Herman George Canady (b. October 9, 1901, Okmulgee, Oklahoma, d. 1970) was an African-American social psychologist. He is noted as the first psychologist to examine the role of the race of the examiner as a bias factor in IQ testing.[1][2]
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Canady was born in 1901 in Okmulgee, Oklahoma to Rev. Howard T and Mrs. Anna Canady. As a young man he attended Douglass Elementary School, and Favor High School in Guthrie Oklahoma. Upon graduating from Favor, Canady enrolled in Northwestern University Theological School. "There he developed an interest in behavioral sciences and majored in sociology".
In September 1928, Canady’s career began when Francis C. Sumner left the position as chair of the psychology department at the West Virginia Collegiate Institute (now West Virginia State College). From 1936 to 1939 Canady conducted and published a plethora of socio-psychological studies. As a psychologist, one of Canady’s most monumental contributions was examining the role of the examiner or proctor in the taking of IQ test. Canady's article in the Journal of Negro Education titled "The Effect of 'rapport' on the I.Q.: A new approach to the problem of racial psychology" reported his findings in this area (that rapport between the examiner and the test-taker can have significant impact on the results of the test) and offered suggestions to improve the situation.[1]
In 1939 a General Education Board fellowship allowed Canady to take a leave of absence from West Virginia to go back to Northwestern to Complete his Ph.D in Psychology. After earning his doctorate in 1941 Canady returned to West Virginia as chairman continuing his work as a psychologist.
Outside of his accomplishments at West Virginia, Canady also taught as a visiting lecturer to schools and colleges with the American Friends Committee in 1946. In 1947 Canady acted as a consultant to the Pacific Coast Council on Intercultural Education and Intercultural Projects in the San Diego School system. Canady also worked as a clinical psychologist for the Mental Health Unit, Veteran Administration, in Huntington, West Virginia from 1947-1968.[1]