Description
Book SynopsisConstructing the Subject traces the history of psychological research methodology from the nineteenth century to the second quarter of the twentieth century. Danziger examines the social context on research practice in the field of personality research. It has important consequences for a critical understanding of psychological methodology in general.
Trade Review'A transformation is currently under way in the historiography of the science of psychology, and Kurt Danziger's book is one of the best of the new breed arising from that transformation … Constructing the Subject is essential reading for historians of psychology, and highly recommended reading for other historians and sociologists of science.' Isis
'Kurt Danziger's Constructing the Subject is the most striking achievement in historical research within psychology since the publication of Edwin G. Boring's History of Experimental Psychology in 1929.' American Scientist
'Danziger is to be commended for his incisive and compelling archaeology of investigative practices. Without a doubt, this is the most important history of psychology to come along in years.' Contemporary Psychology
Table of ContentsPreface; 1. Introduction; 2. Historical roots of the psychological laboratory; 3. Divergence of investigative practice: the repudiation of Wundt; 4. The social structure of psychological experimentation; 5. The triumph of the aggregate; 6. Identifying the subject in psychological research; 7. Marketable methods; 8. Investigative practice as a professional project; 9. From quantification to methodolatry; 10. Investigating persons; 11. The social construction of psychological knowledge; Appendix; Notes; Index.
