An Analytical Study of One Hundred Twenty Superior Children

Superiority is success demonstrated in some field of competition. The use of the word "superiority," which is a comparative term, implies the correlative concept of inferiority, and the superiority-inferiority relation appears only as the demonstrable result of some competitive event. If we wish to discover the superior members of a group, the simple way open to us is to set up some form of competition. Life, the school, all fields of social and economic production do this day by day. Indeed we are all constantly making observations as to the relative superiority and inferiority of those who cross our path. An artificially arranged competitive event, such as an athletic contest, or a debate, provides a more concrete and demonstrable basis for a judgment of relative superiority, than do the casual passing events of daily life. A psychological examination is such a pre-arranged competitive event, designed to discriminate the greatest possible number of factors which make toward success or failure in the long run. If, as a result of this pre-arranged competition, the competitors are placed in rank order with reference to the preferred end of the competition, what is the measure of the superiority of each competitor? Obviously, it can be most adequately defined in terms of the number of inferiors. Correlatively, the index of inferiority is determined by the number of superiors. Herein lies the diagnostic value of the rankf order distribution of cases; it is possible to state in concrete terms the individual's relative superiority.1