History of Psychology

The totemic use of an author in psychology: A century of publications of the work of F. C. Bartlett
Mercier P and Kalampalikis N
We have tried to retrace the contributions and dissemination of the work of the famous British psychologist F. C. Bartlett through various authors who have been inspired by his work, to a greater or lesser extent. To investigate these questions, we have chosen to carry out a bibliometric work. We were interested in the scientific articles available via the electronic library services (offered by the university and via Google Scholar). The only criterion that guided us in the inclusion in the corpus was the explicit nominative reference to Frederic Charles Bartlett on the whole article. The corpus collected ( = 731) concerns a period of almost a century (1920-2019). The results reveal two periods of increased publication, in 1985 ( = 20) and 2019 ( = 137). Nevertheless, while the name of the author is increasingly cited, most of the time it is only once in the body of the articles. A form of scientific automatism manifests itself in the form of a brief, systematic and automatic citation of the first edition of only one of his books. This "mystified" usage may well extend beyond this author, since Lewin is subject to the same stereotypical quotations and paradoxical marginalization in French-language social psychology textbooks (Pétard et al., 2001). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Jean Piaget and the autonomous disciples, Alina Szeminska and Bärbel Inhelder: From the "critical method" to the appropriation of research culture
Ratcliff MJ
The problems addressed in this article are the transition from the Piagetian clinical method to the so-called critical method, that is, the use of objects manipulated by both the experimenter and the child, and the study of the role of Piaget's female collaborators--in particular Alina Szeminska and Bärbel Inhelder--in the establishment of the critical method. Several authors suggested that Inhelder was behind certain Piagetian experimental devices and the critical method. To evaluate this thesis, we used segment analysis, dealing with the isolable, relevant, and necessary parts of an experiment. Intensive research into Piaget's research data and publications from the 1920s, compared with the early publications of Szeminska and Inhelder, showed that it was Piaget who, as early as 1922, made the transition from the clinical to the critical method and invented a number of experimental setups, including those attributed to Inhelder. On the other hand, Szeminska appeared as the creator of her experimental design. To interpret this situation, we used the concept of research culture and the focus shifted from priority issues to methodological and social practices: Piaget's students had to appropriate his research culture, a "system of methods" in a dynamic relationship. This enabled their inclusion into his research programs by learning to create new devices and thus become autonomous disciples. Piaget adopted a strategy of generosity, making available to his students research directions that he had already dealt with, on which they specialized and which he had given priority, thus helping them in their careers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Cortical localization and the nerve cell: Freud's work in Meynert's psychiatry clinic
Perkins-McVey M
Sigmund Freud's pioneering early work on individuated nerve cells, later termed "neurons," has long been recognized by the history of psychology. Yet, relatively little has been written about the influence of Freud's then mentor, Theodor Meynert, on Freud's 1884-1885 neuroanatomical research, or the monumental conceptual shift embodied in the project itself. Focusing on Freud's 1884 "Die Struktur der Elemente des Nervensytems" (The Structure of the Elements of the Nervous System) as his first true effort to describe individuated nerve cells, this article identifies Meynert as highly influential on Freud's turn to representative schema, further suggesting that Freud's brief foray in clinical neurology at Meynert's clinic aligns with Freud's move from the laboratory to the mind. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
The rise and fall of Katherine Blackford's character analysis
Zickar MJ
Dr. Katherine Blackford's writings on physiognomy-based character analysis were popular in the business community during the period roughly from 1914 to 1925. I document the rise of the Blackford System of character analysis and discuss how she gained influence in the business community. I outline how industrial psychologists collected data to disprove her theories and I argue that those efforts that attempted to delineate evidence-based practice from her methods were some of the first efforts to show that science mattered in the workplace. In addition, Blackford's media savviness taught applied psychologists that to have an impact across a broader audience, they needed to better market themselves. Although industrial psychologists succeeded in discrediting Blackford's system, I argue that her work exerted significant influence on the methodology and practice of early industrial psychology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
William James on unification
Viney W
