Review of Race Differences

Abstract

Reviews the book, Race Differences by Otto Klineberg (1935). The author in the introductory chapter has succeeded very well in presenting the various racial theories as set forth by the earliest writers down to the present time. He has brought together in one volume in a most interesting, authoritative and thoroughly scientific manner material dealing with race differences from the biological, psychological and cultural approaches. Under the biological approach, physical differences such as color, height, head form, blood groups, brain size and structure, and developmental differences are discussed. The author concludes that the available material suggests, though it does not prove, that group differences in physiological activity can be adequately explained without recourse to the racial hypothesis. The psychological approach deals with possible racial differences first in the simpler psychological functions of sense perception and reaction time because these are believed to be closer to the physiological level than those of greater complexity. The book is written in an unusually interesting style and contains a wealth of bibliographical references-over six hundred in all--which should prove of much value to those who are interested in the problem of race. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)