Christopher Richard Brand (1 June 1943 – 28 May 2017) was a British
psychological
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...
and
psychometric researcher who gained media attention for his statements on
race and intelligence and
paedophilia.
Brand was a proponent of
IQ testing and the
general intelligence factor, and was "a major influence in the spread of influence of
inspection time as a theoretically interesting correlate of psychometric intelligence," according to
Ian Deary and Pauline Smith.
Life and career
Brand was born in Preston, England on 1 June 1943. He went to
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School for Boys, and was a graduate of
The Queen's College, Oxford, and a 1968–1970 Fellow of
Nuffield College
Nuffield College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college and specialises in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. Nuffield is one of Oxford's newer co ...
, Oxford. He was a Lecturer at
University of Edinburgh, from 1970 to 1997, teaching in personality, psychopathology and philosophical problems and researching in factorial psychology. In the 1980s he served on the United Kingdom's
Council for National Academic Awards. His 1996 book ''The g Factor'' garnered considerable media attention with its claim that inherited
general intelligence was like psychological money. Brand wrote that general intelligence is an important factor in determining life outcomes for those with lower scores. He attributed socio-economic differences among people of African descent to differences in general intelligence.
Brand was a Fellow of the
Galton Institute. From 2000 to 2004, Brand was a research consultant to the
CRACK programme based in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
, which pays drug-addicted mothers $200 to be sterilised.
[Editorial staff (4 August 2003). The guise of caring. '' Greensboro News & Record''] He wrote articles for ''
American Renaissance'' and ''
The Occidental Quarterly''. He also wrote a blog, IQ & PC. His review of Buchanan's ''Playing with Fire'' was published in the journal ''
Intelligence'' in 2011.
[Brand, Chris (2011). "Psychology's Ulysses wins through". ''Intelligence'', Volume 39, Issue 1, January–February 2011, pp. 74–75, ]
Brand had three children. He married his third wife in 2001. He died on 28 May 2017.
Published positions
Race and IQ
Brand's discussion of the
disparity between races in average cognitive ability test scores has caused controversy, especially because of his support for the
hereditarian hypothesis of such differences. Brand referred to himself as a
race realist
Scientific racism, sometimes termed biological racism, is the pseudoscience, pseudoscientific belief that empirical evidence exists to support or justify racism (racial discrimination), racial inferiority, or racial superiority.. "Few tragedies ...
and has been called a "
scientific racist."
[Wynne-Jones, Ros (18 August 1996)]
'Scientific racist' must not be gagged, say opponents.
'' The Independent''[Younge, Gary (26 May 1996). Race scientists – the colour of intelligence. '']New Straits Times
The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as ''The Straits Times'' on 15 July 1845. It was relaunched as the ' ...
'' Reprinted a
The scientists who are proud to be racists.
'' Mail & Guardian''
Race, IQ and women
Brand's controversial views generated headlines in April 1996, when he was quoted in the ''Independent on Sunday'' recommending that "low-IQ girls" be "encouraged to have sex with higher-IQ boys" rather than with their more usual low-IQ companions (which would result in
genetic deterioration). "There are plenty of intelligent African men for black girls to be having sex with,"
[Wynne-Jones, Ros (14 April 1996)]
'Stupid blacks' book row.
'' The Independent'' he said, but added that blacks probably needed to allow
polygamy.
[Editorial staff (9 May 1997)]
The personal views of a 'scientific racist.'
'' Times Higher Education''
Brand also wrote that "women are inclined to deceitful
promiscuity
Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different Sexual partner, partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as pro ...
" and that
Sigmund Freud was therefore right to ascribe weaker
super-egos to women than to men. His 1996 book ''
The g Factor: General Intelligence and Its Implications'' led to accusations of
scientific racism and
sexism, and his university lectures were protested and closed by the
Anti-Nazi League of
Edinburgh. Brand's book was subsequently withdrawn by publisher
John Wiley & Sons. It was then published free on the web by Douance.
[Brand CR (1996). ]
The G Factor: General Intelligence and Its Implications (free online text).
' originally John Wiley & Sons Inc.,
Paedophilia
In October 1996 Brand came to the defence of
Nobel laureate
The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...
Daniel Carleton Gajdusek who had been charged with
child sex abuse
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (wheth ...
. Brand argued that sex with a consenting partner over the age of 12 was not harmful so long as both partners had an above-average IQ.
