The psychology of the Negro

Abstract

The problems of race psychology have always been of absorbing interest. The existence of racial differences in intellect, morals and temperament is a matter of common observation among historians and anthropologists. It has always been regarded as obvious that those races which were most advanced in civilization were, in point of view of mental ability, distinctly higher than the others. And yet there are numerous instances in history, in which a barbarian race has taken on the forms of civilization and proven itself distinctly not inferior. No way of definitely measuring racial mental differences has been known until recently when, with the development of psychology, that science began to concern itself with individual differences. In America where all races meet, the problem of racial differences is an important one for our educational theory and practice, as well as our social philosophy. This is especially true in our Southern States, where there are vast numbers of white and colored children receiving the same instruction, both in content and in method. Are the mental characteristics of the two races similar enough to justify similar instruction, or would difference in instruction be more economical in effort and secure better results? The object of this investigation is not to answer this question, but to discover a few of the facts which have a bearing on it. To this end, an attempt is made to measure some of the basic mental functions of Negroes by means of already established mental tests. No attempt is made to justify the use of these tests. Their limitations are evident, but their value has been proved by numerous investigations during the past few years. Numerous books of a sociological and philosophical nature have been written concerning the Negro. They are valuable, chiefly, as the opinions of men of considerable experience, and frequently of strong prejudices. The results of three investigations of Negro psychology of some real value have been published. A brief review of these articles is given