Roderick D. Buchanan | University of Melbourne (original) (raw)
Books by Roderick D. Buchanan
Probably no other psychologist has aroused such contrary reactions from the public and from the s... more Probably no other psychologist has aroused such contrary reactions from the public and from the scientific community as Hans Eysenck. To the public, he was some kind of noble "IQ warrior" or that disgraceful "race and IQ guy." However, Britain's most prominent post-war psychologist had a different but equally divisive reputation amongst his scientific peers. Here was an intellectual leader in personality psychology who was greatly admired by a host of sympathetic colleagues, yet repeatedly dismissed by his many critics as a self-serving show-pony and widely suspected of being economical with the truth. Hans Eysenck played it like a game and he played to win. In the process, he made many who crossed swords with him feel like losers. Though, while bold and innovative, Eysenck made his share of mistakes and embraced causes and collaborators that no one else would. Not since Sir Cyril Burt - Eysenck's mentor - has a UK-based psychologist left a legacy that will be so fiercely debated.
Playing with Fire is a full-length biography of Eysenck's career. It looks to explain the contradictions in Eysenck's public and professional image, and how one fed the other. It documents his boyhood in Berlin and the origin of his key ideas about personality, learning and the biogenetics of behaviour. It looks at the many clashes he had with any number of opponents - psychoanalysts, liberal social psychologists and the anti-tobacco public health lobby, to name a few.
This is a provocative book about a provocative man. It combines years of assiduous research and important insights from science and technology studies in a very readable, accessible narrative. Always comparing the self-constructed legend with historical reality, it charts the story of an inveterate controversialist - the man they loved to hate.
Papers by Roderick D. Buchanan
Metascience, Jun 17, 2019
Isis, 2017
The suggestion that Darwin delayed publishing his species theory has long occupied a central part... more The suggestion that Darwin delayed publishing his species theory has long occupied a central part of his biographical storyline. The notion of a fretful delay reached a melodramatic apogee in Adrian Desmond and James Moore's best-selling 1991 biography. Janet Browne's acclaimed work downplayed the pathos but depicted a somewhat hesitant Darwin. In 2007 John van Wyhe upended this tableau, arguing that there was no evidence to support a secretive, fear-based delay. Contrary to van Wyhe, this essay suggests that Darwin was only selectively and strategically open about his belief in transmutation prior to his barnacle project. The 1844 appearance of the anonymously published Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation was one in a series of blows that prompted Darwin to reappraise the evidential requirements of his species theory. Nonetheless, much depends on how one interprets the barnacle project. Darwin's decision to take on the whole group guaranteed its lengthy duration and effectively delayed his species work. The barnacle project could not be considered a necessary preparation, since it was not undertaken to address species theory problems. The evidence and insights Darwin gained from it were largely incidental and came after his decision to tackle the whole group. However, the credentialing motivations behind it were driven by field-generated self-doubts that are difficult to separate from fear. Darwin gained much-needed confidence from it and was far more open about his species theorizing afterward. The project helped Darwin become the authoritative figure he needed to be.
Wiley StatsRef: Statistics Reference Online, 2014
Encyclopedia of Statistics in Behavioral Science, 2005
Psychometrics developed as a means for measuring psychological abilities and attributes, usually ... more Psychometrics developed as a means for measuring psychological abilities and attributes, usually via a standardized psychological test. Its emergence as a specialized area of psychology combined entrenched social policy assumptions, existing educational practices, contemporary evolutionary thinking, and novel statistical techniques. Psychometrics came to offer a pragmatic, scientific approach that both fulfilled and encouraged the need to rank, classify, and select people. Keywords: true score; error; correlation; norm; reliability; alidity
Science, Technology, & Human Values, 1997
When a strange new test of perceptual style called the Rorschach reached the New World in the 192... more When a strange new test of perceptual style called the Rorschach reached the New World in the 1920s, it became almost immediately popular. Developed as a psychoana lytic "X ray" of the psyche, it succeeded because American psychologists wanted and needed it to do so, and to do so as that kind of test. Over a decade later, the MMPI was constructed as a more orthodox personality inventory geared to traditional psychiatric categories While this medical legacy was soon removed or obscured, success was more gradual. After the war, clinical psychologists adopted a professional identity independent of psychiatry. Their personality assessment tools, and what counted as success, came to reflect a reclaimed disciplinary genealogy. Standardized mappings and rule-by-numbers tended to displace a trust in experience and expert Judgment. In this context, "proper" Rorschach use came to be seen as indulgent or sadly mistaken. Supporters of the MMPI were, in contrast, able to clai...
Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 2003
American psychiatrists and psychologists have long been close colleagues and fierce rivals. There... more American psychiatrists and psychologists have long been close colleagues and fierce rivals. There is no better illustration of this polarized relationship than the chronic tug-of-war over psychotherapy. Both groups laid claim to psychotherapy-whatever it was and however it was practiced. Psychiatrists attempted to monopolize psychotherapy despite its ambiguous status as an essential component of the healing arts. After the war, psychologists pressed for a share on the basis of their qualifications and competence, but struggled to overcome the limitations imposed by medical envy. This story lays bare the crucial function of tools and techniques for defining the identity and the boundaries of a sciencebased profession.
History of the Human Sciences, 2011
about racism among French intellectuals, is chiefly known (especially in Europe) for his encyclop... more about racism among French intellectuals, is chiefly known (especially in Europe) for his encyclopedic histories of European anti-Semitism. Poliakov was the first serious historian to assess critically (in a more nuanced and balanced way than some later commentators) the role of the Vatican during the Nazi era. He wrote about this shortly after the war, most famously in a 1950 article in the American magazine Commentary. What is especially interesting, in view of Olender's contention elsewhere in the book that history can be liberating, is the melancholy reflection, shared by Poliakov and Olender, that in exposing the link between racism and the most exalted values of Western civilization, historians may provoke those very sentiments they intend to extirpate. Other essays in the book worth mentioning include several on the prominent historian of religion and myth, Mircea Eliade. Eliade, a figure often linked with Carl Jung, is also controversial because of of his reputed involvement in the 1930s with the Iron Guard, a Romanian fascist organization. In his writing on myth, Eliade evokes a transhistorical reality. One question Olender raises is whether this evocation represents Eliade's desire to escape history, perhaps because of his own personal and political tribulations. Olender also has a chapter on the French sociologist Marcel Mauss, whose work represents a blend of politics and scholarship. This is a very rich book, well worth reading. It will be especially valuable for those interested in the history of racism and anti-Semitism who are unfamiliar with the European, and especially the French, literature on the topic. My only complaint is that some of the topics deserve more extended treatment. One hopes that Olender will remedy that in subsequent work.
History of Psychology, 2011
... hide footnote,2Footnote 2 See, for example, Nicole Hahn Rafter, “HJ Eysenck in Fagin'... more ... hide footnote,2Footnote 2 See, for example, Nicole Hahn Rafter, “HJ Eysenck in Fagin's kitchen: The Return to Biological Theory in 20th Century Criminology.” History of the Human Sciences, 19 (2006), 37–56. hide footnote,3Footnote 3 See Roderick D. Buchanan, Playing with ...
Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A
Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences
Personality and Individual Differences, 2016
Personality and Individual Differences, 2016
Hist Psychol, 2002
Psychological tests, especially the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, became the cente... more Psychological tests, especially the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, became the center of public controversy and Congressional scrutiny during the 1960s. This unwanted attention actually helped American psychologists more than they imagined. Assisted by those on Capitol Hill, psychologists were able to defend their science in a manner that avoided imposed forms of public accountability. Social questions were reformulated as technical problems. The need to adjust intelligence and aptitude tests reinforced psychologists' control over them. Conversely, personality tests were not made more transparent and nonintrusive, unless psychologists thought these changes were scientifically necessary. This episode prompted tighter regulation of test use and demonstrated that traditional forms of testing were far too important to popularize and "give away."
Journal of Health Psychology
This journal recently drew attention to an extensive body of highly questionable research publish... more This journal recently drew attention to an extensive body of highly questionable research published by Hans J. Eysenck in collaboration with Ronald Grossarth-Maticek. The subsequent enquiry by King’s College London concluded that 26 publications were unsafe and warranted retraction. However, the enquiry reviewed only a subset of the 61 questionable publications initially submitted to them, only those Eysenck co-authored with Grossarth-Maticek. The enquiry excluded publications where Eysenck was the sole author. The King’s College London enquiry must be properly completed. They have a pressing responsibility to re-convene and broaden their review to include all Eysenck’s publications based on the same body of research – including an additional 27 publications recently uncovered. The unsatisfactory nature of the KCL review process makes the case for a National Research Integrity Ombudsperson even stronger.
