The Goodenough Intelligence Test in India

Abstract

In this article the author describes an experiment in which he administered the Goodenough "draw-a-man" test to 2,600 children ranging in age from 6 to 20 in the Central Provinces of India. All pupils present in school on the day the test was given are included. The selection of schools is a random sampling and is believed to be quite typical, including both government and mission schools, city and rural, boys' and girls' schools, middle and primary. Based on the results, the author arrives at a number of conclusions: (1) The Goodenough drawing test is adaptable in India as a tool for the objective measurement of intelligence of larger groups for survey purposes, (2) Indians do not make as high scores on this test as Americans of the same age, (3) Since the differentiation of the performance of the various age groups is not as marked in India as in America, the Indian scale is consequently somewhat less sensitive and more subject to inaccuracy, (4) Comparisons with other racial groups are not held to be valid as an index of comparative mental power, for the great difference in environmental background and the imperfection of the instruments of measure do not permit a valid comparison. But they do suggest that the handicap under which the Indian pupil labors is a considerable one, and (5) The difference in the performance of Indians and other races suggests that educational standards and practices cannot be imported from other countries without thoroughgoing modification and adaptation which takes into account the handicaps and advantages under which the Indian pupils labor. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)