[Key factors in the fall of a 'scientific racist'](_blank)
Olga Wotjas, ''Times Higher Education'', 10 April 1998, retrieved 22 December 2009
The proceedings were initiated in 1996 after the dean of social sciences complained.
Edinburgh University's Chaplain, a supporter of the Anti-Nazi League, had taken Brand's e-mailed reflections on pederasty to the Scottish press. Edinburgh's Student newspaper's frontpage banner headline was "FIRST IT WAS BLACKS, THEN IT WAS WOMEN, NOW IT'S KIDS".
Brand was fired a year later after hearings from his 27-year position at
Edinburgh University in 1997.
[Ward, Lucy (9 August 1997)]
Lecturer sacked for saying child sex "harmless."
'' The Independent''[Hinde, Julia (15 August 1997)]
Branded an outcast.
''Times Higher Education'' The University said this was for conduct that "brought the university into disrepute".
Brand appealed and sued the University for
unfair dismissal In labour law, unfair dismissal is an act of employment termination made without good reason or contrary to the country's specific legislation.
Situation per country
Australia
(See: '' unfair dismissal in Australia'')
Australia has long-standing ...
, and received £12,000 (in those days the maximum obtainable from an
employment tribunal) in an out-of-court settlement.
[Rudbeck, Clare (30 May 2002)]
Free to speak out?
'' The Independent'' His case became a
cause célèbre among advocates of
academic freedom.
Marek Kohn
Marek Kohn is a British science writer on evolution, biology and society.
Early life and education
Kohn holds an undergraduate degree in neurobiology from the University of Sussex, a PhD from the University of Brighton and has held fellowship ...
cited the Brand incident in a defence of intellectual freedom on the Internet.
[Kohn, Marek (19 May 1996)]
Technofile.
'' The Independent'' Others, however, including a former Brand student, considered academic freedom a privilege that carried with it an expectation of "social responsibility".
[Swain, Harriet (3 January 2008)]
Dealing with controversial colleagues.
''Times Higher Education''
Eric Barendt (University College London), in the chapter "The Chris Brand Case" in his 2010 book ''Academic Freedom'', said Brand should have tried harder to get on with his colleagues – who Brand replied were "Jew-leftie-commie
.
LEFTISTS LOVE THEIR CHAINS
/ref>
Selected publications
*
*
*Brand, C. R., Deary I. J. (1982). "Intelligence and 'inspection time'". In Eysenck H. J. (ed.), ''A Model for Intelligence,'' pp. 133–148. Springer-Verlag,
*Brand, C. R. (1984). "Personality dimensions: an overview of modern trait psychology". In ''Psychology Survey 5'', British Psychological Society. George Allen & Unwin,
*
*
*
*
*Brand, C. R. (1994). "How many dimensions of personality? The 'Big 5', the 'Gigantic 3' or the 'Comprehensive 6'?" '' Psychologica Belgica'', 1994, vol. 34, no 4.
*Brand, C. R. (1994). Open to experience-closed to intelligence: Why the 'Big Five' are really the 'Comprehensive Six.' '' European Journal of Personality'' Volume 8, Issue 4, pp. 299–310, November 1994
*Brand, C. R. (1994). Intelligence and Inspection Time: An Ontogenetic Relationship? ''The biology of human intelligence: proceedings of the twentieth annual symposium of the Eugenics Society London'', Nafferton Books,
*
*Brand, C. R. (1996). ''The g Factor: General Intelligence and Its Implications''. John Wiley & Sons Inc.,
*Brand, C. R. (1997). "Hans Eysenck's personality dimensions: Their number and nature". In H. Nyborg (ed.), ''The Scientific Study of Human Nature: Tribute to Hans J. Eysenck at eighty'', (pp. 17–35). Pergamon,
*Brand, C. R., Constales, D. (1997). "Why ignore the g factor? Historical considerations". In Nyborg, H. (ed.), ''The Scientific Study of General Intelligence: Tribute to Arthur Jensen.'' Pergamon,
*
References
External links
IQ & PC – By Chris Brand
Personal website
via douance.org
Obituary
in '' Personality and Individual Differences''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brand, Chris
1943 births
2017 deaths
Academics of the University of Edinburgh
Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford
Fellows of Nuffield College, Oxford
Differential psychologists
Intelligence researchers
Race and intelligence controversy
People educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School for Boys
Scientists from Preston, Lancashire
Psychometricians
British psychologists