Abstract
In 1923, Carl Brigham published A Study of American Intelligence. E. G. Boring was asked by R. M. Yerkes to review the book; Boring agreed, saying that he would write a favourable review. Instead, he published a highly critical review in the New Republic. Contrary to the impression that psychologists and educators in the main supported Brigham's book, Boring's assessment of American Intelligence was in step with other reviews at that time. What remains open to question is why Boring agreed in the first place to write a positive review. Although this question remains unresolved, we lay out the specific details that led Boring to alter his review. Indeed, it is the `small' politics among professionals, and not the social politics of race, that persuaded Boring to pan Brigham's book.
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