UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND,

COLLEGE PARK
3972 Campus Drive
College Park, MD 20742
301-314-3375
https://umd.edu/

NEWS RELEASE
April 4, 2017

Contact:
CarlyRoesen
croesen@terpmail.umd.edu
7575704098

UMDPROFESSORSNEWBOOKWARNSAGAINSTTESTINGOBSESSION

Thenewbookdiscussesthedangersoftests

COLLEGEPARK,Md.Haveyoueverwonderedwhyoursocietyissoobsessedwith

tests?ShouldjobsaskfordrugtestsorshouldchildrentakeIQtests?F.AllanHanson,

professorofanthropologyatUniversityofMaryland,CollegePark,challengesthese

questionsinhisnewbookTestingTesting:SocialConsequencesoftheExaminedLife.

Hansonsbook,publishedbyUniversityofCaliforniaPress,discusseshow

Americasobsessionwithtestshasleftuswithunpleasantsideeffects.Hestrongly

advocatesfortheeliminationofdrugtests,intelligencetests,andintegritytests.

Hansonthinksthattestinghasmadeusintoasocietythatmeasureseachothers

selfworthandpersonalcharacteristicsduetoafewtestresults.TheAmerican

preoccupationwithtestinghasresultedinapanoplyoftechniquesdedicatedtoscanning,

probing,weighing,perusing,andrecordingeverylastdetailofourpersonaltraitsandlife

experiences,Hansonwarns.

Hisbookwilltouchonthefollowingtopicsandmore:
 Collegeadmissionsaptitudetests.
IQTestsforchildren
Drugtestsforathletesandjobs
Liedetectortests

TolearnmoreHansonstheoryontestsandthesolutiontothisgrowingproblem,

checkoutTestingTesting:SocialConsequencesoftheExaminedLife,availablein

AdeleH.StampStudentUnionsbookstoretoday.

TolearnmoreaboutHansonandhisresearch,pleasevisit

https://anth.umd.edu/landing/Research.