Reviews the controversy surrounding the work of Cyril Burt on the genetic contribution to mental ability and argues that the disparagement of Burt's results provides one of the most extraordinary cases of counterfeit charges in academic psychology. Suggesting genetic differences in brain size or intellect is politically incorrect. (SLD)

The posthumous condemnation of Cyril Burt destroyed his reputation and undermined his life's work on the genetic nature of differences in intelligence. Whether Burt falsified research findings or not, the real significance of the affair lies in what it teaches about scientific methodology and the fallibility of personal judgments. (SLD)

The history of the study of human mental ability is an example of the dialectic in social science between those who interpret data within the framework of existing social inequities and those who look for perspectives that might eventually dissolve inequities. The dedication of Henry Herbert Goddard to a belief in the scientific proof of…

The uses of data on siblings for educational and psychological research purposes are explained. Examples are based on empirical data. Five types of research problems, using sibling data, are explored: (1) statistical control of family background variance in psychological or educational studies which use analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) or multiple…