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To “Correlate Psychology and Social Ethics”: Gordon Allport and the First Course in American Personality Psychology
Author(s) -
Nicholson Ian A. M.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1997.tb00333.x
Subject(s) - psychology , personality , objectivity (philosophy) , social psychology , cross cultural psychology , differential psychology , critical psychology , theoretical psychology , psychoanalysis , school psychology , epistemology , applied psychology , cognitive psychology , philosophy
This article explores the historical origins of what is widely regarded as the “first course in American personality psychology”: Gordon Allport's 1925 course entitled “Personality: Its Psychological and Social Aspects.” It argues that the professional focus and disciplinary context of Allport's course were much more complicated than is generally believed. Far from being a completely novel and distinctively psychological venture, Allport's course drew upon the moral concerns and the pedagogical and discursive practices of Harvard's Department of Social Ethics. Allport's course on “Personality” represented a subtle attempt to bring Victorian concerns with character development together with the newly emerging ideal of objectivity.