Probably no other psychologist has aroused such contrary reactions from the public and from the s... more Probably no other psychologist has aroused such contrary reactions from the public and from the scientific community as Hans Eysenck. To the public, he was some kind of noble "IQ warrior" or that disgraceful "race and IQ guy." However, Britain's most prominent post-war psychologist had a different but equally divisive reputation amongst his scientific peers. Here was an intellectual leader in personality psychology who was greatly admired by a host of sympathetic colleagues, yet repeatedly dismissed by his many critics as a self-serving show-pony and widely suspected of being economical with the truth. Hans Eysenck played it like a game and he played to win. In the process, he made many who crossed swords with him feel like losers. Though, while bold and innovative, Eysenck made his share of mistakes and embraced causes and collaborators that no one else would. Not since Sir Cyril Burt - Eysenck's mentor - has a UK-based psychologist left a legacy that will be so fiercely debated.
Playing with Fire is a full-length biography of Eysenck's career. It looks to explain the contradictions in Eysenck's public and professional image, and how one fed the other. It documents his boyhood in Berlin and the origin of his key ideas about personality, learning and the biogenetics of behaviour. It looks at the many clashes he had with any number of opponents - psychoanalysts, liberal social psychologists and the anti-tobacco public health lobby, to name a few.
This is a provocative book about a provocative man. It combines years of assiduous research and important insights from science and technology studies in a very readable, accessible narrative. Always comparing the self-constructed legend with historical reality, it charts the story of an inveterate controversialist - the man they loved to hate.
Metascience, Jun 17, 2019
Isis, 2017
The suggestion that Darwin delayed publishing his species theory has long occupied a central part... more The suggestion that Darwin delayed publishing his species theory has long occupied a central part of his biographical storyline. The notion of a fretful delay reached a melodramatic apogee in Adrian Desmond and James Moore's best-selling 1991 biography. Janet Browne's acclaimed work downplayed the pathos but depicted a somewhat hesitant Darwin. In 2007 John van Wyhe upended this tableau, arguing that there was no evidence to support a secretive, fear-based delay. Contrary to van Wyhe, this essay suggests that Darwin was only selectively and strategically open about his belief in transmutation prior to his barnacle project. The 1844 appearance of the anonymously published Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation was one in a series of blows that prompted Darwin to reappraise the evidential requirements of his species theory. Nonetheless, much depends on how one interprets the barnacle project. Darwin's decision to take on the whole group guaranteed its lengthy duration and effectively delayed his species work. The barnacle project could not be considered a necessary preparation, since it was not undertaken to address species theory problems. The evidence and insights Darwin gained from it were largely incidental and came after his decision to tackle the whole group. However, the credentialing motivations behind it were driven by field-generated self-doubts that are difficult to separate from fear. Darwin gained much-needed confidence from it and was far more open about his species theorizing afterward. The project helped Darwin become the authoritative figure he needed to be.
Wiley StatsRef: Statistics Reference Online, 2014
Encyclopedia of Statistics in Behavioral Science, 2005
Psychometrics developed as a means for measuring psychological abilities and attributes, usually ... more Psychometrics developed as a means for measuring psychological abilities and attributes, usually via a standardized psychological test. Its emergence as a specialized area of psychology combined entrenched social policy assumptions, existing educational practices, contemporary evolutionary thinking, and novel statistical techniques. Psychometrics came to offer a pragmatic, scientific approach that both fulfilled and encouraged the need to rank, classify, and select people. Keywords: true score; error; correlation; norm; reliability; alidity
Science, Technology, & Human Values, 1997
When a strange new test of perceptual style called the Rorschach reached the New World in the 192... more When a strange new test of perceptual style called the Rorschach reached the New World in the 1920s, it became almost immediately popular. Developed as a psychoana lytic "X ray" of the psyche, it succeeded because American psychologists wanted and needed it to do so, and to do so as that kind of test. Over a decade later, the MMPI was constructed as a more orthodox personality inventory geared to traditional psychiatric categories While this medical legacy was soon removed or obscured, success was more gradual. After the war, clinical psychologists adopted a professional identity independent of psychiatry. Their personality assessment tools, and what counted as success, came to reflect a reclaimed disciplinary genealogy. Standardized mappings and rule-by-numbers tended to displace a trust in experience and expert Judgment. In this context, "proper" Rorschach use came to be seen as indulgent or sadly mistaken. Supporters of the MMPI were, in contrast, able to clai...
Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 2003
American psychiatrists and psychologists have long been close colleagues and fierce rivals. There... more American psychiatrists and psychologists have long been close colleagues and fierce rivals. There is no better illustration of this polarized relationship than the chronic tug-of-war over psychotherapy. Both groups laid claim to psychotherapy-whatever it was and however it was practiced. Psychiatrists attempted to monopolize psychotherapy despite its ambiguous status as an essential component of the healing arts. After the war, psychologists pressed for a share on the basis of their qualifications and competence, but struggled to overcome the limitations imposed by medical envy. This story lays bare the crucial function of tools and techniques for defining the identity and the boundaries of a sciencebased profession.
