The Burt Affair

by Robert B. Joynson

Overview

Few reputations had undergone so dramatic a reversal as that of the late Sir Cyril Burt. When he died in 1971, he was widely acclaimed as a founding father of British psychology and a commanding figure in the world of education. His decline began when it was alleged, some five years later, that he had fraudulently invented much of his most influential data on the inheritance of intelligence. The dispute which followed is one of the great causes célèbres of psychology.

Originally published in 1989, Robert B. Joynson took a penetrating new look at the ‘Burt Affair’, examining in detail the grounds on which Burt had been accused. He concluded that the accusations were ill-founded and that Burt must be exonerated.

Dr Joynson’s conclusions raised wider issues for psychology itself. How did such accusations come to be made, and how did they come to be so widely accepted? Joynson believed that the episode pointed to inherent weaknesses and limitations in the discipline of psychology itself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032967486
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/03/2025
Series:	Psychology Revivals
Pages:	364
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Robert B. Joynson (1922–2015) studied at the Institute of Experimental Psychology at Oxford. From 1948 onwards he taught at the University of Nottingham, with the exception of one year (1967-68) where he taught at Howard University, Washington D.C.

Table of Contents

Preface.  Acknowledgments.  List of Tables.  1. Pioneer  2. Scandal  3. Discoveries  4. Burt’s Historical Claims: The Early Papers  5. Burt’s Historical Claims: Spearman and Pearson  6. Burt’s Kinship Studies: The Invariant Correlations  7. Burt’s Kinship Studies: The Missing Assistants  8. Burt’s Last Papers  9. The Mad Professor  10. Burt’s Character  11. How it Happened: The Accusation  12. How it Happened: The Endorsement.  Appendix A: A Disputed Priority.  Appendix B: Letter from Thorndike to Spearman, 17 October 1904.  Appendix C: Note from Burt (1917: 53).  Appendix D: Letter from Sir Halford Cook, 30 August 1984.  Bibliography.  Index.

Editorial Reviews

Sir Cyril Burt, a founder of British psychology, was widely discredited after his death in 1971 when it was alleged that he had fraudulently invented his own data on the inheritance of intelligence. Joynson exonerates Burt and resurrects the dead reputation, examining the allegations and concluding that they are ill-founded if not themselves fraudulent. Suitable for academic and general readers. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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