– Contributed by Jodi Kearns
Fall 2015 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Archives of the History of American Psychology. The April 2015 book-of-the-month selection pays tribute to this rich history that CCHP staff and students have dedicated the past 50 years to preserving. In 2015, the mission of the Cummings Center is to support access to the complete historical record of psychology and related human sciences in order to foster understanding of the human condition. The Illustrated History of American Psychology, 2nd edition, published 17 years ago, was an early project in providing access to the historical record of American psychology.
Populated largely by photographs and digitized materials from CCHP collections and written by the co-founders of the Archives, Drs. John A. Popplestone and Marion White McPherson, the Illustrated History describes in words and illustrations with more than 350 pictures the (at the time) just over 100-year story of American psychology . The book visits experimental psychology laboratories, writings and works of prominent figures, military testing for intelligence and vocation, and more.
The photographs and objects from the Archives in the Illustrated History are still in the CCHP collections today.
exhibit in Museum of Psychology showcasing artifacts from CCHP collections
The phrenology bust on page 37, for example, is on exhibit in the Museum of Psychology. (Can you find it in the above gallery photograph?)
An Illustrated History of American Psychology, page 37
So, too, is the pseudophone now on display in the Museum depicted in this 1928 image on page 86. (Do you see it in the gallery photo?)
An Illustrated History of American Psychology, page 86
Additionally, images in the Illustrated History of manuscript papers and testing materials remain in the CCHP collections and available to researchers.
An Illustrated History of American Psychology, page 127
An Illustrated History of American Psychology, pages 148-149
Dorothy Gruich, CCHP Coordinator, helped Drs. Popplestone and McPherson put the first edition together while she was an undergraduate student assistant at the Archives.
Please visit the University of Akron Press for information about other CCHP publications.