Measurements of the Mind: The Creation and Critique of the Psychological Test
FYSEMR 49N
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
For well over a century, psychologists have worked with schools, corporations, immigration officers, the military, and psychiatrists to sort the American population into groups in order to make a number of key judgments. Special tests – designed to measure everything from intelligence to vocational aptitudes to personality – have been at the center of that effort. In this seminar, we will explore the at times controversial story of psychological testing, and its larger implications. We will pay attention to the creativity within psychology in the making of such tests, and examine their potential benefits, as well as the drawbacks and dangers of the misuses of these instruments – particularly as tools of social control.
Topics covered will include the use of tests in the eugenics movement, testing of immigrants at Ellis Island, academic and military sorting through cognitive tests, the use of personality tests in psychiatric and forensic settings, and the cross-cultural use of personality tests by anthropologists. Since Harvard psychologists have made significant contributions to the history of psychological testing, we will use materials uniquely available on this campus in the course of our work together.
Class Notes
First-Year Seminars are available only to first-year students. You may apply to both Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 First-Year Seminars via the FYS lottery between July 6 and August 6, 2026 at 11:59PM-midnight.
You may apply to as many seminars each term as you would like, but we recommend you apply to at least six in fall and three in spring.
As part of your application, you must provide a brief statement on why you are interested in each seminar. You will be notified of lottery results for both fall and spring seminars at 5 pm on August 11. If you are unsuccessful in the lottery, you may still join any seminar with open seats. A list of open seminars and instructions on next steps will be available on the First-Year Seminar Program website August 11 at 12 Noon.
Not Available for Cross Registration
