![]() Binet, being an active member of this group, found the impetus for the development of his mental scale.īinet and Simon, in creating what historically is known as the Binet-Simon Scale, comprised a variety of tasks they thought were representative of typical children’s abilities at various ages. The commission was asked to create a mechanism for identifying students in need of alternative education. In 1904 a French professional group for child psychology, La Société Libre pour l’Etude Psychologique de l’Enfant, was called upon by the French government to appoint a commission on the education of retarded children. This was the beginning of their long, fruitful collaboration. While directing the Laboratory, Theodore Simon applied to do doctoral research under Binet’s supervision. In that same year, he co-founded L’Annee Psychologique, a major psychology journal. In 1891, Binet began working at the Sorbonne’s Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and was appointed its Director in 1894. Additionally, his more progressive theories did not provide the practical utility that his intelligence scale would evoke. ![]() Because Binet did not have any formalized graduate study in psychology, he did not hold a professorship with a prestigious institution where students and funds would be sure to perpetuate his work (Siegler, 1992). Wolf (1973) postulates that this is the result of his not being affiliation with a major university. Binet’s research with his daughters helped him to further refine his developing conception of intelligence, especially the importance of attention span and suggestibility in intellectual development.ĭespite Binet’s extensive research interests and wide breadth of publications, today he is most widely known for his contributions to intelligence. ![]() Bergin and Cizek (2001) suggest that this work may have influenced Jean Piaget, who later studied with Binet’s collaborator Theodore Simon in 1920. In the 21 year period following his shift in career interests, Binet “published more than 200 books, articles, and reviews in what now would be called experimental, developmental, educational, social, and differential psychology” (Siegler, 1992). When his intrigue with hypnosis waned as a result of failure to establish professional acceptance, he turned to the study of development spurred on by the birth of his two daughters, Madeleine and Alice (born in 18, respectively). Unfortunately, Charcot’s conclusions did not hold up under professional scrutiny, and Binet was forced to make an embarrassing public admission that he had been wrong in supporting his teacher. Binet was strongly influenced by this great man, and published four articles about his work in this area. At the time of Binet’s tenure, Charcot was experimenting with hypnotism. In 1883, Binet began to work in Jean-Martin Charcot’s neurological laboratory at the Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris. Binet eventually realized the limitations of this theory, but Mill’s ideas continued to influence his work. He soon became fascinated with the ideas of John Stuart Mill, who believed that that the operations of intelligence could be explained by the the laws of associationism. However, he was not overly interested in his formal schooling, and started educating himself by reading psychology texts at the National Library in Paris. Indeed the rest of the intellectual faculties seem of little importance in comparison with judgment” (Binet & Simon, 1916, 1973, pp.42-43).Īfter receiving his law degree in 1878, Alfred Binet began to study science at the Sorbonne. A person may be a moron or an imbecile if he is lacking in judgment but with good judgment he can never be either. This faculty is judgment, otherwise called good sense, practical sense, initiative, the faculty of adapting one’s self to circumstances. “It seems to us that in intelligence there is a fundamental faculty, the alteration or the lack of which, is of the utmost importance for practical life. Member, Commission on the Education of Retarded Children, appointed by the French Ministry of Public Instruction (1904).Director, Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Sorbonne University (1894-1911).Researcher and Associate Director, Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Sorbonne University (1891-1894).Researcher, neurological clinic, Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris (1883-1889).Subsequently studied natural sciences at the Sorbonne. Time Period: The Great Schools’ Influence. ![]()
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