The heredity-environment controversy: A Victorian legacy.

Presents biographical sketches of 2 Victorian scientists, Charles Darwin and Francis Galton. Darwin's work on evolution provided Galton with the intellectual framework to change the focus of a promising scientific career from geography and meteorology to statistics, eugenics, genetics, and psychology. Galton's contributions are reviewed in more detail than Darwin's because they are less widely recognized, are more directly relevant to modern psychology, and still stand near the center of individual difference psychology and related aspects of population genetics. (French abstract) (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"An historical note on Darwin and nonhuman drug self-administration": Clarification to Higgins (2003).

Reports a clarification in "An historical note on Darwin and nonhuman drug self-administration" by Stephen T. Higgins (Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2003[Nov], Vol 11[4], 317). It is noted that Charles R. Schuster served as the Action Editor for this article. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2003-09137-009.) This note brings to the attention of readers a quote from Charles Darwin on the scientific implications of nonhuman drug self-administration. The quote is from The descent of man; and Selection in relation to sex (2nd ed.; C. Darwin, 1874/1998). Consistent with Darwin's prescience in many areas of science, he discerned potential scientific importance in voluntary nonhuman drug self-administration almost a century before that potential was realized in any substantive or systematic manner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of economic and political ideologies on the development of developmental psychology.

Delineates 2 trends in developmental psychology: (a) the "capitalistic" orientation of the Anglo-American countries, elaborated within the tradition of Darwin and Galton; and (b) the "mercantilistic-socialistic" orientation of the European continent, elaborated within the tradition of Rousseau and Piaget. The former implies a model of continuous growth in which all individuals are evaluated against single standards, e.g., the white achievement-oriented intelligence test; the latter implies qualitative growth models and encourages multigenerational and multicultural standards. An integration of these viewpoints is attempted by emphasizing a dialectic interaction model and by relying on Rebinstein's notion of "constitutive relationism." The dependency of growth upon sociocultural contingencies is demonstrated through studies on the recall of historical events, and the dependency of growth upon biological contingencies is demonstrated through theories from cellular biology. The dynamic character of the interaction processes, i.e., their changes with individual and historical time, is discussed in reference to modern developmental research designs. (56 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An Historical Note on Darwin and Nonhuman Drug Self-Administration.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 12(1) of Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology (see record 2007-16877-001). It is noted that Charles R. Schuster served as the Action Editor for this article.] This note brings to the attention of readers a quote from Charles Darwin on the scientific implications of nonhuman drug self-administration. The quote is from The Descent of Man; and Selection in Relation to Sex (2nd ed.; C. Darwin, 1874/1998). Consistent with Darwin's prescience in many areas of science, he discerned potential scientific importance in voluntary nonhuman drug self-administration almost a century before that potential was realized in any substantive or systematic manner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Darwin on race, gender, and culture.

Darwin's theories of natural selection and sexual selection are significant scientific achievements, although his understanding of race and gender was defined and limited by his own life circumstances and the sociohistorical context within which he worked. This article considers the ways in which race, gender, and culture were represented and explained by Darwin and the ways in which his observations and opinions on gender and race were taken up by others and, more often than not, misapplied. Whereas the challenge of race (for Darwin) was to demonstrate the fundamental similarity and, hence, the common origin, of human races, the challenge of gender (for Darwin) was to identify a mechanism that could account for differences between women and men that, to him, were obvious, fundamental, and significant. The article concludes by considering the implications of Darwin's views for contemporary scientific psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Scientists are not deficient in mental imagery: Galton revised.

In 1880, Galton carried out an investigation of imagery in a sample of distinguished men and a sample of nonscientists (adolescent male students). He concluded that scientists were either totally lacking in visual imagery or had "feeble" powers of mental imagery. This finding has been widely accepted in the secondary literature in psychology. A replication of Galton's study with modern scientists and modern university undergraduates found no scientists totally lacking in visual imagery and very few with feeble visual imagery. Examination of Galton's published data shows that his own published data do not support his claims about deficient visual imagery in scientists. The modern data for scientists and nonscientists and the 1880 data for scientists and nonscientists are in agreement in showing that all groups report substantial imagery on recollective memory tasks such as Galton's breakfast questionnaire. We conclude that Galton's conclusions were an example of theory-laden interpretation of data based on the initial responses from several very salient scientists who reported little or no visual imagery on Galton's imagery questionnaire. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity and Meaning: Comment.

