Eugenics

HERE’S OUR
QUESTION…
What are the tenets of Eugenics? Can we see any
influences or traces of it in the field of psychology
today?

Also, trigger warning! Difficult topics ahead (buckle

up)
 Table of contents

History/
Origins 01 04 Hope for
the
future?

Race/
Sex 02 05 Let’s see it
in action!

Ability/
SES 03 06 Questions?
01 History and
Origins of
Eugenics
 Eugenics
Eugenics
● Social and scientific movement
● The science of racial betterment
● Central to the establishment of theories that
promote racism and sexism
● Galton studied genetics and human functioning
● Scientific method of expediting the evolutionary
process
● Empirical methods to determine human fitness
and that there were methods that would rid the
world of unfit individuals
● Treatment of mental disorders was detrimental
to evolution
 Eugenics in Psychology
Early 20th Century Empirical Research
● Embraced biological explanations for human ● American journals frequently published
behavior works that featured eugenic theory
● Informed what was considered “healthy” ● Army mental tests

APA Presidencies Behaviorism

● G. Stanley Hall
● 31 presidents between 1892 and 1947 were
leaders of eugenic organizations
● Draws upon Darwinism
● Denial of social context, humans are the
same as animals, and human
psychology can be reduced to biological
factors
 Eugenics in Psychology Cont.
Late 20th Century
● John Dewey and Gordon Allport spoke out
against eugenics is psychology
● Sought to discredit eugenics-influenced
psychology contributions in movements like
behavioral genetics, evolutionary psychology,
and social biology
● Race, gender, sexuality, and other human
differences being seen as social rather than
biological constructions
Psychoanalysis
● Counterpoint to eugenic values
Critique
● Eugenics in psychology has resulted in
racist, sexist, ableist, classist,
xenophobic, and homophobic
assumptions which has had a profound
negative impact on individuals and
societies
02 Race and Sex
 Race and Sex

● Francis Galton - 19th century

● Positive Eugenics
● Negative Eugenics
○ Restrict immigration
○ Prevent racial mixing
○ Sterilize the ‘genetically unfit’
■ Minority men and women, LGBTQ+ (especially Black, Hispanic/Latinx,
American Indian, and Asian populations)
■ Non-whites and LGBTQ+ were considered "a sign of degeneracy"
● Nazis’ ‘Final Solution’ for racial purity patterned after American Eugenicists
● Margaret Sanger & the Birth Control Movement - early 20th century
○ Targeted women of color
03 Ability and
Socioeconomic
Status
 Ability and Eugenics
● 19th and 20th Centuries
○ Individuals with disabilities and those with mental illnesses seen
as “less fit”
○ Sterilization of individuals with disabilities and individuals with
mental illnesses was a common “remedy”
○ Institutions for the “Mentally Insane”

● Modern Psychology
○ Stigma: not fully citizens, not fully human

■ Archaic terms: idiot, handicapped, disorder first language

○ Overemphasis on the individual’s disability in therapy

○ Misuse and/or overuse of ABA with children with developmental

disabilities
■ Curing Autism
 SES and Eugenics
● 19th and 20th Centuries
○ Poverty due to bad genes
○ Reinforcing class prejudice
■ Blame for social problems
● Modern Psychology
○ Access to quality mental health services
■ High cost
■ Insufficient insurance
■ Psychological services as a privilege rather
than a right
04 Future
Directions
 APA’s Current Values
1. Equity
2. Diversity
3. Inclusion
05 Eugenics in
Action - A
Demonstration
06 Questions?
 References
Alonso, P. (n.d.). Autonomy revoked: The forced sterilization of women of color in 20th century America.
https://twu.edu/media/documents/history-government/Autonomy-Revoked--The-Forced-Sterilization-of-Women-
of-Color-in-20th-Century-America.pdf

Gillham, N. W. (2001). Sir Francis Galton and the birth of eugenics. Annual review of genetics, 35(1), 83-101.

Micklos, D., & Carlson, E. (2000). Engineering American society: the lesson of eugenics. Nature Reviews Genetics,
1(2), 153-158.

Reilly, P. R. (2015). Eugenics and involuntary sterilization: 1907–2015. Annual Review of Genomics and Human
Genetics, 16, 351-368.

Yakushko, O. (2019). Eugenics and its evolution in the history of western psychology: A critical archival review.
Psychotherapy and Politics International, 17(2), e1495.

https://www.apa.org/about/apa/equity-diversity-inclusion