Burt, Sir Cyril

Burt, Sir Cyril

▪ British psychologist
in full  Sir Cyril Lodowic Burt 
born March 3, 1883, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England
died October 10, 1971, London

      British psychologist known for his development of factor analysis in psychological testing and for his studies of the effect of heredity on intelligence and behaviour.

      Burt studied at the universities of Oxford and Würzburg before becoming in 1913 the first educational psychologist appointed by a governmental body in Britain, a position that led to the first child-guidance clinic in England. He joined the faculty of the University of London in 1924 and served as professor of psychology at University College in London from 1931 until his retirement in 1950. He continued to conduct research after his retirement, and he was knighted in 1946 (the first psychologist to be so honoured).

      In 1909 Burt published his experimental tests on general intelligence, in which he used factor analysis to define the kinds of factors at play in psychological testing (factor analysis involves the extraction of small numbers of independent factors from a large group of intercorrelated measurements). His method of factor analysis was fully presented in The Factors of the Mind (1940). Burt's studies convinced him that intelligence (intelligence, human) was primarily hereditary in origin, although social and environmental factors could play a secondary role in intellectual development. From the 1940s on, he published studies showing that levels of intelligence could be correlated with occupational levels among large groups of test subjects and that such intelligence levels were transmitted to these subjects' offspring. His data seemed to demonstrate that occupational levels (and hence social class) are determined mainly by innate, hereditary levels of intelligence.

      After Burt's death, striking anomalies in some of his test data led some scientists to reexamine his statistical methods. They concluded that Burt manipulated and probably falsified those IQ test results that most convincingly supported his theories on transmitted intelligence and social class. The debate over his conduct continued, but all sides agreed that his later research was at least highly flawed, and many accepted that he fabricated some data. However, the soundness of his earlier work justified his reputation as the foremost pioneer of educational psychology in Britain.

Additional Reading
Leon J. Kamin, The Science and Politics of I.Q. (1974), reviewed Burt's statistical methods and argued that his data was falsified or fabricated. L.S. Hearnshaw, Cyril Burt, Psychologist (1979), attacked Burt's methods, drawing on analysis of his statistics and on unpublished materials in his papers. Robert B. Joynson, The Burt Affair (1989); and Ronald Fletcher, Science, Ideology, and the Media: The Cyril Burt Scandal (1991), were written in response to Hearnshaw; both argued that while Burt was guilty of doing some sloppy science, charges of fraud could not be sustained. N.J. Mackintosh (ed.), Cyril Burt: Fraud or Framed? (1995), a collection of essays by psychologists or historians of psychology, reviewed the scientific evidence, Burt's statistical methods, his data, and the debate and concluded that Burt probably did knowingly fabricate data.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Burt, Sir Cyril (Lodowic) — born March 3, 1883, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, Eng. died Oct. 10, 1971, London British psychologist. He taught at the University of London (1924–50), becoming known for his pioneering work in educational psychology, especially mental… …   Universalium

  • Burt, Sir Cyril (Lodowic) — (3 mar. 1883, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, Inglaterra–10 oct. 1971, Londres). Psicólogo británico. Fue docente en la Universidad de Londres (1924–50), siendo reconocido por su trabajo pionero en psicología educacional, especialmente en… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Cyril Burt — in 1930 Sir Cyril Lodowic Burt (3 March 1883 – 10 October 1971) was an English educational psychologist who made contributions to educational psychology and statistics. Burt is known for his studies on the heritability of IQ. Shortly after he… …   Wikipedia

  • Cyril Lodowic Burt — Sir Cyril Lodowic Burt (* 3. März 1883 in Westminster; † 10. Oktober 1971) war ein britischer Psychologe. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Themen 3 Die „Burt Affäre“ und Kritik …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • BURT (C. L.) — BURT sir CYRIL LODOWIC (1883 1971) L’œuvre de sir Cyril Burt est intimement liée aux développements techniques de l’analyse factorielle. Ce savant anglais, qui enseigna à Oxford, Liverpool, Cambridge, Londres et qui publia notamment The Factors… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Cyril — /sir euhl/, n. 1. Saint ( Apostle of the Slavs ), A.D. 827 869, Greek missionary to the Moravians. 2. a male given name. * * * (as used in expressions) Burt Sir Cyril Lodowic Cyril and Methodius Saints Cyril of Alexandria Saint Cyril of Jerusalem …   Universalium

  • sir — /serr/, n. 1. a respectful or formal term of address used to a man: No, sir. 2. (cap.) the distinctive title of a knight or baronet: Sir Walter Scott. 3. (cap.) a title of respect for some notable personage of ancient times: Sir Pandarus of Troy …   Universalium

  • sir — (Voz inglesa.) ► sustantivo masculino Tratamiento honorífico empleado por los británicos. * * * sir (ingl.; pronunc. [ser]) m. *Tratamiento de respeto usado en Inglaterra delante de un nombre de hombre o para dirigirse a la persona de que se… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Cyril — (as used in expressions) Burt, Sir Cyril (Lodowic) Darlington, Cyril Dean James, C(yril) L(ionel) R(obert) Parkinson, C(yril) Northcote Smith, Cyril Stanley Tourneur, Cyril …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Burt — /berrt/, n. 1. William Austin, 1792 1858, U.S. surveyor and inventor. 2. a male given name, form of Albert, Herbert, Bertram, Burton. * * * (as used in expressions) Bacharach Burt Burt Sir Cyril Lodowic Mayer Louis Burt * * * …   Universalium

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