Marion White McPherson (1919–2000).

Presents an obituary for Marion White McPherson, who had a long and fruitful career in child clinical psychology and the history of psychology, cofounding an archives for American psychology, and authoring numerous articles and books. Details on her work history, education, accomplishments, and contributions to the history of psychology are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituary: Alison Turtle (1939-2006).

Presents an obituary for Alison Turtle, the first scholar to write detailed historiographies of Australian psychology. Ms. Turtle was always interested in the socio-cultural context of psychology, recognizing that neither psychology specifically nor science generally are conducted in a cultural vacuum, hence her studies in cross-cultural psychology. She was a good feminist, a defender of animal rights, and an activist in the local academic union. As a unionist, she had particular concerns with superannuation questions and with women's rights and conditions of employment. Ms. Turtle died from the effects of cancer in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on April 26, 2006. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituary: Robert I. Watson (1909-1980).

Presents an obituary for Robert I. Watson who died on September 15, 1980, in Gainesville, Florida, where he was adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Florida. He had moved to Gainesville in 1975 after retiring from the University of New Hampshire, although the use of the term retire in reference to Bob Watson is clearly inappropriate. If anything, his scholarly productivity only increased after giving up his administrative and faculty responsibilities at New Hampshire. During those last five years he wrote two books, revised a third, and had at least two more in preparation at the time of his death. Bob Watson was an excellent model both in his scholarly and professional pursuits; he will be remembered as one of the founders of the history of psychology movement in the United States and one of the most significant contributors to its literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Metaphysical Club at The Johns Hopkins University (1879-1885).

Of the earliest American universities, The Johns Hopkins in Baltimore holds a unique position for psychology. At Hopkins, many of America's first psychologists received their graduate training. Of special interest is the Hopkins Metaphysical Club, organized in 1879 by Charles Sanders Peirce. It provided a forum for research and scholarship by faculty and students. Papers related to topics of the "new" psychology began to appear in 1883, about the time G. Stanley Hall was given a 3-year appointment at Hopkins. When Peirce departed Hopkins in 1885, Hall was free to develop psychology in his image and disbanded the club. Nevertheless, the Metaphysical Club played an important role in the emergence of American scientific psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituary: Helmut E. Adler (1920-2001).

Memorializes Helmut E. Adler, known for his research on spatial orientation in birds and for his writings on the history of psychology. In the 1960s with the help of his son Barry, he used computer simulations to study bird migration patterns, a highly innovative technique for the time. His most notable work in the field of the history of psychology was his translation of Volume 1 of Fechner's Elemente der Psychophysik in 1966. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Josef Maria Brozek (1913-2004).

Presents the obituary for Josef Maria Brozek (1913-2004). Dr. Brozek is known in part for his study of the effects of nutrition on behavior. He taught primarily in the history of psychology and his long term project in this area was the historiography of psychology in the world. His unique and important contribution to the field was the organization of a six-week Summer Institute on the History of Psychology for College Teachers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists and the National Socialist access to power.

The destruction of psychological science during the early years of the National Socialist (NS) regime is an important part of psychology's history. The proceedings of the congresses of the German Society for Psychology describe the very quick takeover of German psychology by the supporters of the regime and the removal of any opponents of the regime and of Jewish members from the executive structure. The leadership of the field was taken over by psychologists who were early supporters of the government's antidemocratic and anti-Semitic policies. Some of the figures of the NS period reappeared in leading positions in the postwar period. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The mind of a rationalist: German reactions to psychoanalysis in the Weimar Republic and beyond.

In this article, the author seeks to trace the various attempts on the part of well-known German psychologists in the Weimar Republic to emphasize the rational side of psychoanalysis. In doing so, the author tries to demonstrate that the early reception in this period often resembled a critique of Freud's rationalism. It is possible to discern one particular form of criticism that emerged time and again, namely the association of psychoanalysis with the rationalist mind. If researchers wish to pinpoint further what lay beneath this purported connection, then it is possible to perceive a pronounced desire to prevent analysis of what many deemed to be sacred and beyond scientific scrutiny: the soul. It is precisely this discontent with Freud's thought that survived well into the Federal Republic, when other forms of critique had been discredited or no longer commanded serious attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Veterans Administration psychology: Six decades of public service (1946-2006).

Psychologists in the Veterans Administration (VA), now the Department of Veterans Affairs, have contributed 60 years of public service to the treatment of our nation's veterans, enhanced by their involvement in clinical research supporting that care. From the development of new mental health care programs following World War II to their role in today's polytrauma centers caring for severely wounded veterans, VA psychologists have not only provided distinguished service to veterans but also provided insights for the entire profession in the care of veterans. This article highlights some of their contributions to practice and research as VA psychology and its training program celebrate their 60th anniversary. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituary: James J. Gibson (1904-1979).

Presents the obituary of James J. Gibson (1904-1979). Gibson was a perception psychologist who was also the creator and leader of an epistemological movement. His claim that perception is direct, requiring no inferential steps and no processing of information, presents a radical alternative to prevailing views of the nature of knowledge. Gibson's life and career are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Political goals versus scientific truths: A response to Jackson (2003).

Three fundamental issues separate Jackson's (2003) methodological views from mine. One, whereas he believes an absolute moral view can prevail in a democracy, I assume moral pluralism is an inevitable byproduct of an open society. Two, Jackson feels that psychology can identify a correct moral position, whereas I postulate natural science psychology is only capable of revealing the empirical consequences of competing social policies and their moral implications. Three, Jackson espouses a politically active psychology that from my perspective is antithetical to a democratic and scientific ethic. In sum, Jackson's coupling of science with political advocacy will lead to a mistrust of psychology that will deny a democracy the opportunity to base its social policies on reliable psychological information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A woman's struggle in academic psychology (1936-2001).