The major focus of this work is on William James's insistence that unification should not be explored in the abstract as if it were one thing. Rather, unity should be understood in terms of its major kinds. There are unities and pluralities with respect to such topics as values, methods, causes, and prescriptions about what to read and study. This article explores James's mature position on unification as set forth in his major psychological and philosophical works and letters. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Herman G. Canady: A reintroduction
Bediako SM
For nearly four decades, Herman G. Canady actively promoted psychological science in the public interest. A skillful leader and administrator, Canady helped to establish one of the first national organizations of Black psychologists and was purportedly one of the founding members of the West Virginia State Psychological Association. He also collaborated with a diverse range of professional colleagues on relevant social issues of the time. Despite the depth and breadth of Canady's contributions to psychology, very little is known about his impact on the field. The goal of this article is to reintroduce the discipline to Canady. Drawing upon a range of archival materials, personal correspondence, and interviews, I highlight how Canady used the platform of psychological science in ways that not only redefined "racial psychology," but also brought attention to educational inequities, stressed the importance of institution-building, and demonstrated the utility of cross-cultural alliances for addressing important social causes. Canady's influence-and that of others of his generation-merits further study and deeper analysis. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
The Westernization of social and personality psychology in Turkey and the ongoing struggle for indigenous perspectives: A historical review and an agenda for liberating psychology
Ozoguz S
Liberation is a multifaceted concept, often intertwined with psychological processes such as freedom from oppression and the ability to think and act freely. Historically, Western social psychologists have favored the individualistic notion of freedom over the collective effort of liberation. This divergence has led to the separation of the histories of liberation struggles and psychology, including feminism. This article explores distinct historical trajectories in Turkey and highlights the divisive dynamics within feminist movements, particularly the erasure of ethnic minority women by state feminists in postdynastic Turkey. Furthermore, the Westernization and the Americanization of psychology have positioned the field as a neutral, value-free science, effectively silencing indigenous feminist perspectives and encouraging overreliance on adapting gender-based scales to Turkish. Despite this, a nascent history of feminist psychology in Turkey exists, which challenges homogenization and standardization, advocating for a conceptualization of freedom beyond individualism. Finally, an agenda for liberating social psychology is proposed through challenging tattered binaries of "East" and "West" or "secular" or "conservative" and promoting a collective and intersectional approach to psychological research and practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
William James's experience of presenting The Varieties of Religious Experience: His Gifford performance in historical context
Snarey JR and McLendon J
William James delivered the prestigious Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh in 1901 and 1902, and his 20 lectures were published as . While the book is a classic in the psychology of religion, little to no attention has been given to the immediate context of James's lectures or his state of mind and perspectives during his delivery of each. This study aimed to understand James's 20 Gifford Lectures as separable performances and to uncover his experience of delivering each. We placed in conversation two first-hand accounts of the lectures- newspaper reports and James's correspondence. A word-count methodology was used to compare the newspaper reports among themselves. The results showed that the separate reports by James and were strongly correlated. For instance, both James and reported that the 1901 lectures were better received than the 1902 lectures. Further, both confirm that James and his audience engaged each other in a complicated dance involving competing expectations and worldviews. The results demonstrate that viewing the lectures as performance events experienced by James within personal and societal historical contexts clarifies our understanding of James, each of his 20 lectures, and the book that enshrined them. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Telling a scientific story and governing the population: The Kallikak story and the historical mutations of the eugenic discourse
Axelsson T and Qvarsebo J
In this article, we follow the trails of 20th-century psychologist Henry Herbert Goddard's influential study of the Kallikak family. Goddard's study is treated as a scientific story with two interlocking dimensions: One is the actual story of the Kallikak family, with literary elements such as setting, plot, and characters. The other dimension is the broader eugenic discourse, a powerful scientific narrative that calls for action in relation to society and the population. The purpose of the article is twofold. Firstly, to analyze the forming and articulations of this story and to explore some of the consequences for governing the population that it has made possible. Secondly, to explore some aspects of what a Foucauldian analytics of government can contribute with in relation to Goddard's work and the eugenic discourse from the early 20th century to today. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
