I am interested in finding literature discussing possible deep personal biases and motives behind the construction of significant psychological theories. For example, Melanie Klein was an awful mother and was rejected by her daughter in numerous ways, public and private. Elements of Klein's object-relations theory cast this sort of rejection of mothers by their daughters as normal or inevitable, exonerating Klein herself from failure with her daughter. There are probably hundreds of theories about why Freud was motivated to cast psychoanalysis in the way that he did. What were Watson's personal motives for getting rid of consciousness? Etc, Etc. Etc.

Any help in finding good reference materials and sources in this area would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks!

-- Joe Ferguson (FergiDotCom@Yahoo.com), June 09, 2001

Answers

One excellent source is the book chapter by David Elkind on "Child Development Research" in Sigmund Koch and David Leary (Eds.), A Century of Psychology as Science (1985, McGraw-Hill; 1992, American Psychological Association). Elkind discusses the special 'child sense' of G. Stanley Hall, Maria Montessori, J. B. Watson, Harry Stack Sullivan, Jane Piaget, Erik Erikson.

-- Hendrika Vande Kemp (hendrika@fuller.edu), June 12, 2001.