John Bissell Carroll
Encyclopedia
John Bissell Carroll was an American
psychologist
known for his contributions to psychology, educational linguistics and psychometrics
.
. Early in his life, Carroll became interested in music and language. His interest in language was further sparked by becoming friends with Benjamin Lee Whorf at the age of thirteen and discussing Whorf’s ideas about a close connection between culture and language. Carroll also helped to edit and publish Whorf’s Language, Thought and Reality in 1956.
, majoring in Classics and graduating summa cum laude in 1937. He attended the University of Minnesota
to earn a doctoral degree in Psychology. At the University of Minnesota, Carroll began studying under B. F. Skinner
, but soon discovered that he was more interested in working with large numbers of subjects rather than Skinner’s individual subjects approach. Skinner directed Carroll to L. L. Thurstone at the University of Chicago
, where he able to pursue his interest in psychometrics
. During this time, he focused his studies on verbal aptitude and completed his dissertation, “A Factor Analysis of Verbal Abilities,” in 1941.
(1940–42). Mary Searle, who received her B.A. in psychology from Mount Holyoke in 1941, married Carroll after graduation.
After Mount Holyoke, Carroll taught at Indiana University
(1942–43), the University of Chicago
(1943–44), Harvard Graduate School of Education, (Roy E. Larsen Professor of Education, 1949–67) and the University of North Carolina
, (William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Psychology 1974-82, Director of L. L. Thurstone Psychometric Laboratory, 1974–79).
He was also a psychologist with the United States Navy
, (1944–46), the Department of the Army, (1946–49) and the Educational Testing Service
(1967–74).
(the Modern Language Aptitude Test
(1953–58), or MLAT). The project grew out of the US Army’s need for a way to select people who could easily learn foreign languages so that the government could spend the time and funds on those who would benefit most from foreign language training. Initially, the government gave project funding to a professor at a university closer to the Defense Language School in Monterey, California
, but his research was unsuccessful at providing a useful assessment tool. Carroll then received a grant for foreign language learning aptitude
research through the Carnegie Corporation and worked with Stanley Sapon and the US Army-Air Force to develop the Modern Language Aptitude Test
. The MLAT was published in 1959 by The Psychological Corporation
and is still used today by many government organizations in the US and abroad to measure language learning aptitude and select candidates for language training programs.
In his paper “Fundamental considerations in testing for English language proficiency of foreign students,” published in 1961, Carroll challenged the language testing field’s reliance on discrete-point test design. Discrete-point testing is an analytical approach to language testing in which each test question is meant to measure one distinct content point. Carroll supported using an integrative testing design, in which each question requires the test-taker to use more than one skill or piece of knowledge at a time and may be a more natural representation of the test-taker’s knowledge of the language. Carroll’s paper influenced the design of the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL
, which combined both discrete-point and integrative methods for the assessment.
In 1962, Carroll presented his Model of School Learning. In the model, Carroll defined a hypothetical framework used to predict achievement in schools. The framework was made up of two kinds of variables: individual differences and instructional variables. Individual differences related to general intelligence, aptitudes and motivation while instructional variables related to instructional quality and duration. Still influential in achievement and evaluation thinking, his model was revisited in “The Carroll Model: A 25 Year Retrospective and Prospective View,” published by the Educational Researcher in 1989.
But the culmination of Carroll’s life’s work in psychology is his 800 page work, Human Cognitive Abilities: A Survey of Factor-Analytic Studies, published in 1993, in which Carroll proposes his psychological theory about three different levels of cognition, the Three Stratum Theory
.
In 1994, he was one of 52 signatories on Mainstream Science on Intelligence
, a public statement written by Linda Gottfredson
and published in the Wall Street Journal as a response to what the authors viewed as the inaccurate and misleading reports made by the media regarding academic consensus on the results of intelligence research in the wake of the appearance of The Bell Curve
earlier the same year.
