History of Psychology最新文献

From 1929 until 1972, the Alberta Eugenics Board (the Board) recommended that 4,739 individuals be sterilized. The original 1928 act that legalized eugenic sterilization stipulated that the surgery itself required the consent of the individual or their caregiver; however, in 1937, the Alberta government removed the consent requirement for such cases where the Board determined individual patients to be "mental defectives." By analyzing published reports, case histories, medical journals, and primary sources from the Board, we situate the concept of "mental defective" in a historical context to clarify the Board's diagnostic process. By analyzing how the Board found individuals to be "mental defectives," we challenge a previous historiographic assumption that intelligence tests played a critical or defining role in this diagnostic process. We argue that the notion of the "mental defective" used by the Board had a long history before the advent of intelligence testing and eugenic thought. This history helps to explain how and why the Board relied extensively on the broader examination of behavior, social status, and physical appearance as core evidence in the diagnosis of "mental defect." Intelligence tests were certainly important as they shed light on an individual's academic ability. However, this alone was only one part of "mentality." Defects of mentality were understood to be broad and multifactorial, and included difficult, if not impossible, to measure attributes such as personality, emotionality, and morality. Further research should incorporate the concept of mentality in the history of psychology, testing, and eugenics. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

This article explores how psychological categories linked to the mental level, such as genius, mediocrity, and intellectual superiority, were directly intertwined with political discourse in the early 20th century. To illustrate this, I analyze El Hombre Mediocre (The Mediocre Man) published in 1913 by José Ingenieros, seemingly as a direct critique of the law for free democratic elections in Argentina sanctioned in 1912. The book's main argument drew on psychological categories to explain that democracy was, in fact, a poor choice in government. Ingenieros' main concern was that the population was mostly mediocre and therefore unable to govern or elect a suitable candidate to run the country. One category that stood out in his analysis was the "genius." This term was reserved for men who demonstrated exceptional intelligence and remarkable morals and ideals. The methodology used in this article is based on the qualitative and interpretative analysis of bibliographical sources (which include books of essays, scientific papers, and books aimed at lay audiences) from the perspective of intellectual history and the critical history of psychology. I argue that Ingenieros' book served as a political essay founded on a comprehensive scientific explanation, even if it was aimed at a lay audience. This analysis shows the productivity of psychological categories referring to giftedness, intelligence, and talent, in adulthood for assessing political movements and planning new imagined societies through the history of psychology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

In this News and Notes column, information about eligibility and how to apply for The David B. Baker Fellowship in the History of Psychology--which supports student research at the Archives of the History of American Psychology--is provided; recent publications and presentations are noted; and P. Croce, Stetson University, briefly describes their visit to Greece and shares a photo of Cheiron, an ancient Greek god. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The German physiologist Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) is now recognized worldwide as the founding figure of academic psychology. He founded the first Institute for Experimental Psychology in Leipzig in 1879 and gained recognition during his lifetime. The scientist's last home in the small village of Großbothen in East Germany, about 100 miles (160 km) south of Berlin, was left to decay after German reunification in 1989/1990. Wundt's other homes in Leipzig were destroyed during World War II. During the GDR period, when the house was owned by the public sector, an inscription in honor of Wundt was added. It then stood empty for many years and fell into disrepair. In June 2016, an association was founded at Schloss Altranstädt near Leipzig with the aim of acquiring the rights to use the Wilhelm Wundt House. Thanks to their efforts, the house has now been entrusted to a conservationist as of 2018. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

This article explores the contribution of behavior therapy to the extension of psychotherapeutic notions and techniques into everyday life, focusing on the transatlantic trajectory of assertiveness training. It traces the history of this behavioral intervention into interindividual relations from its emergence as a treatment for anxiety in postwar United States to its importation into the French field of continuing professional training at the turn of the 1980s. To understand what traveled between countries and practical fields, I first consider the definition of assertiveness as a skill sitting halfway between passivity and aggressiveness, which developed in the United States along with its uses outside therapy. I relate the success and inflexions undergone by assertiveness training between the 1950s and the 1970s to theoretical and strategic innovations in behavioral therapy and psychology, as well as to the reception of political and social movements, especially the women's movement. This article also shows that what moved between countries, sectors, and target audiences was not only an understanding of assertiveness as a socially acceptable expression of feelings, needs, and wants, but also diagnostic and action scripts fueled by the "ferment" of the 1960s. From middle-class American women to French managers, the expanded applications of assertiveness training were justified by the rhetoric of tensions between role socialization and new expectations for self-fulfillment and efficiency. Following the behavioral deficit model emphasized in assertiveness training, increasing calls for self-expression and participation prescribed communication skill training and a reconfiguration of interpersonal relations, both in the private and the work sphere. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

