Contributions to the History of Psychology: XVI. Eponymy in Psychology: Early versus Recent Textbooks

A survey was conducted on the frequency of usage of psychologists' names in early introductory psychology textbooks (1920–1939) and recent introductory psychology textbooks (1968–1971) in order to assess differences between these periods. Using eponymy indexes, such as naming ratios which were derived from frequency of naming divided by textbook pages, a methodology was developed for comparing early and recent textbooks. Results showed that: (1) the average naming ratio for early textbooks was significantly lower than the ratio for recent textbooks; (2) there were significant differences in naming between early and recent textbooks in terms of various chapter headings and subject materials; and (3) there were significant differences in naming particular psychologists, e.g., Freud and Pavlov, with greater frequency occurring in the recent over the early textbooks. Results were discussed within the context of E. G. Boring's writings concerning eponymy and the future state of psychology.

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The future of the history of psychology in Argentina and Brazil.

History of Psychology ◽

10.1037/hop0000030 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 229-247 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Hugo Klappenbach ◽

Ana Maria Jacó-Vilela

Keyword(s):

History Of Psychology ◽

The Future ◽

History Of

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What’s Next?

Zeitschrift für Psychologie / Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1027/0044-3409.217.2.95 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 217 (2) ◽

pp. 95-102 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Theo Herrmann

Keyword(s):

Historical Development ◽

Psychological Research ◽

History Of Psychology ◽

Complex Pattern ◽

Short Term ◽

Historical Changes ◽

The Future ◽

History Of

One cannot predict the future of the sciences or that of psychology. The question “What’s next?” gives reason to think about which principles to which psychology has developed. In analyzing the historical development of psychology, one should differentiate between basic psychological research, psychological technology, and the structure of institutions. Historical changes of psychology occur slowly and continuously. These continuous changes are obviously a foil for short-term changes that we can refer to as discontinuities. The complex pattern of continuities and discontinuities is based on very different conditions. External and internal causes of the changes in the history of psychology are discussed.

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Contributions to the History of Psychology: CIV. Eminence in Psychology as Measured by Name Counts and Eponyms

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.1996.78.1.243 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 78 (1) ◽

pp. 243-253 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Jon E. Roeckelein

Keyword(s):

History Of Psychology ◽

Introductory Psychology ◽

Psychological Literature ◽

High Category ◽

Frequency Of Use ◽

Content Analyses ◽

History Of ◽

Two Measures

Two measures of eminence in psychology are proposed, (1) consistency of surname counts among authors of introductory psychology textbooks and (2) frequency of use of eponyms in the psychological literature. After comparing surname counts from introductory psychology textbooks across 75 years with page-space allocations from history of psychology textbooks, it was suggested that the present measures are orthogonal to other existing measures of eminence which are based on content analyses of textbooks. Also, when surname counts were plotted against ranked positions of individuals and when percent of use of eponyms was plotted against frequency (low, medium, high) category, respectively, a hyperbolic shaped curve for the surnames and significant disproportions for the eponyms was observed. These findings agree with previous data which led to the conclusion that those who are highly eminent in psychology receive a disproportionate share of attention, praise, and citation space in the psychological literature.

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Contributions to the History of Psychology: CXVII. Who's Who in American Psychology: A Citation Study of Introductory Psychology Textbooks

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.2003.93.1.186 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 93 (1) ◽

pp. 186-190 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

M. Lyn Hoefer ◽

Erin Warnick ◽

Terry J. Knapp

Keyword(s):

History Of Psychology ◽

Introductory Psychology ◽

Citation Studies ◽

American Psychology ◽

History Of

The author indexes of 15 introductory psychology textbooks were surveyed to identify the authorities cited most frequently. The five names cited most often in descending order were Freud, Bandura, Skinner, Piaget, and James. Differences from earlier comparable citation studies are discussed.

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Toward a philosophical history of psychology: An alternative path for the future

Theory & Psychology ◽

10.1177/0959354316656062 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 87-107 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Saulo de Freitas Araujo

Keyword(s):

Philosophy Of Science ◽

History Of Science ◽

Future Development ◽

Alternative Model ◽

History Of Psychology ◽

Contemporary Debate ◽

The Social ◽

The Future ◽

History Of ◽

Dominant Tendency

Recent transformations in the history of science and the philosophy of science have led historians of psychology to raise questions about the future development of their historiography. Although there is a dominant tendency among them to view their discipline as related to the social turn in the history of science, there is no consensus over how to approach the history of psychology methodologically. The aim of this article is to address the issue of the future of the historiography of psychology by proposing an alternative but complementary path for the field, which I call a philosophical history of psychology. In order to achieve this goal, I will first present and discuss the emergence of the social turn in the history of psychology, showing some of its problems. I will then introduce the contemporary debate about the integration of the history of science and the philosophy of science as an alternative model for the history of psychology. Finally, I will propose general guidelines for a philosophical history of psychology, discussing some of its possible advantages and limitations.

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Philosophical histories can be contextual without being sociological: Comment on Araujo’s historiography

Theory & Psychology ◽

10.1177/0959354316682862 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 117-125 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Jeremy Trevelyan Burman

Keyword(s):

History Of Psychology ◽

Recent Contribution ◽

The Future ◽

History Of ◽

The Way

The future of the History of Psychology is bright, and the recent historiographical debates in this journal play an important role in that. Yet Araujo’s recent contribution could be misunderstood: ignoring context is not the way to do a philosophical history. Instead, philosophical assumptions can be presented as part of the context that informed an historical subject. Hence the necessity, here, of a response: the History of Psychology is becoming disciplined, but slowly. There are still plenty of non-specialists who will misunderstand Araujo’s contribution as a step forward in its rhetoric (many of whom teach the history course in their department). And because even specialists also sometimes dismiss methods-talk as a false step toward methodolatry, there is a danger in leaving such misunderstandings unaddressed. Simply put, then, ideas are never only lights in the attic: as the historian looks in, we must always remember that—at the time—someone was looking out.

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