman pressed for intelligence tests in schools. Terman's doctoral dissertation at Clark University was titled 'Genius and stupidity: a study of some of the intellectual processes of seven "bright" and seven "stupid" boys.' He believed IQ was inherited and was the strongest predictor of one's ultimate success in life. His lifelong study, Genetic Studies of Genius, was initiated in 1921 and published in five volumes. The children in the study were colloquially called 'Termites.' Terman found that gifted children were generally taller, in better health, better developed physically, and better adapted socially than other children, and were less likely to divorce. He died before completing the fifth volume; Melita Oden completed it. Terman selected Robert Richardson Sears, a successful participant in the study, to continue the work. The study is still supported by Stanford University.

Reader's Guide

Lewis Terman's significance rests on two pillars: his pioneering work in intelligence testing and his controversial eugenicist beliefs. His Stanford Revision of the Binet-Simon test became the standard Stanford-Binet, with revisions in 1937 and 1960, and remains in widespread use today. His Genetic Studies of Genius, a longitudinal study of gifted children with high IQs, challenged negative stereotypes by showing they were generally healthier and better adjusted than average. However, Terman was a prominent eugenicist, a member of the Human Betterment Foundation, the American Eugenics Society, and the Eugenics Research Association. He believed in genetic racial associations with intelligence. In 2018, the Palo Alto Unified School District board unanimously decided to rename a middle school that had been named after Terman and his son Frederick, after Terman's involvement with the eugenics movement came to attention. A 2002 survey ranked Terman the 72nd most cited psychologist of the 20th century. His son Frederick Terman, as provost of Stanford, helped spur the growth of Silicon Valley.

Did You Know?

• Terman's doctoral dissertation at Clark University compared seven 'bright' and seven 'stupid' boys.
• During World War I, Terman helped administer IQ tests to 1.7 million soldiers using Army Alpha and Beta tests; 25% could not complete the Alpha test.
• The children in Terman's Genetic Studies of Genius were colloquially referred to as 'Termites.'
• Terman selected Robert Richardson Sears, one of the successful participants in his study, to continue the Genetic Studies of Genius after his death.
• In 2018, the Palo Alto Unified School District board unanimously renamed a middle school that had honored Terman after his eugenics involvement came to light.