"Prototypic personality disorder" and the social issue: The category of psychopathy in Polish psychiatry in the interwar period
Kornaj J
The category of psychopathy has a long history, and its meaning has undergone a notable evolution since its conception in the 19th century. The history of psychopathy has been concentrating mainly on English- and German-speaking psychopathology. This article investigates definitions of psychopathy, its classification, and social issues associated with this category in Polish psychiatry in the interwar period. Polish definitions of psychopathy were influenced predominantly by Ernst Kretschmer's constitutional theory as well as by Eugen Kahn's, William Stern's, and Kurt Schneider's ideas. The term was generally understood as a borderline category denoting states between health and mental illness. As those states could manifest differently, it was thought to be many psychopathies. Two Polish psychiatrists, Maurycy Bornsztajn and Jakub Frostig, presented comprehensive classifications of psychopathies. Social issues associated with the category of psychopathy concentrated on three topics: psychopathy in children as a problem of the prevention of mental disorders; psychopathy as a problem of the justice system, the penitentiary, and military systems; and psychopathy as an issue of eugenics and social usefulness. Polish psychiatrists highlighted the need for the development of national institutions for the care of psychopathic children. Issues of accountability and insanity of psychopaths from the point of view of forensic psychiatry were also discussed. In conclusion, psychopathy in interwar Polish psychiatry was not just one of the personality disorders-it denoted the whole spectrum of characterological disturbances; thus, it rather corresponds to the modern category of personality disorders than to the contemporary understanding of psychopathy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
The racial economy of psychological care: Professionalism, social justice, and political action during american psychology's communitarian moment
Pettit M
The 1960s and 1970s saw the overt "politicization" of the American Psychological Association as an organization. Politics in this context carried a dual meaning referring to both political lobbying to promote the interests of psychology as a health profession and grassroots political action to advance social justice causes. In the years between the passage of the Community Mental Health Act (1963) and the Vail Conference on levels and patterns of professional training in psychology (1973), these two forms of politics were intertwined. The first significant political mobilization of professional psychologists in the postwar era occurred over the staffing of community mental health centers in the mid-1960s. These creations of the Great Society social welfare programs provided a platform for pursuing bold experiments in structural interventions to improve the lives and mental health of minoritized Americans and came to serve as hubs for the Black psychology movement of the early 1970s. This alternative model for the profession received careful consideration at the Vail Conference. However, a different relationship between politics and the profession crystalized by 1980. The politics of professionalism in psychology took the form lobby on behalf of practitioners working independent practices to receive reimbursement from third-party health insurance providers. This shift in the political economy of mental health has obscured this earlier, communitarian moment in American psychology. The racial economy of psychology's professionalization was structural, but not inevitable. It resulted from a series of historical choices. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
A pre-Darwinian account of the facial expression of emotion: Thomas Wright's The Passions of the Minde in Generall (1604)
Irish BJ
"The study of emotional expression," it has recently been said, "has long been the provenance of scientific discovery and heated controversy" (Keltner et al., 2016, p. 467)-and nothing has been more central to this inquiry than attempts to understand the precise connection between affective experience and human facial expression. But as science moves forward, it is also wise to consider where it has been. This Brief Report reproduces a pre-Darwinian account of the facial expression of emotion from Thomas Wright's (1604), one of the most interesting books on emotion from the English Renaissance. Before the modern scientific revolution, Wright's theorization anticipates several key aspects of 21st Century thought on the facial expression of emotion, an intriguing reminder of the connection between historical folk understanding and modern research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Between conformity and individuality: Psychologists in Czechoslovakia during normalization (1968-1989)
Šikl R, Preiss M and Hoskovcová S
