Although means for measuring mental ability date as far back as 2000 BCE, when the ancient Chinese administered oral tests to determine a candidate’s fitness for carrying out the tasks of civil administration, the modern intelligence test has its origins in the nineteenth century, when Jean-Étienne-Dominique Esquirol drew a clear distinction between mentally deranged people, or “lunatics,” and intellectually disabled people, deemed “idiots.” Esquirol believed that it was necessary to... more

Salem Press Encyclopedia of Health, 2023. 3p.