Comments on an article by Robert L. Ebel (see record 1962-05654-001). This article discusses basic problems in psychological testing and measurement, and as such the author touches upon basic problems of scientific psychology as well. According to the commentator the problems the author raises are very well taken. For a while it seems that he will come up with what points to a solution but some reflection shows that although he approached the "truth," he failed to reach it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology, history, and the press: The case of William McDougall and The New York Times..

A number of reasons have been suggested for the rapid decline in influence and credibility experienced by William McDougall after his arrival in America. To obtain some evidence on this issue, all articles appearing in The New York Times between 1906 and 1940 in which McDougall was mentioned were coded for the nature of the image conveyed. Articles mentioning the two authors most similar to McDougall in terms of number of citations, Joseph Jastrow and Edward L. Thorndike, were also coded for the nature of the image conveyed. In contrast to the images of Jastrow and Thorndike, the image McDougall conveyed was significantly more negative. McDougall was more often satirized, and references to McDougall were significantly less likely to be simple reporting of something he had said or done. Results are discussed in terms of the role of the press in "deciding" controversies in which the scientific community has lost interest. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consciousness, social heredity, and development: The evolutionary thought of James Mark Baldwin.

James Mark Baldwin is one of the most important and least known early American scientific psychologists. Drawing inspiration from Charles Darwin and other evolutionists of the period, Baldwin developed a biosocial theory of psychological development that influenced both Jean Piaget and Lev S. Vygotsky; and he proposed a mechanism relating learned adaptations in the individual to phylogenesis (frequently termed the "Baldwin effect") that is of considerable interest to those currently modeling processes of learning and evolution. After a brief introduction to Baldwin's career, this article describes the intellectual context within which his evolutionary thinking developed. Three of his most important contributions are then discussed: his theory of individual adaptation or learning, his concept of "social heredity," and his articulation of the "Baldwin effect." The article concludes with a brief evaluation of the contemporary importance of Baldwin's ideas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The founding of the Psychological Laboratory, University College London: "Dear Galton…Yours truly, J Sully."

The events leading up to the founding of the Psychological Laboratory at University College London are examined in the light of correspondence from James Sully to Francis Galton. The correspondence reveals the dependence of Sully on Galton for detailed advice at every stage of the process, possible reasons for which are discussed. It also provides sufficient clues to enable identification of a hitherto anonymous donor. Although Galton may have inspired and advised on the initial setting up of the laboratory, his influence on its work did not become apparent until after his death. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Kamala of Midnapore and Arnold Gesell's Wolf Child and Human Child: Reconciling the extraordinary and the normal.

This article examines the reception of the story of Kamala, the "wolf girl" of Midnatore, in the Anglo-American scientific community. Two aspects of the case are analyzed in detail: the controversy regarding the authenticity of the reports and the meaning of the evidence, and Arnold Gesell's (1941) "psychological biography" of Kamala, Wolf Child and Human Child. Although most scientists interested in wild children approach them with the expectation that these children might furnish the key to human nature and development, Gesell turned to Kamala for confirmation of a knowledge he already had. Gesell's "obsession" with Kamala is connected to his conception of development: He advanced an alternative interpretation in maturational terms to counter the prevalent environmentalist interpretation of the wolf girl, and he integrated her radical difference into his theory to prove its claim to be a truly universal account of childhood and growth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Louis Leon Thurstone, experimental and mathematical psychologist.

Discusses the life work and study of Thurstone who continually emphasized the importance both of "purifying the measures" and "isolating the variables." However, after this had been done, he noted that the relationships between the data could not be easily determined. The E could not hope to learn very much from an experiment involving only 2 or 3 variables. For the last 25 yr. of his study, Thurstone typically investigated 40-60 variables at a time in order to get good leverage on the interrelation among them. It may be said that this is the greatest legacy he has left: the emphasis on both accurate experimentation and accurate analyses in the multivariate situation that is essential to psychology. His greatest contribution may have been toward aiding in bringing together the 2 disciplines of scientific psychology. (3 p. ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deconstructing, reconstructing, preserving Paul E. Meehl's legacy of construct validity.

The question of the status of cause-and-effect explanations of human behavior that posit physically existing causative factors and those that, on the other hand, posit hypothetical entities in the form of "useful fictions" has a long history. The influence of the works of Jeremy Bentham and Hans Vaihinger, as well as the later influence of Francis Galton, is described. Issues of the validity of hypothetical constructs and related problems of measurement and definition as found in psychoanalytic theory construction and in trait theory are examined. The significant and continuing interest generated by the landmark studies of K. MacCorquodale and P. E. Meehl (1948) and L. J. Cronbach and P. E. Meehl (1955) as well as the central importance of P. E. Meehl's thinking are described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Art and Visual Perception.

