freud/american psychology

greenspun.com : LUSENET : History & Theory of Psychology : One Thread

what can anyone tell me about how Freud impacted american psychology? also what were the VERY beginnings of american psychology?

-- Jessie Castleberry (jessiecastleberry@hotmail.com), February 07, 2004

Answers

1. Freud's 1909 lectures at Clark Univeristy, hosted by G. Stanley Hall, and published in 1910 under the title, _The Origin and Development of Psychoanalysis_ see http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Freud/Origin/index.htm. (However, see Eugene Taylor's work for another view.)

2. Depends on what you mean by psychology. Wiliam James had the first psychology lab in 1875, but it was a "demonstration" lab, not one intended for original research. G. Stanley Hall opened his research lab at Johns Hopkins in 1883, and he founded _American Journal of Psychology_ in 1887. The first American psychology textbook to include scientific findings was, I believe, George Trumbull Ladd's _Elements of Physiological Psychology_ in 1887. The first volume of James Mark Baldwin's textbook was publishedi in 1889. William James' _Principles of Psychology_ soon followed in 1890. Hall founded the America Psychological Association in 1892. James McKeen Cattell is often said to have had the first position specifically for an experimental psychologist at U. Penn in 1887. Others claim that Joseph Jastrow's 1888 position at Wisconsin was the first in the U.S. specifically for a "professor of psychology"

-- Christopher Green (christo@yorku.ca), February 07, 2004.


I think much of Freud's impact on American psychology was in terms of providing a large number of raw (relatively untested) ideas about the human mind, body, and behavior. Some of his ideas were weak, some probably clearly wrong, and still others difficult to test. Also many of the theories he advocated came, at least in part, from other people. However, it is a tribute to him that some of the ideas he wrote about were found useful, and people in the 21th century will likely continue to mine his writing for useful ideas to evaluate. He also got us used to seeing a complex picture of humans, where not everything is what it seems to be. One in which we may at times be unaware of variables that affect us (including ones we theoretically could be aware of) or where we misinterpret various influences on us, often due to our strong emotional reactions. Today there are many other sources of ideas for psychology to draw from (e.g., cognitive science, neuroscience, evolutionary psychology) and we live in a more empirical and skeptical time, but Freud and his theoretical descendents are likely to continue to influence psychology for a long time. Interestingly, I have found that in general, clinical psychology professors I know seem to be much more favorable to Freud's ideas than experimental psychology professors I know. You are likely to run into psychologists that range from highly respecting Freud, to those that think his ideas slowed psychology's development (and possibly that he did a poor job of healing himself and was not a nice person). My suggestion in evaluating Freud is the same as in evaluating anyone - be open minded and at the same time skeptical. Take into account how the person lived, but also be able, where appropriate to independently evaluate their theories.

-- Paul Kleinginna (pkleinginna@gasou.edu), February 15, 2004.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