ABSTRACT
Over a century ago, Sir Francis Galton began modern questionnaire research into temperament with his study of “Good and Bad Temper in English Families” (Galton, 1865). He was also the first to advocate the study of human twins and of selective breeding studies of animals to disentangle the effects of heredity and environment. And it was Galton who first contrasted the taciturn reserve of American Indians, and the complacency of the Chinese, with the talkative impulsivity of Africans. He further noted that these temperamental differences persisted irrespective of climate (from the frozen north through the equator), and religion, language, or political system (whether self-ruled or governed by the Spanish, Portuguese, English, or French). Anticipating later studies of transracial adoptions, Galton observed that the majority of individu-als adhered to racial type even after being raised by White settlers. Modern evidence shows that Galton's views were largely correct.