History of the Human Sciences, 2011
about racism among French intellectuals, is chiefly known (especially in Europe) for his encyclop... more about racism among French intellectuals, is chiefly known (especially in Europe) for his encyclopedic histories of European anti-Semitism. Poliakov was the first serious historian to assess critically (in a more nuanced and balanced way than some later commentators) the role of the Vatican during the Nazi era. He wrote about this shortly after the war, most famously in a 1950 article in the American magazine Commentary. What is especially interesting, in view of Olender's contention elsewhere in the book that history can be liberating, is the melancholy reflection, shared by Poliakov and Olender, that in exposing the link between racism and the most exalted values of Western civilization, historians may provoke those very sentiments they intend to extirpate. Other essays in the book worth mentioning include several on the prominent historian of religion and myth, Mircea Eliade. Eliade, a figure often linked with Carl Jung, is also controversial because of of his reputed involvement in the 1930s with the Iron Guard, a Romanian fascist organization. In his writing on myth, Eliade evokes a transhistorical reality. One question Olender raises is whether this evocation represents Eliade's desire to escape history, perhaps because of his own personal and political tribulations. Olender also has a chapter on the French sociologist Marcel Mauss, whose work represents a blend of politics and scholarship. This is a very rich book, well worth reading. It will be especially valuable for those interested in the history of racism and anti-Semitism who are unfamiliar with the European, and especially the French, literature on the topic. My only complaint is that some of the topics deserve more extended treatment. One hopes that Olender will remedy that in subsequent work.
History of Psychology, 2011
... hide footnote,2Footnote 2 See, for example, Nicole Hahn Rafter, “HJ Eysenck in Fagin'... more ... hide footnote,2Footnote 2 See, for example, Nicole Hahn Rafter, “HJ Eysenck in Fagin's kitchen: The Return to Biological Theory in 20th Century Criminology.” History of the Human Sciences, 19 (2006), 37–56. hide footnote,3Footnote 3 See Roderick D. Buchanan, Playing with ...
Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A
Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences
Personality and Individual Differences, 2016
Personality and Individual Differences, 2016
Hist Psychol, 2002
Psychological tests, especially the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, became the cente... more Psychological tests, especially the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, became the center of public controversy and Congressional scrutiny during the 1960s. This unwanted attention actually helped American psychologists more than they imagined. Assisted by those on Capitol Hill, psychologists were able to defend their science in a manner that avoided imposed forms of public accountability. Social questions were reformulated as technical problems. The need to adjust intelligence and aptitude tests reinforced psychologists' control over them. Conversely, personality tests were not made more transparent and nonintrusive, unless psychologists thought these changes were scientifically necessary. This episode prompted tighter regulation of test use and demonstrated that traditional forms of testing were far too important to popularize and "give away."
Journal of Health Psychology
This journal recently drew attention to an extensive body of highly questionable research publish... more This journal recently drew attention to an extensive body of highly questionable research published by Hans J. Eysenck in collaboration with Ronald Grossarth-Maticek. The subsequent enquiry by King’s College London concluded that 26 publications were unsafe and warranted retraction. However, the enquiry reviewed only a subset of the 61 questionable publications initially submitted to them, only those Eysenck co-authored with Grossarth-Maticek. The enquiry excluded publications where Eysenck was the sole author. The King’s College London enquiry must be properly completed. They have a pressing responsibility to re-convene and broaden their review to include all Eysenck’s publications based on the same body of research – including an additional 27 publications recently uncovered. The unsatisfactory nature of the KCL review process makes the case for a National Research Integrity Ombudsperson even stronger.
Journal of Health Psychology, 2020
This journal recently drew attention to an extensive body of highly questionable research publish... more This journal recently drew attention to an extensive body of highly questionable research published by Hans J. Eysenck in collaboration with Ronald Grossarth-Maticek. The subsequent enquiry by King's College London concluded that 26 publications were unsafe and warranted retraction. However, the enquiry reviewed only a subset of the 61 questionable publications initially submitted to them, only those Eysenck co-authored with Grossarth-Maticek. The enquiry excluded publications where Eysenck was the sole author. The King's College London enquiry must be properly completed. They have a pressing responsibility to re-convene and broaden their review to include all Eysenck's publications based on the same body of research-including an additional 27 publications recently uncovered. The unsatisfactory nature of the KCL review process makes the case for a National Research Integrity Ombudsperson even stronger.