The papers contain correspondence, reports, minutes of meetings, research notes, writings, photographs, diaries, and other materials documenting the professional career and personal life of Robert Mearns Yerkes. The papers document the broad range of psychological activities undertaken by Yerkes in the first half of the twentieth century. The papers contain correspondence and other materials on chimpanzee and gorilla behavior, intelligence testing in World War I, eugenics and immigration restriction, sex research under the auspices of the National Research Council's Committee for Research in Problems of Sex, research into the behavior of lower animals, and efforts to establish psychology as an experimental science. The papers include notes on chimpanzee and gorilla research, a complete set of his published writings, professional and personal photographs, and extensive files providing information on family life.