The study examines the development of psychology in former Czechoslovakia during the period of "normalization" (1968-1989) and the challenges it faced under the communist regime. The restricted connection to Western psychology and the regime's control over all aspects of human activity negatively influenced the continuity of development in psychology. The regime demanded conformity, leaving individuals, including psychologists, in recurring states of internal conflict and intellectual discomfort when deciding how much to compromise in their personal and professional lives. The study identifies three groups of psychologists based on their adaptability to regime demands. The first group consists of those who aligned themselves with the regime, allowing them to hold positions of leadership and shape the conceptualization of the field. The second group comprises individuals who actively opposed the regime, facing significant limitations in their educational and career opportunities, and mostly being forced to leave the profession. The third group of psychologists belongs to the apolitical gray zone. A significant portion of individuals in this largest group passively complied with established norms and constraints, accepting the restrictions imposed on the development of Czechoslovak psychology. Fortunately, thanks to the persistent efforts of the proactive members of the gray zone and their willingness to endure significant discomfort, an even deeper decline of psychology during the normalization period was prevented. The study provides insights into the topics of education, research, Western influences, and adaptation to the communist regime within Czechoslovak psychology, illuminating the intricacies of living in that historical period. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Research note: Virtual historical archive of the Faculty of Psychology, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Becchero FF, Rossi L and Gallegos M
This article describes the organization, operation, and contents of the Virtual Historical Archive of the Faculty of Psychology, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The organization of this archive started in 2008, as part of the activities planned by the Chair II of History of Psychology, and gained the support of the Faculty of Psychology. From its beginnings to the present, several documentary sources and materials related to the history of psychology in Argentina have been incorporated. It currently contains six thematic sections and three special collections, and it is expected that in the future it will be extended to other thematic areas. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Integration as the goal of indigenization: The cross-cultural psychology of Durganand Sinha
McWhorter MR
Durganand Sinha (1922-1998) was an important Indian cross-cultural psychologist whose research spanned half a century. In commemoration of Sinha's passing 25 years ago, I explore in this essay his vision of the integration of Hindu religious psychology and Western scientific psychology. In the first part of the discussion, I consider a brief history of the interaction between Indian cultures and Western scientific psychology. In the second part, I next consider the proposal of Sinha that outlines various approaches that researchers might take with respect to the indigenization of scientific psychology. In the third part, I consider Sinha's discussion of integration as the expected outcome of the process of indigenization. Sinha indicates that when a researcher establishes a successful integrated cultural research paradigm in this way, it can serve as a framework for future researchers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Magda Arnold's understanding of the human person: Thomistic personalism, psychophysical unity of the person, integration of personality, and transcendence
García-Alandete J
Magda Arnold (1903-2002) is well known for her research on emotions, motivation, and memory from a neurological, physiological, and psychological point of view. However, her works in the field of the anthropological foundations of personality are less known and discussed. The present study presents some aspects of Arnold's conception of a human's nature as being based or convergent on Aquinas's doctrine: (a) a nonreductionist conception of the human being, (b) the psychophysical unity of the person, (c) the self-ideal as it ought to be as the main factor of personality integration, and (d) God as the origin and ultimate goal of human existence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Reconsidering the "Uznadze Effect" and psychology of set (Gantskoba) from a systemic cultural psychological perspective
Gamsakhurdia VL
This article aims to (re)introduce and further develop Dimitri Uznadze's theory of psychological "set" from the perspective of contemporary cultural psychology. His ideas are prominent in Georgia and other post-Soviet countries; however, they might be totally new for psychologists from other parts of the world. Uznadze, unlike Vygotksy, still awaits to be rediscovered. I discuss the main theoretical premises and features of the formation of a psychological "set," according to Uznadze, which were based on his interpretations of his rich experimental data. Uznadze conceived the psychological "set" as a holistic phenomenon determining human conduct and strongly opposed reductionist, vitalist, and behavioristic approaches. Subsequently, a more person-centered and systemic view of set formation and its relation to human conduct is briefly considered. Further directions for Uznadze's experimental data's theoretical consideration are also identified. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
