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)