After discussing the life and work of William James, functionalism, and the status of women in psychology at the turn of the century, several students wondered what James' opinions were (if any) on the variability thesis. Might anyone know? Or know where we can be directed?

-- Erica Lilleleht (elillele@seattleu.edu), May 08, 2002

Answers

What is the variability thesis?

I have a complete index of James' work, maybe I can find some reference to it for you.

-- Michel Ferrari (mferrari@oise.utoronto.ca), May 10, 2002.

The variability thesis, which began, I believe, with a debate between Joseph Jastrow and Mary Whiton Calkins in the 1890s (see http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Special/Women/#sec1b), stated that men were more variable than women on a wide range of mental faculties: intelligence, morality, etc. This was thought to account, among other things, for the apparent fact that there are both more eminent men and more criminal men than there are eminent and criminal women, respectively. Women were thought to cluster about the mean, whereas distributions of men were though to have "thicker tails," as it were.

-- Christopher Green (cgreen@chass.utoronto.ca), May 10, 2002.

I have asked one expert on the variability thesis and one expert on William James to answer this question. Neither knows of any significant comment made by William James about the variability thesis. (He was Mary Whiton Calkins' de facto supervisor, however.)

-- Christopher Green (cgreen@chass.utoronto.ca), May 14, 2002.