Joseph Peterson (psychologist)

Joseph Peterson

Peterson, circa 1911
Born (1878-09-08)September 8, 1878
Huntsville, Utah, U.S.
Died September 20, 1935(1935-09-20) (aged 57)
Berkeley, California, U.S.
Fields Psychology
Known for Past president, American Psychological Association

Joseph Peterson (September 8, 1878 – September 20, 1935) was an American psychologist and a past president of the American Psychological Association (APA).

Early life

Joseph Peterson was born on September 8, 1878 in Huntsville, Utah.[1][2] His parents, Hans Jordon Peterson and Inger Mary Christensen, were Mormon Danish immigrants to the United States.[1][2][3]

Peterson attended Brigham Young University, the University of Utah and the University of California, before earning a B.S. in 1905 and Ph.D. in 1907 from the University of Chicago.[1][2]

Academic career

Peterson was the principal of a school in Kanab, Utah from 1899 to 1901, followed by Cassia Academy in Oakley, Idaho from 1901 to 1904.[1][2] He was a Fellow at the University of Chicago from 1905 to 1907.[2] He taught psychology at Brigham Young University from 1907 to 1911, where he was a central figure in the 1911 modernism controversy.[4] He was Professor of Psychology at the University of Utah from 1911 to 1915.[1][2]

Peterson taught psychology at University of Minnesota from 1915 to 1918, where he became Chair of the Psychology Department.[1][2] From 1918 to 1935, he was Professor of Psychology at Peabody College (now part of Vanderbilt University) in Nashville, Tennessee.[1][2]

During his time at Peabody, Peterson conducted research into race and intelligence.[5] With his former student, Lyle H. Lanier, who by then taught at Vanderbilt University, he co-authored Studies in the comparative abilities of whites and Negroes in 1929.[6] They concluded that "the whites were superior" due to "hereditary differences."[6] Moreover, they added that whites finished their tests more quickly;[7] they concluded this was due to "cultural factors."[6] A review published in the American Journal of Sociology in 1930 suggested, "the results show enormous and statistically reliable superiority of whites over Negroes."[6] (sic) However, in a review for the American Journal of Psychology, Otto Klineberg argued that based on their evidence, he came to a "totally different" interpretation.[8] He stressed the role of environment in mental abilities, as New York City blacks tested higher than Southern blacks.[8] Nevertheless, he added that the study offered "a number of other interesting results which would merit serious discussion."[8]

Peterson was a member of Sigma Xi, the National Research Council and the Society of Experimental Psychologists, as well as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[1][2] He served as the President of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology in 1922.[9] A decade later, he served as the President of the American Psychological Association in 1934, becoming first APA president who worked at a Southern university.[2] He was also the editor of Psychological Monographs.[2]

Death

Peterson died of pneumonia on September 20, 1935 in Berkeley, California.[1][2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Richard, Wayne C. (1968). "Joseph Peterson: Scientist and teacher". Peabody Journal of Education 46 (1): 3–8. doi:10.1080/01619566809537575. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Robinson, Edward; Robinson, Florence (January 1936). "Joseph Peterson: 1878-1935". American Journal of Psychology 48 (1): 175. doi:10.2307/1415571. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  3. ↑ Conkin, Paul K. (2002). Peabody College: From a Frontier Academy to the Frontiers of Teaching and Learning. Vanderbilt University Press. p. 214. ISBN 978-0-8265-1425-7.
  4. ↑ Bergera, Gary James (1993). "The 1911 Evolution Controversy at Brigham Young University". In Sessions, Gene A.; Oberg, Craig J. The Search for Harmony: Essays on Science and Mormonism. Salt Lake City: Signature Books. pp. 23–41. ISBN 1-56085-020-5. OCLC 25873671.
  5. ↑ Michael Yudell (9 September 2014). Race Unmasked: Biology and Race in the Twentieth Century. Columbia University Press. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-231-53799-5.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Reviewed Work: Studies in the Comparative Abilities of Whites and Negroes. by Joseph Peterson, Lyle H. Lanier". American Journal of Sociology 35 (4): 681–682. January 1930. doi:10.1086/215171. Retrieved 16 August 2015 – via JSTOR. (registration required (help)).
  7. ↑ "Fewer Trials for Negro Children but Whites Excel in Speed". The Science News-Letter 18 (500): 295. November 8, 1930. Retrieved 16 August 2015 – via JSTOR. (registration required (help)).
  8. 1 2 3 Klineberg, Otto (July 1931). "Reviewed Work: Studies in the Comparative Abilities of Whites and Negroes by Joseph Peterson, Lyle H. Lanier". Journal of American Psychology 43 (3): 535–537. doi:10.2307/1414638. Retrieved 16 August 2015 – via JSTOR. (registration required (help)).
  9. ↑ "Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology: PAST OFFICERS". Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
Educational offices
Preceded by
Louis Leon Thurstone		 43rd President of the American Psychological Association
1934-35 		Succeeded by
Albert Poffenberger
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, January 26, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.