Reviews the book "Art and visual perception," by Rudolph Arnheim (see record 1955-03680-000). In reading this book, one realizes why more psychologists have not been concerned with art. Art is a technical specialty in its own right and one must be expert both in psychology and in either creative art or the history of art to write on art. Arnheim's book brings the scientific knowledge of a trained psychologist to bear on the fundamental problems of visual art as it has developed through the ages. The discussion is always with reference to concrete works of art. Many original drawings, diagrams, and figures illustrate basic principles and important points. The writing is superb. The book is full of penetrating insights into questions of art and also into many problems of concern to the psychologist. Fundamentally this book is an argument against the usual art historian's approach, so well described by Arnheim as the purely subjective point of view, that what a person sees in a work of art "depends entirely on who he is, what he is interested in, what he has experienced in the past, and how he chooses to direct his attention". A book which reflects so well the author's urbanity, catholicity, and keenness of mind, as well as his technical grasp of the scientific and the artistic, is no small achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The uses of naming and the origin of the myth of mental illness.

"When we say that someone has or suffers from a mental illness, we assert a logically highly dubious proposition. It is virtually impossible to ascertain whether this proposition is true or false, because of the wide range of meaning that may be assigned to the term 'mental illness.' " Certain psychologists have used "the expression 'mental illness' to depreciate and injure others (particularly fellow professionals), but they also used its converse, 'mental health,' to promote the good fortune of those whom they liked and respected." It is desirable "to examine carefully the precise nature of the present status of our scientific (as well as everyday) attitudes toward problems of so-called mental illness." From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2JA59S. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Darwin’s eclipse concerned function versus mechanism.

Comments on a article by Dewsbury (February–March 2009) (see record 2009-01602-013) in which he stated, “Darwin provided a viable mechanism for evolutionary change, natural selection” (p. 67). Although this view is consistent with the modern synthesis, the author argues that (a) the natural selection “mechanism” provided by Darwin was not initially accepted by scientists because (b) natural selection is a functional explanation, and functional explanations are always incomplete because they describe how things work but not why they work; that is, they lack mechanism information. This explanatory deficiency led to what Bowler (1983), uncited by Dewsbury (2009), described (in a book of the same name) as “The eclipse of Darwinism,” the initial rejection of natural selection by most scientists. The importance of the distinction the author is making between functional explanations and mechanism information for the future of psychology is that efforts to advance psychological science by clarifying causal mechanisms must first understand how mechanism explanations differ from functional explanations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Darwin and emotion expression.

In his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, Charles Darwin (1872/1965) defended the argument that emotion expressions are evolved and adaptive (at least at some point in the past) and serve an important communicative function. The ideas he developed in his book had an important impact on the field and spawned rich domains of inquiry. This article presents Darwin's three principles in this area and then discusses some of the research topics that developed out of his theoretical vision. In particular, the focus is on five issues--(a) the question of what emotion expressions express, (b) the notion of basic emotions, (c) the universality of emotion expressions, (d) the question of emotion prototypes, and (e) the issue of animal emotions--all of which trace their roots to Darwin's discussion of his first two principles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is it, in fact, a fact?

Comments on an article by S. B. Sarason (see record 1984-28403-001), in which he provided an excellent though apparently unintended example of his "proposition that we are as much possessed by as we are possessed of a world view, undergirded by axioms we never articulate and therefore cannot examine or challenge". He cited as a "fact: The preparation for, the conduct of, and the immediate consequences of war have been among the most influential factors contributing to scientific and technological 'progress'". Perkins suggests that Sarason may believe that an overall effect of war is to facilitate scientific progress, but he is not is in a position to claim that his belief is a fact. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The great struggles of life: Darwin and the emergence of evolutionary psychology.

Darwin envisioned a scientific revolution for psychology. His theories of natural and sexual selection identified two classes of struggles--the struggle for existence and the struggle for mates. The emergence of evolutionary psychology and related disciplines signals the fulfillment of Darwin's vision. Natural selection theory guides scientists to discover adaptations for survival. Sexual selection theory illuminates the sexual struggle, highlighting mate choice and same-sex competition adaptations. Theoretical developments since publication of On the Origin of Species identify important struggles unknown to Darwin, notably, within-families conflicts and conflict between the sexes. Evolutionary psychology synthesizes modern evolutionary biology and psychology to penetrate some of life's deep mysteries: Why do many struggles center around sex? Why is social conflict pervasive? And what are the mechanisms of mind that define human nature? (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)