Individual Differences: By Frank S. Freeman. New York: Henry Holt, 1934. 347 p.

The subject of individual differences has been widely discussed by psychologists for the past two decades, but apart from the data procured with educational and mental tests they have made available little new material. It is for this reason perhaps that Professor Freeman, making a virtue of necessity, has largely confined his book to the nature and causes of variations in intelligence and special (mental) abilities. Since these aspects of the subject are precisely those which have been most frequently treated in books on mental measurements, anyone moderately acquainted with the field will find relatively little material in the author's exposition with which he is not already familiar. Nevertheless, because the volume is such an excellent survey of the subject, Professor Freeman's book will prove a welcome text for students of psychology and education for whom, according to the author, it is primarily intended.

The book is extremely well planned and written and covers the entire field very adequately. Particularly good are the chapters on the influence of race and nationality (Chapter V) and those on the factor of age (VII and VIII), although the author, in the latter, leans somewhat too heavily on Thorndike's conclusions as regards intelligence which, in the opinion of the reviewer, are far from proven. Another criticism one might make is that the author continues the myth that the distribution of human capacities follows the normal curve of error. This assertion is absolutely incorrect, but being unfortunately contained in practically every text book of psychology and mental measurement, it is perhaps expecting too much that its refutation should be part of a general survey in which the author's aim is primarily to summarize accepted points of view. The book as a whole, however, is to be recommended for the general sane and critical attitude of the writer. It is well documented and contains an excellent bibliography.