According to David Lubinski
, a psychology researcher at Vanderbilt University
, Carroll was known not only for his contributions to academia, but also his “profound intellectual gifts, curiosity, optimism, wit, and unfailing integrity and sincerity.”
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
known for his contributions to psychology, educational linguistics and psychometrics
Psychometrics
Psychometrics is the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, personality traits, and educational measurement...
.
Early years
Carroll was born in Hartford, ConnecticutHartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
. Early in his life, Carroll became interested in music and language. His interest in language was further sparked by becoming friends with Benjamin Lee Whorf at the age of thirteen and discussing Whorf’s ideas about a close connection between culture and language. Carroll also helped to edit and publish Whorf’s Language, Thought and Reality in 1956.
Education
Carroll studied at Wesleyan UniversityWesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
, majoring in Classics and graduating summa cum laude in 1937. He attended the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
to earn a doctoral degree in Psychology. At the University of Minnesota, Carroll began studying under B. F. Skinner
B. F. Skinner
Burrhus Frederic Skinner was an American behaviorist, author, inventor, baseball enthusiast, social philosopher and poet...
, but soon discovered that he was more interested in working with large numbers of subjects rather than Skinner’s individual subjects approach. Skinner directed Carroll to L. L. Thurstone at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, where he able to pursue his interest in psychometrics
Psychometrics
Psychometrics is the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, personality traits, and educational measurement...
. During this time, he focused his studies on verbal aptitude and completed his dissertation, “A Factor Analysis of Verbal Abilities,” in 1941.
Career
After finishing his education, Carroll’s first position was at Mount Holyoke CollegeMount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
(1940–42). Mary Searle, who received her B.A. in psychology from Mount Holyoke in 1941, married Carroll after graduation.
After Mount Holyoke, Carroll taught at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
(1942–43), the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
(1943–44), Harvard Graduate School of Education, (Roy E. Larsen Professor of Education, 1949–67) and the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
, (William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Psychology 1974-82, Director of L. L. Thurstone Psychometric Laboratory, 1974–79).
He was also a psychologist with the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, (1944–46), the Department of the Army, (1946–49) and the Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service , founded in 1947, is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization...
(1967–74).
Contributions
One of Carroll’s early projects in the 1950s involved developing a test of language aptitudeLanguage learning aptitude
Language learning aptitude refers to the “prediction of how well, relative to other individuals, an individual can learn a foreign language in a given amount of time and under given conditions.”...
(the Modern Language Aptitude Test
Modern Language Aptitude Test
The Modern Language Aptitude Test was designed to predict a student’s likelihood of success and ease in learning a foreign language.The Modern Language Aptitude Test was developed to measure foreign language learning aptitude...
(1953–58), or MLAT). The project grew out of the US Army’s need for a way to select people who could easily learn foreign languages so that the government could spend the time and funds on those who would benefit most from foreign language training. Initially, the government gave project funding to a professor at a university closer to the Defense Language School in Monterey, California
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
, but his research was unsuccessful at providing a useful assessment tool. Carroll then received a grant for foreign language learning aptitude
Language learning aptitude
Language learning aptitude refers to the “prediction of how well, relative to other individuals, an individual can learn a foreign language in a given amount of time and under given conditions.”...
research through the Carnegie Corporation and worked with Stanley Sapon and the US Army-Air Force to develop the Modern Language Aptitude Test
Modern Language Aptitude Test
The Modern Language Aptitude Test was designed to predict a student’s likelihood of success and ease in learning a foreign language.The Modern Language Aptitude Test was developed to measure foreign language learning aptitude...
. The MLAT was published in 1959 by The Psychological Corporation
Harcourt Assessment
Harcourt Assessment was a company that published and distributed educational and psychological assessment tools and therapy resources and provided educational assessment and data management services for national, state, district and local assessments...
and is still used today by many government organizations in the US and abroad to measure language learning aptitude and select candidates for language training programs.