"I'm not a person anymore": The "survivor syndrome" and William G. Niederland's perception of the human being
Zait J
Psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and neurologist William Guglielmo Niederland (1904-1993) received widespread acclaim for his research on Holocaust survivors, yet his other psychoanalytic work has yet to achieve comparable recognition. In this article, I will examine the affinities between Niederland's study of the Holocaust survivors and other major works in his canon to demonstrate the cohesive nature of his worldview, philosophy, and psychoanalytic trajectory while also illuminating Niederland's portrait of the human being. This work is divided into two sections. The first section will deal with what I have termed as "the phenomenological sensitivity" which articulates Niederland's unique intellectual approach of subjectively retracing his patients' phenomenal experiences. The second section will discuss Niederland's image of the human being at the nexus of space and time, as it emerges from a comparative reading across his various writings. Ultimately, the article will present these two recurrent elements not only to help identify Niederland's integrated worldview which extends throughout, but also beyond his trauma work with Holocaust survivors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
A war against the natural order: Joseph Nicolosi, Reparative Therapy, and the Christian Right
Babits C
This article situates Joseph Nicolosi's first book, , in historical context. Nicolosi, a Catholic clinical psychologist, was one of the most vocal practitioners of sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) from the early 1990s until his death in 2017, and in these decades, the Christian Right became a key supporter of SOCE. In this article, I argue that two features of Nicolosi's book appealed to the Christian Right. First, Nicolosi relied on psychoanalytic thought to pathologize not only same-sex sexual desires but also poor parenting. The use of psychoanalytic thought was of particular interest to conservative Christians who believed that American fathers had forfeited their role as strong patriarchs. Second, Nicolosi's approach to therapy, which included changing one's dress and mannerisms and assertiveness training, stressed that same-sex desires could be eliminated through behavioral reconditioning. Nicolosi's psychological eclecticism, a common feature for mental health practitioners at the end of the twentieth century, has not been emphasized in prior scholarship on reparative therapy. Importantly, the psychological eclecticism practiced by Nicolosi became common within the Christian Right after the publication of . By offering a close reading of , this article demonstrates the interrelationship between one of the core texts of the ex-gay movement and the psychological and religious thought of the Christian Right at the turn of the twenty-first century. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Ten years of the Peruvian Society of the History of Psychology
Arias Gallegos WL, Caycho-Rodríguez T and Oré-Kovacs N
This article briefly reviews the development of the history of psychology as a specialized discipline in Peru, in order to learn about the emergence, organization and productivity of the Peruvian Society of the History of Psychology (SPHP), which was founded in 2012. Previously, by way of introduction, the advances in the institutionalization of the history of psychology in Latin America and the development of the historiography of psychology in Peru are described. Seminars, journals, and books edited by the SPHP are discussed, as well as new projects and the challenges that must be faced for a greater dissemination of the history of psychology in Peru. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Willard Stanton Small (1870-1943): The man who made the maze
Goodman J
Willard Stanton Small (1870-1943) was among the earliest scientists to perform psychological research with rats and conducted the first experiment with a rat in a maze. This article represents the first biography devoted to Small and provides highlights from his childhood, undergraduate and graduate work, personal life, and professional career. Special attention is given to the events that led to the first rat maze experiment, which Small performed as a graduate student at Clark University. A detailed analysis of Small's published report of the maze experiment is also provided. His employment history after graduate school is discussed and includes teaching and administrative roles at multiple academic institutions, in addition to his role as a field investigator for the U.S. Bureau of Education. It is shown that Small's work impacted not only comparative psychology, but also U.S. public health, school hygiene, and education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
"My Opponent Prof. W.": The debate between Wilhelm Wundt and Adolf Horwicz in the beginning of physiological psychology (1872-1879)
Millán JD
