What is an academic geneology in psychology, and how does a beginner make one?

-- Jericho Vergel de Dios (jvergeldedios@hotmail.com), March 10, 2002

Answers

An academic genealogy amounts to finding out who one's supervisor or teacher was, who that's person's supervisor was, and so on back to some specified date or person. Most psychologists can trace their academic lineage back to Wilhelm Wundt, William James, or Sigmund Freud in only a few generations. For instance, my PhD supervisor was John M. Kennedy (U. Toronto), whose supervisor was J.J. Gibson, whose supervisor was (I think) E.B. Holt, whose supervisor was William James.

-- Christopher Green (christo@yorku.ca), March 11, 2002.

Instructions and examples are included in the following articles:

Benjamin, 1990; Coffield, 1973; Landrum, 1992; Lubek, Innis, Kroger, McGuire et al., 1995; Terry, 1980; Weigel & Gottfurch, 1972)

Benjamin, L. T., Jr. (1990). Involving students and faculty in preparing a departmental history. Teaching of Psychology, 17, 97-100.

Coffield, K. E. (1973). Additional stimulation for students in history and systems. American Psychologist, 28, 624-625.

Landrum, R. E. (1992). Ideas for teaching history and systems. Teaching of Psychology, 19, 179-180.

Lubek, I., Innis, N. K., Kroger, R. O., McGuire, G. R., et al. (1995). Faculty genealogies in five Canadian universities: Historiographical and pedagogical concerns. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 31, 52-72.

Terry, W. S. (1980). Tracing psychologist's 'roots': A project for the history and systems course. Teaching of Psychology, 7, 176-177.

Weigel, R. G., & Gottfurch, J. W. (1972). Faculty genealogies: A stimulus for student involvement in history and systems. American Psychologist, 27, 981-983.

-- Hendrika Vande Kemp (hendrika@earthlink.net), March 11, 2002.

An early article on academic genealogy of American psychologist is: Mollie D. Boring and Edwin G. Boring, "Masters and pupils among the American Psychologists" in American Journal of Psychology, volume 61, 1948, pages 527-534. It includes 2 genealogical "trees" to diagram the descent of American psychologists. The article ends thusly: "Perhaps even an American feels more secure if he can choose and exhibit an ancestor or two." (page 534).

-- Paul J. Kulkosky (kulkosky@uscolo.edu), April 22, 2002.