Intelligence Testing and Apartheid in the 1920s Quiz

Psychologists played a prominent role in the investigation of the 'poor White problem' in the 1930s.

Findings that attributed the underachievement of poor white children to factors such as malnutrition and poor education influenced policies to 'uplift poor white' and maintain racial domination.

The findings, such as Fick's, that suggested the lower intelligence of the African population was innate, were used to influence and justify apartheid policies related to education, employment, right to vote, citizenship, etc.

The interventions for the 'poor White problem' made the division between 'black' and 'white' larger.

The 1930s interventions for the 'poor White problem' were criticized because they were the kind of interventions that should have been put in place in studies such as Fick's, but were not.

The main political divisions were the split of the SA Psychological Association (SAPA) when black psychologists applied for membership, leading to the formation of PIRSA consisting mainly of Afrikaans-speaking psychologists. PASA was later formed in 1983, tending to side with the apartheid status quo, and PsySSA was launched in 1994 after PASA dissolved, representing a more inclusive group of South African psychologists.

Community psychology developed as part of a broad social resistance to the oppressive social engineering associated with apartheid. Academic psychologists in the early 1980s were the first to publicly oppose racial disparities in South African society and psychology's failure to acknowledge or respond to these social conditions.

PIRSA consisted mainly of Afrikaans-speaking psychologists and only allowed white psychologists as members, while PASA was formed in 1983, tending to side with the apartheid status quo and members seemed unaware or dismissive of the brutal legacy of apartheid.

The formation of PsySSA in 1994 represented a shift towards a more inclusive organization that was more representative of South African psychologists, unlike its predecessor PASA. This shift was significant in moving away from the apartheid-era divisions within the psychology profession.

Academic psychologists in the early 1980s were driven to publicly oppose racial disparities due to the oppressive social engineering associated with apartheid and psychology's failure to address these social conditions, leading to the development of community psychology as part of social resistance.