Adolf Horwicz (1831-1894) was the main public critic of Wilhelm Wundt's election for the chair of philosophy at the Universität Leipzig in 1875. Horwicz's book titled published in 1872 had a great impact on his contemporaries. Two years later, Wundt published (1874) and with Horwicz's books were recognized as the most representative books of the emerging physiological psychology. Finally, Horwicz and Wundt had a debate published in during 1879-1880 in where Wundt affirmed that many of Horwicz's research results were deduced from preconceived ideas without using a clear method. For that reason, Horwicz considered that Wundt's criticisms were aimed at destroying his scientific reputation. The debate is the materialization of a long professional struggle that took place between professional philosophers and physiologists who began to occupy chairs of philosophy in the early 1870s. The debate can be summarized in the following questions: (a) Should psychology have as its main objective the search for a single physical-biological process to which all other psychical processes are reduced? (b) Should psychological research use an inductivist reasoning? (c) What should be the relationship between philosophy and the psychological psychology? (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Wilhelm Wundt: His bumpy start in science at the University of Tübingen
Ulrich R and Kaup B
In 1851, Wilhelm Wundt embarked on his university journey at the University of Tübingen, initially enrolling as a medical student. This article draws from Wundt's autobiography and supplementary sources to illuminate the motivations behind his choice of Tübingen, shedding light on how this pivotal phase influenced both his scientific trajectory and his personal development. It offers insights into Wundt's perspectives on university and city life in Tübingen, providing a nuanced understanding of his formative years. Wundt's nonlinear entry into the realm of science serves as a source of reassurance and inspiration for contemporary psychology students facing similar initial challenges in their academic pursuits. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
"Mere guesswork": Clarifying the role of intelligence, mentality, and psychometric testing in the diagnosis of "mental defectives" for sterilization in Alberta from 1929 to 1972
Reichardt EM, Stam HJ and Tan-MacNeill K
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).
Klaus Holzkamp smiled: Soviet psychology in the Federal Republic of Germany in the Cold War era
Kölbl C
This article understands the reception of Soviet psychology in the Federal Republic of Germany as a contribution to a transnational Soviet psychology that is closely linked to a "Western Communist culture," broadly understood, and further elaborates on this term, which is borrowed from Luciano Nicolás García. Critical Psychology () was developed at the Free University of Berlin starting in the late 1960s by the Marxist psychologist Klaus Holzkamp and others and represents a central focus of this form of appropriating the writings of Soviet psychologists. However, there has also been intense interest in Soviet psychology in West Germany beyond this Communist culture. This article reconstructs several different lines of reception to sketch a more complex picture of Soviet psychology in West Germany than that offered by previous one-sided narratives. In any case, reconstructive efforts in this field of investigation must take the historical situation of the Cold War era and its important influence on the discipline of psychology into account. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
Intellectual aristocracy in the dawn of Argentine democracy: José Ingenieros on genius and mediocrity
Molinari V
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 (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).
New archival digital exhibit
Lorch M
is a digital exhibit which celebrates the forgotten contributions to psychology by Prof. Vincent V. Herr, S. J. (1901-1970) and his colleagues in the mid-20th century. It draws on the substantial unpublished material in the Herr Papers at the Loyola University Chicago Archives and Special Collections. The online exhibition showcases over 40 archival documents, images, and photographs. These are elaborated with detailed text presenting Herr's research achievements and impactful collaborations. During his time at Loyola University Chicago, Herr pursued a range of interrelated projects using innovative assessment approaches to measure linguistic, emotional, and social aspects of healthy and disordered mental states. He was adept in experimental techniques which he applied to questions in psychiatry and social psychology. Herr investigated individual differences in emotionality and empathy through original tasks and instrumental measures. He collaborated with colleagues at Harvard and Yeshiva Universities on the religion and mental health project in the 1950s and 1960s supported by the National Institute of Mental Health and became an advisor to Vatican II in 1965. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
Reconstruction of Wilhelm Wundt's last residence in Saxony and the search for subsequent use as a research institute, fellowship house, or museum of psychotechnics
Jüttemann A
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).
Archival oddities: Rosalie Rayner's application to take graduate classes
Harris B
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 . 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).
Addendum
Bonfield S
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).