Constructing
the Subject: Historical
Origins of Psychological Research
Also available in Italian translation.
Summary
The book traces the history of
psychological research methodology from the nineteenth century to the emergence
of currently favored styles of research. Professor Danziger considers
methodology as a kind of social practice rather than being simply a matter of
technique. Therefore his historical analysis is primarily concerned with such
topics as the development of the social structure of the research relationship
between experimenters and their subjects, as well as the role of methodology in
the relationship of investigators to each other and to a wider social context.
Another major theme addresses the relationship between the social practice of
research and the nature of the product that is the outcome of this practice.
Reviews
"Danziger is to be commended for his
incisive and compelling archeology of investigative practices. Without a doubt,
this is the most important book on the history of psychology to come along in
years." Henderikus J. Stam, Contemporary
Psychology
"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... essential reading for historians of psychology, and
highly recommended reading for other historians and sociologists of science."
Deborah J. Coon, Isis
"...the most striking achievement in historical research within psychology since
the publication of Edwin G. Boring's History of Experimental Psychology ... Danziger
presents psychologists with a tightly argued thesis supported by an impressive
depth and breadth of scholarship. I hope that his book will initiate a profound
and prolonged debate about the nature of psychology." John A. Mills,
American Scientist
"...a tour de force in the new history of psychology. It transcends the old
debate over internal versus external factors in the development of scientific
knowledge by revealing the social processes that lead to particular kinds of
knowledge claims." James H. Capshew, Theory & Psychology
"It is essential reading for all with an active interest in
the history of our discipline and is highly recommended as well for
garden-variety research practitioners who dare to consider practicing their art
without taking its ways for granted." Charles W. Tolman, Canadian Psychology
Details
Publisher: Cambridge
University Press
Hardcover
Edition: June 29, 1990 (ISBN-10:
0521363586; ISBN-13:
978-0521363587)
Paperback
Edition: January 28, 1994 (ISBN-10:
0521467853; ISBN-13:
978-0521467858)