Born: 11-Jul-1857
Birthplace: Nice, France
Died: 8-Oct-1911
Location of death: Paris, France
Cause of death: unspecified

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Psychologist

Nationality: France
Executive summary: Binet-Simon intelligence test

Psychologist Alfred Binet studied the development of intelligence, and showed that humans are capable of abstract image-free thought. He is best known for his work on standardized intelligence testing, which began by measuring the circumference of school children's skulls and comparing this data to teachers' assessments of which children were "smart" and which were "stupid". As his work progressed, he developed the Binet-Simon intelligence test in collaboration with psychologist Théodore Simon, a system later modified by psychologist Lewis Terman to form the basis for intelligence quotient (IQ) testing.

Binet worked as a lawyer prior to his work on intelligence, changing careers when he became fascinated with then-accepted theories of "animal magnetism" (hypnosis) and palm-reading. For many years he proposed that magnets have a profound effect on human emotion and perception, though he eventually distanced himself from these ideas as they were disproven. Binet also founded L'Année Psychologique (Psychological Annual) with psychologist Henry Beaunis, a scientific journal which is still published.

Father: (physician)
Mother: (artist)
Wife: Laure Balbiani
Daughter: Armande
Daughter: Marguerite

    High School: Lycée Louis-le-Grand, Paris, France
    University: PhD Natural Science, Sorbonne (1892)
    Teacher: Psychology, Sorbonne (1891-1911)
    Administrator: Director of Psychology Clinic, Sorbonne (1895-1911)

    French Ancestry

Author of books:
La Psychologie du Raisonnement (The Psychology of Reasoning) (1886)
Le Magnétisme Animal (Animal Magnetism) (1887, with Charles Féré)
On Double Consciousness (1889)
Les Altérations de la Personnalité (The Alterations of the Personality) (1892)
L'Étude Expérimentale de I'intelligence (The Experimental Study of Intelligence) (1903)
Les Enfants Anormaux (Abnormal Children) (1907)
Less Idées Modernes sur les Enfants (Modern Ideas on Children) (1911)

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