Ruling Minds: Psychology in the British Empire

Erik Linstrum

The British Empire used intelligence tests, laboratory studies, and psychoanalysis to measure and manage the minds of subjects in distant cultures. Challenging assumptions about the role of scientific knowledge in the exercise of power, Erik Linstrum shows that psychology did more to reveal the limits of imperial authority than to strengthen it.

ScienceScience · medium confidenceScience81 signalsLlm Classifier: Science -> ScienceGoogle Books: Business & Economics -> Business & EconomicsAward Category: American History -> American HistoryMental Health & PsychologyEmpire & ColonialismIntelligence, Secrecy & SurveillanceRegional & Local History
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies

This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.

  1. 01 Central figures

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

  2. 02 Central places

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

  3. 03 Suggested argument

    Psychology in the British Empire—via intelligence tests, laboratory studies, and psychoanalysis—primarily revealed the limits of imperial authority rather than strengthening it.

    Model confidence 74%

  4. 04 Reading orientation

    72 / 100 academic

    Academic

    An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.

Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 80%.