Eugenics involves the unethical attempts to improve the human gene pool through social engineering, controlled reproduction, and selective breeding. Within social engineering, it focuses on the improvement or enhancement of particular traits such as intelligence or physical prowess while, at the same time, discouraging or restricting reproduction of those individuals classified as “unfit.” In psychology, eugenics serves as an indicator of the ineffective and unethical application of psychological testing and genetic theory while stressing the value of ethics, equality, human rights, and the scientifically disregarded principle of human diversity. For example, eugenics served as the ideology behind 20th-century laws that permitted the sterilization of people with mental health conditions.
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