Beatrice Edgell's Challenges In The Field Of Psychology

Since its beginning, women have faced many challenges within the field of psychology. Psychology in its early years had been called inappropriate for women and the profession was highly dominated by men, where the sexist and misogynistic attitudes of society at the time were rampant and highly dominant within the profession. An example of such sexism can be seen with the banning of women from joining the powerful group of psychologists known as The Experimentalists, by the group’s leader Edward Titchener. Women had been banned since its inception in 1904 (Denmark, Paludi, 2008) and this policy “remained in effect until it was reorganized in 1929, after Titchener’s death.” (Denmark, Paludi, 2008) Another example of challenges faced by women …show more content…
Edgell studied at the University of Wurzburg, gaining her doctorate before returning to the U.K. She made further history in 1927 when she was appointed as a psychology professor at Bedford College in London. News of a woman being appointed as professor gained Edgell significant attention and resulted in coverage by newspapers as varied as the Evening Standard, Glasgow Herald and The Times. (Valentine, 2001) This mass amount of attention shows how rare it was at the time for a woman to be appointed to such a prestigious academic position. Edgell’s contribution to psychology is vast as her research covered many different areas varying from perception to memory. Her most famous contribution came with her account of memory which explained the difference between what she deemed personal and impersonal memories. In her article in the Encyclopaedia Britannica she defined personal memories as “used strictly, it denotes an individual’s recall of his own life story. His memory knowledge is what he can recall of events which happened to him in the past.” whereas impersonal memories are “knowledge that has been acquired in the past and may even be about past events but it is remembered as an item of knowledge without a setting in personal experience.” (Edgell, 1929) Edgell’s work has had a profound impact on memory is now analysed. As well as the research she conducted, …show more content…
Klein believed that through playing, thoughts from the unconscious mind would emerge. After these thoughts have emerged, the therapist treating the child will then have the ability to help that child to be able to identify issues that arise and overcome them with their guided help. Within this form of therapy, Klein promoted the use of small toys specifically, due to the fact she believed children would respond better to them as these toys are a “representation of real-world objects or people.” (Schaefer, 2011) The fact that this form of therapy is still used today is a testament to Klein’s work and reiterates the impact she had within psychology throughout her