During the Nuremberg Trials, the Allied psychologists assigned to evaluate the defendants conducted a series of IQ tests as part of a broader effort to understand their personalities, motives, and mental states. The examiners used the Wechsler Bellevue scale, which was considered more accurate for adults than older testing methods. The results showed that nearly all of the major defendants scored above the average range for the general population. Hjalmar Schacht recorded the highest score at 143, while Hermann Goering scored 138, and Rudolf Hess was estimated at 120 after a period of mental instability that complicated his assessment. The testing did not attempt to measure morality or character. Instead, it offered a narrow measure of mechanical problem solving and verbal reasoning. The examiners noted that intelligence alone provided no insight into why these individuals participated in such destructive policies. Many of the defendants combined intellectual competence with rigid ideology, loyalty to the regime, and a willingness to follow or enforce orders. The results became a reminder that high cognitive ability does not prevent harmful choices and is not a safeguard against participation in violence or abuse of power. The psychologist who administered many of the tests, Gustave Gilbert, later wrote detailed journals about his interviews with defendants. These journals became one of the most important firsthand psychological records of the Nuremberg Trials. © Historical Photos
- I’ve heard of this study. There seems to be no correlation with IQ and morality.. Some very high IQ people are evil. Some doctors, for example, rather than believing in God, think they are. The God of intellect should not replace the God of our understanding. GE
- This IQ test only shows that an IQ test is worthless. Because intelligence does not consist solely of cognitive abilities and verbal reasoning but also encompasses character, morality, i.e., the whole package that makes up a civilized person. Hurrikan
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