Tracy S. Kendler's strong desire to get a college education had to overcome economic hardships of the Great Depression and a mother's conviction that finding a suitable husband was more important. Solomon Asch at Brooklyn College, by scholarly example, encouraged her to seek a career in psychology. At the University of Iowa she studied with both Kurt Lewin and Kenneth Spence and finally opted to conduct a research program, ultimately on cognitive development, within a neobehavioristic methodological orientation. Being married to academic psychologist Howard H. Kendler, and a mother of 2 sons, created problems in fashioning an independent academic career, but persistence and research productivity, sometimes a result of collaborative efforts with her husband, finally led to a distinguished career. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A personal encounter with psychology (1937-2002).

An undergraduate assistantship with Maslow, research with S. Asch, and an indirect exposure to E. Nagel's philosophy of science encouraged H. H. Kendler to become involved with methodological issues in psychology. Graduate training with K. Spence led to an active research career that was initially immersed in the latent learning controversy and later, with the collaboration of his wife T. Kendler, in the extension of the Hull-Spence model of cognitive development. Methodological concerns from a variety of sources encouraged Kendler to express his ideas on the methodology and history of psychology as well as its role in ethical and social policy issues. A productive symbiotic relationship is created from the interaction of democracy, natural-science psychology, and moral pluralism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Obituary: Angus Campbell (1910-1980).

Presents an obituary for Angus Campbell (1910-1980). Angus Campbell's career corresponds closely to the development of survey research, a development in which he played a major part for almost 40 years. Although he was trained as an experimental psychologist, early in his career Campbell moved toward social psychology and large-scale quantitiative research. The scope and methods of such research gave him the opportunity to pursue his major substantive interests in political behavior, race relations, and the subjective quality of life. Campbell's best known research may be his work on voting behavior, which dates from 1948. Campbell was also influential in establishing the Interuniversity Consortium for Political Research, a remarkable organization of universities that create and share an international computer-readable archive of social and political data. Many of Campbell's values can be readily inferred from the main themes of his research and writing--minorities, political participation, and the quality of life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology in the Public Forum: The Psychologist and Organized Labor.

Provides an overview of the articles in this section, which illustrate the growing interest in the potential contribution of psychologists to labor unions and their members. The authors attempt to provide an international perspective, a summary of ongoing activities within organized psychology, and an illustrative case of a mutually beneficial relationship between psychology and labor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Content analysis of Consulting psychology journal: Practice and research (Volumes 44-59).

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 60(4) of Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research (see record 2008-17523-003). The title of the journal was printed incorrectly on page 257 as "Counseling Psychology Journal: Practice and Research." The correct title of the journal is Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research.] A content analysis of articles published in Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research was performed from 1992 (Vol. 44) through 2007 (Vol. 59). A total of 342 articles were categorized into 21 derived content categories and an "Other" category. Results show that the leading categories for publication were Coaching, Development and Training, and History of Consulting. The content was fairly stable over time. The journal does appear to be meeting its primary mission of disseminating information pertinent to the field of consulting psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Nature of Social and Personality Psychology as Reflected in JPSP, 1965-2000.

A bibliometric analysis of the first 36 years (1965-2000) of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP) is presented. The authors analyzed the structure of JPSP on the basis of contents and other aspects related to productivity, such as growth in the number of articles and authors, and "invisible colleges." In 2001, JPSP articles were cited over 23,000 times. An increasing number of older, classic articles are cited, suggesting that there are an accumulating number of citations whose influence endures over time. JPSP articles have grown in length, number of studies included, number of references, and number of authors and have become more international with an increasing proportion of authors from outside the United States. The pattern of findings suggests an increasingly complex and mature science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physics, Ballistics, and Psychology: A History of the Chronoscope in/as Context, 1845-1890.

In Wilhelm Wundt's (1832-1920) Leipzig laboratory and at numerous other research sites, the chronoscope was used to conduct reaction time experiments. The author argues that the history of the chronoscope is the history not of an instrument but of an experimental setup. This setup was initially devised by the English physicist and instrument maker Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875) in the early 1840s. Shortly thereafter, it was improved by the German clockmaker and mechanic Matth?us Hipp (1813-1893). In the 1850s, the chronoscope was introduced to ballistic research. In the early 1860s, Neuchatel astronomer Adolphe Hirsch (1830-1901) applied it to the problem of physiological time. The extensions and variations of chronoscope use within the contexts of ballistics, physiology, and psychology presented special challenges. These challenges were met with specific attempts to reduce the errors in chronoscopic experiments on shooting stands and in the psychological laboratory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Passionate men, emotional women: Psychology constructs gender difference in the late 19th century.

The author examines British and American scientific psychology's portrayal of natural and ideal masculinity and femininity in the late 19th century to show how purported differences in emotion and reason were critical to explaining the evolutionary foundation of existing social hierarchies. Strong emotion was identified with heterosexual manliness and men's purportedly better capacity to harness the power of emotion in the service of reason. "Feminine" emotion was portrayed as a comparatively ineffectual emotionality, a by-product of female reproductive physiology and evolutionary need to be attractive to men. The author argues that constructions of emotion by psychology served an important power maintenance function. A concluding section addresses the relevance of this history to the politics of emotion in everyday life, especially assertions of emotional legitimacy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)