In his paper “Fundamental considerations in testing for English language proficiency of foreign students,” published in 1961, Carroll challenged the language testing field’s reliance on discrete-point test design. Discrete-point testing is an analytical approach to language testing in which each test question is meant to measure one distinct content point. Carroll supported using an integrative testing design, in which each question requires the test-taker to use more than one skill or piece of knowledge at a time and may be a more natural representation of the test-taker’s knowledge of the language. Carroll’s paper influenced the design of the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL
TOEFL
The Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL , evaluates the ability of an individual to use and understand English in an academic setting....
, which combined both discrete-point and integrative methods for the assessment.
In 1962, Carroll presented his Model of School Learning. In the model, Carroll defined a hypothetical framework used to predict achievement in schools. The framework was made up of two kinds of variables: individual differences and instructional variables. Individual differences related to general intelligence, aptitudes and motivation while instructional variables related to instructional quality and duration. Still influential in achievement and evaluation thinking, his model was revisited in “The Carroll Model: A 25 Year Retrospective and Prospective View,” published by the Educational Researcher in 1989.
But the culmination of Carroll’s life’s work in psychology is his 800 page work, Human Cognitive Abilities: A Survey of Factor-Analytic Studies, published in 1993, in which Carroll proposes his psychological theory about three different levels of cognition, the Three Stratum Theory
Three Stratum Theory
In 1993 John Carroll published "Human cognitive abilities: A survey of factor-analytic studies", which outlined his hierarchical, Three-Stratum Theory of cognitive abilities....
.
In 1994, he was one of 52 signatories on Mainstream Science on Intelligence
Mainstream Science on Intelligence
Mainstream Science on Intelligence was a public statement issued by a group of academic researchers in fields allied to intelligence testing that claimed to present those findings widely accepted in the expert community...
, a public statement written by Linda Gottfredson
Linda Gottfredson
Linda Susanne Gottfredson is a professor of educational psychology at the University of Delaware and co-director of the Delaware-Johns Hopkins Project for the Study of Intelligence and Society. Gottfredson's work has been influential in shaping U.S...
and published in the Wall Street Journal as a response to what the authors viewed as the inaccurate and misleading reports made by the media regarding academic consensus on the results of intelligence research in the wake of the appearance of The Bell Curve
The Bell Curve
The Bell Curve is a best-selling and controversial 1994 book by the Harvard psychologist Richard J. Herrnstein and political scientist Charles Murray...
earlier the same year.
According to David Lubinski
David Lubinski
David J. Lubinski is an American psychology professor known for his work in applied research, psychometrics, and individual differences.He earned his B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1981 and 1987 respectively. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Illinois at...
, a psychology researcher at Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
, Carroll was known not only for his contributions to academia, but also his “profound intellectual gifts, curiosity, optimism, wit, and unfailing integrity and sincerity.”
Selected publications
Selected from over 400 books and articles.- Carroll, J B 1956 Language, Thought, and Reality: Selected Writings of Benjamin Lee Whorf M.I.T. Press, Boston.
- Carroll, J B 1993 Human Cognitive Abilities Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
- Carroll, J B, Davies, P, & Richman, B 1971 The American Heritage Word Frequency Book. Houghton Mifflin, New York.
- Carroll, J B, Sapon, S M 1959 Modern Language Aptitude Test The Psychological CorporationHarcourt AssessmentHarcourt Assessment was a company that published and distributed educational and psychological assessment tools and therapy resources and provided educational assessment and data management services for national, state, district and local assessments...
, San Antonio, Texas. - Carroll, J B, 1961 "Fundamental considerations in testing for English language proficiency of foreign students". In Testing Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, DC. Reprinted in Allen, H B & Campbell R N 1972 Teaching English as a Second Language: A Book of Readings McGraw Hill, New York.
- Carroll, John B. Human Cognitive Abilities: A survey of factor-analytic studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
- “John B. Carroll.” Human Intelligence. 2003. Indiana University. 27 June 2006. http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/carroll.html.