Marginal historical spaces
Marginal historical spaces Textbooks in psychology
Ivan FlisDescartes Centre, UU
textbooktks(t)bk/
noun1.a book used as a standard work for the study of a
particular subject.
adjective1.conforming or corresponding to an established
standard or type."he had the presence of mind to carry out a
textbook emergency descent"
Historical or any kind of research ontextbooks in
psychology?
The two textbook ghettosThis image was originally posted
toFlickrby valentine1692005
athttp://flickr.com/photos/8251752@N02/494952654 under
CC-BY-2.0Made by historians of psychologyMade by
psychologistsHistorians of ScienceWhy should textbooks be of
interest for historians as long as they are specifically meant for
didactic purposes rather than for advancing knowledge? They tell
nothing about the painstaking efforts, about the enthusiasm and
fierce struggles involved in the construction of scientific
facts.Bensaude-Vincent, B. (2006). Textbooks on the Map of Science
Studies. Science & Education, 15(7-8), 667670. Researchers in
the Field[T]he information in introductory texts is considered
secondhand or contrived knowledge. Scientists from all disciplines
jest about the deceptions and inaccuracies, made for the sake of
clarity, simplicity, or profit, contained in introductory texts.
The perception of textbooks as bad, indeed, fictional literature is
bolstered by the sense, and sometimes reality, that these works are
produced primarily for profit. Morawski, J. (1992). There is more
to our history of giving: The place of introductory textbooks in
American psychology. American Psychologist, 47(2), 161169. My
aimCreating a historical object out of the psychological textbooks
used in Psychology 101What do historians of psych say?[cricket
sound]
What do psychologists say?There are only four texts which have
loadings of .35 or higher on factor B: Edwards (1972), Epstein
& Shontz (1971), Robinson (1972), and Thompson and Debold
(1971). The highest loading (.74) belongs to Thompson and Debold,
but the other texts are not too far behind. Examination of the
indices, tables of contents, and main bodies of these books reveals
above-average emphasis on quantitative and scientific approach to
psychology. Thomspon and Debolds text, the chief representative in
this class, deals at length with statistical and psychometric
aspects of the psychological literature. These books as a group
utilize tabular and graphic presentation instead of pictures.
Thompson and Debolds, as well as Edwards, devotes two or more
chapters to topics such as statistics, psychological tests,
individual differences, and scales of measurement. The other two
books, Epstein and Shontzs and Robinsons, do not assign so much
space to quantitative psychology, but they do use quantitative
terminology and graphic illustrations rather prominently. Factor B,
therefore, would represent quantification in psychology or
quantitative psychology.
Quereshi, M., & Zulli, M. (1975). A content analysis of
introductory psychology textbooks. Teaching of Psychology, 2(2),
6065. Quantified textbook analysis as a research program in
Teaching of Psychology.
Is this a history of textbooks?No.But APA says it is.What to do
instead?Triptych of historical/STS readingsIndoctrination devices
(Thomas Kuhn)
Certain vs. uncertain sciences (Mary Smyth)
Pedagogical boundary objects (Jill Morawski)
Textbook as a historical objectA historical source that acts as
a boundary object between students and professionals of an
uncertain science, used to methodologically and metaphysically
educate laymen into a discipline.Your ideas?How to make textbooks
into credible sources?
How to go beyond the text?
Thank you for your attention!How to make citation
networks:CitNetExplorer: http://www.citnetexplorer.nl/
More on psych textbooks as historical objects:My article is
still in the oven
[email protected]
