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This is the third and last monograph in a series of clinical studies of research scientists. The series of studies was designed to investigate the existence of relationships between life history, intellectual functions or personality characteristics, and the selection and pursuit of a particular science as a profession. The subjects of the study are men who were selected for their eminence in research, as judged by their peers. The data comprise verbatim life histories, discussion of the work of the men, and results of three tests, a Verbal-Spatial-Mathematical Test, the Thematic Apperception Test, and the Rorschach. The subjects in this study are all men, under 61 years of age, American born, and currently engaged in active research. As in all research with people, the complexity of the situations encountered makes the determination of direct causal relations practically impossible. What has been accomplished, however, is not only the accumulation of test data on a hitherto practically unstudied group, but also the identification of situations which recur with high frequency. It is evident that the family backgrounds of the 64 scientists studied are by no means randomly selected with respect to the population at large. Certain aspects of the data offer evidence on the basic importance of the need to achieve, or to keep independence, which is so well met by a career in research.

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