Telling likely stories: The rhetoric of the New Psychology, 1880-1920

Abstract

This is a story about the New Psychologists who strove at the turn of the century to institutionalize a new science and to create a new set of professional roles. More particularly, it is about the rhetorical fabric they wove around the nascent science of psychology. The article focuses, one by one, on different strands of this fabricon (1) what persuaded the first generation of American psychologists to take an interest in the New Psychology; (2) the arguments these aspiring psychologists presented to presidents and trustees to insure that they could pursue their interest within particular institutional settings; (3) the arguments they put forth against the rights of other persons to engage in similar, competing pursuits; (4) the arguments they laid before various administrators, officials, interest groups, and the general public to guarantee continued and even increased support; and (5) the arguments they presented in the form of theories and practices developed between approximately 1880 and 1920. In this way, it attempts to construct a likely story about the establishment of the New Psychology in America.' Timaeus: Do not be surprised, Socrates, if on many matters concerning the gods and the whole world of change we are unable in every respect and on every occasion to render a consistent and accurate account. You must be satisfied if our account is as likely as any, remembering that both I and you who are sitting in judgement on it are merely human, and should not look for anything more than a likely story in such matters.(Plato, ca. 355 B.c.)Skill in speaking results from studied eloquence. It has five parts: invention, disposition, elocution, memory, and utterance. Its purpose is persuasion.(Isidore of Seville, ca. 636 A.D.)The first of rhetoric's parts is the wise choice of matter, And clearly the second is proper arrangement of thoughts;The third, a difficult task, demands the use of appropriate language; Memory's fourth-be master of what you would say. Then, fifth, be eloquent; this makes the system perfect.(Walafrid Strabo, ca. 849 A.D.)This article is part of a larger research project begun at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, CA (1982-1983.

The neurosciences and the search for a unified psychology: the science and esthetics of a single framework

“…These practices made enduring inroads into public acceptance and gradually managed to convince contemporary liberal democracies that psychology was an important if not always exact science that had much to offer in the form of technologies of classification, theories that focused on individuals as sources for problems of living, and general forms of practice the fit well with industrial and post-industrial societies. Hence while academic and research psychologists continued their long argument, applied psychologists got down to business and took care of their charges in clinics, schools, factories, offices, government, and elsewhere (Leary, 1987). It is not surprising then that contributions to theory were sometimes the outcome of broader changes in applied areas (e.g., the advances in statistical tools and interpretations derived from them that originated in applied fields of testing).…”

Between Peirce (1878) and James (1898): G. Stanley Hall, the origins of pragmatism, and the history of psychology

“…For such information, see Ross (1972) and Leary (2006), in particular. Other helpful sources are Bringmann, Bringmann, and Early (1992), Burnham (1925), Fisher (1925, Leary (1987), Morawski (1982), Pruette (1926), Rosenzweig (1992), Sanford (1924), Sheldon (1932), Siegel and White (1982), Sokal (1990Sokal ( , 1992, White (1990White ( , 1992, and Wilson (1914). Hall's Life and Confessions of a Psychologist (1923) provides valuable insights, though it glosses over certain matters and must be used with caution as regards certain factual statements and interpretations.…”

B. F. Skinner's technology of behavior in American life: From consumer culture to counterculture

“…As Leary (1987) has noted, the theories of contemporary psychology have appealed to the American public precisely because the theories draw on metaphors already in common usage (e.g., efficiency, productivity, etc.). As he puts it, the stories of modern psychology "make use of familiar cultural categories" (Leary, 1987, p. 329).…”