In the last issue of this journal, Ben Harris authored a research note on Margaret Floy Washburn and her cats (see record 2023-67784-001). What was not included with that piece was an image Washburn's bookplate, which shows an image of a cat (quite possibly a likeness of her most acclaimed cat, "Hiram") with an accompanying Biblical verse in Greek, taken from 1 Thessalonians 5:21, which translated reads as "Test all things; hold fast what is good (NKJV)." It is reproduced in this article. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Michael was a historian by choice and calling, well-known for his Brief History of Psychology, which appeared in six editions. He also edited with Gregory Kimble a seven-volume series of Portraits of Pioneers in Psychology, an essential resource describing many of the illustrious ancestors of contemporary psychology. He was known for his long service to various professional associations, especially the APA. He was president of four APA divisions: 1 (General Psychology), 2 (Teaching of Psychology), 24 (Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology), and 26 (History of Psychology). These commitments show his extraordinary social conscience. In the Psychology Department at CU Boulder, he was highly respected for his superior knowledge and quick curiosity, but also feared for his critical questions and comments. Michael was not one to socialize with and enjoy small talk the way most of us do. Rather, his conversations were brief, to the point, and strictly academic. However, the author also learnt that behind his formal and reserved outward appearance, there was a charming, humorous, and cheerful Mensch. But most of all he was a scholar of universal knowledge, rare passion, and exemplary devotion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

In the history of psychology, Rosalie Rayner is known as a research assistant to behaviorist John B. Watson in the study of a baby named Albert, coauthor of articles describing that research, and coauthor of Psychological Care of Infant and Child. Rayner also wrote two magazine articles about her experience as a mother and the wife of Watson (Harris, 2014). Thanks to archivist James Stimpert, the author discovered that she was never a candidate for a graduate degree. In fall of 1919, she applied to take graduate classes at Hopkins and was accepted (Figure 1). However, she applied 2 weeks after classes had begun and never registered for any courses in the fall or spring semesters. Even more interesting, her application was approved by Watson on the same day she applied, which was a Saturday. The current author agrees with Romano-Lax and suggest that we appreciate Rayner's life and work without claiming her as a psychologist. While she deserves credit for her contributions to the Albert study and coauthored book on child care, her own voice is best heard when she looked beyond the field of psychology. In her 1932 article, "what future has motherhood?" she addressed the broader question of how the family could be restructured, which was being debated by feminists and other social reformers. While not consistently feminist, her perspective was dramatically different from her husband's. In Rayner Watson's view of the future, child care and other domestic work would be collectivized, as was being tried in the Soviet Union, freeing women for any activities they choose (Harris, 2014; R. R. Watson, 1932). Clearly, she had long left the laboratory, and her contributions should not be reduced to the "study of behavioral psychology" (Smirle, 2013). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

In order to access gender-affirming care, transgender individuals were historically required by international guidelines to undergo mental health provider assessment (Coleman et al., 2012). This requirement for universal mental health provider involvement, initially formulated via professional expert opinion, has not been retained in the most recent World Professional Association for Transgender Health Standards of Care (WPATH SOC 8; Coleman et al., 2022). In the present analysis, I sought to examine the historical and cultural contexts of these expert opinions codified in the first version of the WPATH SOC released in 1979. Foucauldian genealogy and qualitative thematic analysis guided data collection and analysis. Study themes of debate, codification, and change outline the codification of early gender identity research criteria in SOC. These themes examine the historical context of the codification of mental health assessment for access to gender-affirming care. Historical perspectives from trans individuals themselves on assessment criteria are represented in the analysis, including the notable impacts of an individual's race, class, and sexual orientation on attitudes towards assessment practices. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The winner of the Cheiron 2023 Book Prize is Christina Ramos for the book Bedlam in the New World: A Mexican Madhouse in the Age of Enlightenment, published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2022. Dr. Ramos is an assistant professor of history at Washington University in St. Louis. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).