Martin Deutsch (psychologist)
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Through Developmental psychology, Literacy and Human intelligence
Biography
Born in New York City, Deutsch was educated at Columbia University (B.A., 1943; M.A., 1947; Ph.D., 1951). In 1958, he and his wife founded the Institute for Developmental Studies at New York University, where he became a professor in 1960. He remained director of the Institute for Developmental Studies for the rest of his career. He was the president of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues in 1969. He died of renal failure on June 26, 2002 at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut.
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Research
In 1962, Deutsch began a pilot early childhood education program in Harlem for disadvantaged 3- and 4-year-olds. In the program, Deutsch aimed to give children early exposures to experiences in which they had been lacking, such as music and books. In the short term, the program aimed to equip children with the skills they would need for formal education; in the long term, it was intended to improve participants' communication and learning skills, thereby benefiting them in adult life. A 1964 article in Life described the program as "the first scientific and concerted attempt by any public school system to confront the problem of educating poor preschool children.
Criticism of hereditarianism
Deutsch was an early critic of Arthur Jensen's controversial essay How Much Can We Boost IQ and Scholastic Achievement?, published in the Harvard Educational Review in 1969. In a subsequent issue of the same journal, Deutsch criticized Jensen's essay for allegedly supporting racism, and claimed that the essay contained "many erroneous statements, misinterpretations, and misunderstandings". In 1973, he debated Richard Herrnstein over the relative importance of genetics and environment in determining human intelligence. The debate was held at the Carnegie Center in Manhattan and sponsored by the magazine Social Policy.