Moron (psychology)

Origin and uses

"Moron" was coined in 1910 by US psychologist Henry H. Goddard from the Ancient Greek word μωρός (moros), which meant "dull" and used to describe a person with a mental age in adulthood of between 7 and 10 on the Binet scale. It was once applied to people with an intelligence quotient (IQ) of 51–70, being superior in one degree to imbecile (IQ of 26–50) and superior in two degrees to idiot (IQ of 0–25). The word moron, along with others including "idiotic", "imbecilic", "stupid", and "feeble-minded", was formerly considered a valid descriptor in the psychological community, but it is now deprecated in use by psychologists.

In the obsolete medical classification (ICD-9, 1977), morons and feeble-minded persons were said to have "mild mental retardation", "mild mental subnormality" or "high-grade defect" with IQ in the range 50–70.

Following opposition to Goddard's attempts to popularize his ideas, Goddard recanted his earlier assertions about the moron: "It may still be objected that moron parents are likely to have imbecile or idiot children. There is not much evidence that this is the case. The danger is probably negligible."

References

References

1. Rafter, Nicole Hahn (1998). ''Creating Born Criminals.'' University of Illinois Press, {{ISBN. 978-0-252-06741-9
2. [[Edwin Black. Black, Edwin]] (2004). ''War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race.'' Thunder's Mouth Press, {{ISBN. 978-1-56858-321-1
3. "The Clinical History of 'Moron,' 'Idiot,' and 'Imbecile'". merriam-webster.com.
4. Trent, James W. Jr. (2017). ''Inventing the Feeble Mind: A History of Intellectual Disability in the United States''. Oxford University Press, {{ISBN. 978-0199396184
5. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dmwro%2Fs μωρός], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek–English Lexicon'', on Perseus Digital Library
6. (2005). "Medical aspects of disability: a handbook for the rehabilitation professional". Springer Publishing Company.
7. Zenderland, Leila (2001). ''Measuring Minds: Henry Herbert Goddard and the Origins of American Intelligence Testing''. Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN. 978-0-521-00363-6
8. World Health Organization. (1977). "Manual of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries, and Causes of Death".
9. Goddard, Henry H. Who Is a Moron? ''[[The Scientific Monthly]]'', Volume 24, Issue 1, pp. 41–46.
10. Chase, Allan (1977). ''The Legacy of Malthus: The Social Costs of the New Scientific Racism''. Knopf/Random House, {{ISBN. 978-0-394-48045-9