I am doing research for psychology's history, and while researching James Mckeen Cattell, I have found it difficult to find a diversity of information on him. So in lieu of this I attempted to ferret out information through the back door! However now I am finding it difficult to find information on the 'International Congress of Psychology'(ICP). Cattell was president of the "ninth" ICP, but I would like the history. I have no idea what exactly it is or whom founded it. Thanks for allowing me the inquiry. Jill K. Roling

-- Jill Kay Roling (Jillian1097@hotmail.com), March 07, 2003

Answers

on Cattell himself, have you checked out the timeline at http://fates.cns.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/cattell.htm? It includes an excellent bibliography of major works about Cattell.

You can find a little information about the first International Congress in Virginia Sexton & Henryk Misiak, Psychology Around the World (Wadsworth, 1976).

PsycInfo lists the following reports on the 9th international congress:

Woodworth, R. S., & Boring, E. G. (1930). Ninth International Congress of Psychology: report of the treasurer, with a note by the secretary. Psychological Bulletin, 27, 565-566.

Viteles, M. (1930). Die "Gestalt"-Betrachtungsweise in der angewandte Psychologie. /The Gestalt viewpoint in applied psychology. Zeitschrift fuer Angewandte Psychologie, 36, 525-531.

Cattell, J. M. (1930). Psychology in America. Scientific Monthly, 30, 115-126.

Ponzo, M. (1930). Phenomenes d'annulation perceptive avec des "stimulus" surliminaires. /The phenomena of the disappearance of perception with supraliminal stimuli. Kwartalnik Psychologiczny, 1, 7-14.

Pieron, H. (1929). Le IX Congres International de Psychologie et la psychologie appliquee. /The ninth international congress of psychology and applied psychology. Revue de la Scientifique du Travail, 1, 572-580.

Roxo, H. (1929). Impressoes do Congresso de Psychologia de New- Haven. /Impressions of the Congress of Psychology at New Haven. Culture & Psychology, , .

Poffenberger, A. T. (1929). Report of the ninth international congress of psychology. Journal of Philosophy, 26, 634-637.

Ponzo, M. (1929). Prime note sul recente Congresso Internazionale di Psicologia. /Preliminary note on the recent International Congress of Psychology. Archivio Italiano di Psicologia, 7, 267-273.

Starbuck, E. D. (1929). Religious psychology and research methods. Religious Education, 24, 874-876.

Boring, E. G. (1929). Ninth International Congress of Psychology. American Journal of Psychology, 41, 684-686.

Langfeld, H. S. (1929). The Ninth International Congress of Psychology. Science, 70, 364-368.

No authorship indicated (1929). The Ninth International Congress of Psychology at Yale University. Scientific Monthly, 29, 380-384.

-- Hendrika Vande Kemp (hendrika@earthlink.net), March 08, 2003.

[Posted for MMS by cdg.]

I'm surprised that you report that you "found it difficult to find a diversity of information" on James McKeen Cattell. Might I suggest that you look at the biography of him in the volumes of the AMERICAN NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY -- which I'm sure is available in at least one of the libraries to which you have access -- and then follow up on the items cited in the article's bibliography?

I know of no history of the International Congresses of Psychology. Cattell was chosen as President of the Congress by the American Psychological Association largely because he was then the most eminent and senior surviving member of the APA's founding generation. The Presidency was largely ceremonial. But Cattell did use his position at the Congress to attack -- in ways that just-about everyone thought inappropriate -- the positions of psychologists whom he did not like. Several of the items cited in the bibliography of Cattell's ANB biography provide many more details about this episode. If you want to get at these details you should probably start with the article entitled "James McKeen Cattell and American Psychology in the 1920s."

Good luck with your endeavors.

M. M. Sokal

-- Michael M. Sokal (msokal@WPI.EDU), March 08, 2003.