Herman George Canady facts for kids

Herman George Canady (born October 9, 1901, in Okmulgee, Oklahoma – died December 1, 1970) was an African-American social psychologist. He is famous for being the first psychologist to study how the race of the person giving an IQ test might unfairly affect the results.

Early Life and Learning

Herman Canady was born in 1901 in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. His parents were Rev. Howard T. and Mrs. Anna Canady. He went to Douglass Elementary School and Favor High School in Guthrie, Oklahoma. In 1922, he finished high school at George R. Smith College in Missouri.

In 1923, Canady started at Northwestern University Theological School. He had a special scholarship. He first wanted to become a minister. But he soon became very interested in how people behave and think. He decided to study sociology, which is about how societies work.

He graduated in 1927 with a degree in sociology and a minor in psychology. He then continued his studies at Northwestern. In 1928, he earned a master's degree in clinical psychology. Later, in 1941, he earned his Ph.D. in psychology from the same university.

Canady's Education Timeline

• 1927: Earned his B.A. in sociology with a minor in psychology from Northwestern University.
• 1928: Received his M.A. in clinical psychology from Northwestern University.
• 1941: Completed his Ph.D. in psychology from Northwestern University.

His Important Career

Herman Canady began his career in September 1928. He took over as the head of the psychology department at West Virginia Collegiate Institute. This school is now called West Virginia State University.

From 1936 to 1939, Canady led many studies about how people think and act in groups. One of his biggest achievements was looking at how the person giving an IQ test could influence the results. He found that a good connection, or "rapport," between the test-giver and the person taking the test could really change the scores.

He wrote about his findings in an article called "The Effect of 'rapport' on the I.Q.: A new approach to the problem of racial psychology." This article was published in the Journal of Negro Education. He also suggested ways to make IQ testing fairer.

In 1939, Canady took a break from West Virginia. He went back to Northwestern to finish his Ph.D. After getting his doctorate in 1941, he returned to West Virginia. He continued his important work as a psychologist there.

Canady also taught at other schools as a guest speaker. He worked with the American Friends Committee in 1946. In 1947, he helped the San Diego School system with projects about different cultures. He also worked part-time as a clinical psychologist for the Veterans Administration. From 1947 to 1968, he worked for the West Virginia Bureau of Mental Hygiene.

He was recognized as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was also a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. He was a member of many other important groups, too.

Canady retired from West Virginia State University in 1968. He had been the head of the psychology department for forty years.

Working for Black Psychologists

Herman Canady noticed that not much psychology research focused on the experiences of Black people. He wanted to change this. He started a movement to bring Black psychology professionals together. He especially wanted to highlight the challenges Black young people faced. He also wanted to help them find jobs.

At that time, psychology mostly looked at problems from a white perspective. Only a few Black psychologists were part of the American Psychological Association. This organization didn't focus on the psychology of Black Americans.

Black teachers had formed the American Teachers Association (ATA) in 1904. This was because they were not allowed to join other teacher groups. Canady used his membership in the ATA to organize Black psychologists.

He wrote a plan called A Prospectus of an Organization of Negroes Interested in Psychology and Related Fields. He sent it to ATA members who were psychologists or interested in the cause. He suggested creating a psychology section within the ATA. The goal was "to advance, promote, and encourage the teaching and application of the science of psychology... particularly in Negro institutions."

His plan also aimed to help Black schools train and hire Black psychologists. It also wanted to encourage Black students to study psychology. And it wanted to boost research on psychological problems related to Black Americans.

In 1938, Canady presented his ideas at the ATA Tuskegee Convention. Everyone voted to form a Department of Psychology within the ATA. Canady was chosen as the chairman. At this meeting, psychologists also talked about "The Negro Youth Looks at Occupations in America."

World War II slowed down Canady's efforts. But thirty years later, in 1968, psychologists met again in San Francisco. About 200 Black psychologists discussed how the APA had not addressed the role of Black people in psychology research. Joseph White, a well-known Black social psychologist, said they were "dissatisfied with psychology's exploitations." He also said they were unhappy with "white definitions for behavior that placed Blacks in a negative light."

Key Studies and Ideas

One of Canady's most important articles was “The Effect of ‘Rapport’ on the I.Q.: A New Approach to the Problem of Racial Psychology.” He was the first to study how the race of the test-giver affects IQ scores. He wondered if tests given to Black children by white examiners were truly fair.

He thought that Black children might score differently if tested by a Black examiner compared to a white examiner. His study included 48 Black and 25 white elementary school children. They took the Stanford Revision of the Binet-Simon IQ test twice.

Some children were tested first by a Black examiner, then by a white one. Others were tested first by a white examiner, then by a Black one. Canady found that Black children gained about 6 IQ points when tested by a Black examiner. White children lost about 6 IQ points when tested by a Black examiner.

While his study didn't prove huge differences due to the examiner's race, it started many more studies. These studies continued to look at how the examiner's race affects test results. Some studies have found that people perform better when tested by someone from their own ethnic group. Others have not found this.

Canady also looked at the state of psychology education at mostly Black colleges. In his study, “Psychology in Negro Institutions,” he checked 40 top Black universities. He wanted to see how much psychology education was available. He looked at courses, resources, teachers, and research.

He found that only 30% of these schools had separate psychology departments. The others combined psychology with education, philosophy, or sociology. Only 4 schools offered a major in psychology. Many schools said they didn't have enough courses or trained psychologists to offer a major.

Canady also studied false ideas about differences between boys and girls. In “A Study of Sex Differences in Intelligence-Test Scores Among 1,306 Negro College Freshmen,” he looked at IQ scores of male and female college students. He concluded that there were no major differences in "general intelligence" between them. However, he did find that males did better on math parts of the test, and females did better on verbal parts.

Canady's Lasting Impact

Through his writings, Canady helped increase learning chances for Black students. He also fought for equal rights for Black Americans. His work in organizing Black psychologists in the 1930s was very important. It led to the creation of the Department of Psychology within the ATA. This was a key step in developing a "Black Psychology" in the United States. Before this, issues faced by Black Americans were mostly seen from a white point of view.

Canady's ideas are still seen in modern psychology. For example, the idea of intergroup anxiety suggests that people might feel nervous when interacting with someone from a different group. If a Black child doesn't trust white people, they might feel anxious with a white examiner. This could lead to lower test scores. Canady's study was the first to look at this issue.

His work also connects to stereotype threat research. This idea says that if you feel you might be judged based on a negative stereotype about your group, your performance can suffer. If a white examiner makes a Black child feel this way, their test scores might drop. Canady's study on "rapport" predicted this kind of result.

Family Life

Herman Canady married Julia Witten in 1934. They had two children together: Joyce A. and Herman G. Canady.

Selected Publications

• Journal of Negro Education
  • "The Effect of 'Rapport' on the I.Q.: A New Approach to the Problem of Racial Psychology"
  • "Psychology in Negro Institutions"
  • "A Study of Sex Difference in Intelligence- Test Scores Among 1,306 Negro College Freshmen"
• The American Journal of Sociology
  • "The Intelligence of Negro College Students and Parental Occupation"

Awards and Honors

• 1923: Received a Charles F. Grey scholarship.
• 1939: Awarded a General Education Board fellowship.
• 1949: Named Man of the Year by the Alpha chapter of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
• 1950: Designated Diplomat for American Board of Examiners in Professional Psychology.
• 1951: Received the Middle-Eastern Provincial Achievement Award from Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
• Honored with Northwestern University's Alumni Merit Award.
• Received an honorary doctor's degree from West Virginia State College.