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    Cuadernos A rgentinos de

    Historia de la Psicologa

    Vol. 1 - N 1/2

    1995

    Facultad de Ciencias Humanas

    Universidad Nacional de San Luis

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    Cuadernos Argentinos de Historia de la Psicologa es una publicacin subsidiada por la Facultad de Ciencias Humanas de la Universidad Nacional de San Luis,

    Argentina, que aparecer en un volumen anual, en una sola edicin, en el segundo

    semestre de cada ao.

    Cuadernos Argentinos de Historia de la Psicologa, adhiere a las conclusiones delTaller Internacional sobre Publicaciones Cientficas en Amrica Latina desarrollado

    en Guadalajara, Mxico, en noviembre de 1994, sosteniendo la necesidad de que las

    publicaciones cientficas de la regin sean verdaderamente internacionales, ya que

    tales publicaciones constituyen "testimonio importante de la produccin cientfica" y

    "constituyen canales privilegiados de la cooperacin cientfica entre los pases".

    En tal sentido, Cuadernos Argentinos de Historia de la Psicologa publicaartculos en castellano o ingls, tanto predominantemente tericos como

    predominantemente empricos, relacionados con la historia de la psicologa y temas

    afines, que demuestren un trabajo de investigacin original.

    Las colaboraciones deben dirigirse al Editor por triplicado, y las mismas sernsometidas a la consideracin de dos rbitros annimos. A tal fin, en los mauscritos no

    deber figurar el nombre del autor o autores, los cuales debern ser incluidos en hoja

    aparte junto con el ttulo del trabajo. Asimismo, el/los autor/es debern realizar todos

    los esfuerzos para que los trabajos no incluyan elementos que permitan su

    identificacin.

    Cuadernos Argentinos de Historia de la Psicologa is published by the Faculty ofHuman Sciences of the National University of San Luis, Argentina. The Journal will

    be published once a year in the second semester.

    Cuadernos Argentinos de Historia de la Psicologa endorse the conclusions ofthe International Workshop on Scientific Publications in Latin America, held in

    Guadalajara, Mexico, in November 1994, and maintains that scientific publications inLatin American must reach international features, because such international

    publications are "an important evidence of the scientific production" as well as a

    "privileged way for the scientific cooperation between the countries".

    Hence, Cuadernos Argentinos de Historia de la Psicologa will publish empiricaland theoretical articles, both in Spanish or English, concerning History of Psychology

    and related fields, and based on an original research.

    Manuscripts should be submitted to the Editor in triplicate for the masked review.

    Each copy should include a separate title page with authors names and affiliations,

    and these should not appear anywhere else on the manuscript. Authors should make

    every effort to see that the manuscript itself contains no clues to their identities.

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    3

    Universidad Nacional de San Luis

    Facultad de Ciencias Humanas

    D e c ano: G e r m n A r i a s

    V i c e - D e c ano: H u g o K l a p p e n b a c h

    Se c r e t ar i a A c ad m i c a : N e l l y M a i n e r o d e G r e c o

    Se c r e t ar i o de C i e nc i a y T c n i c a : A n g e l R o d r i g u e z K a u t h

    Se c r e t ar i o G e ne r a l : J o s L u i s M a r t n e z

    Se c r e t ar i a A dm i n i s t r a t i va : M a r t a S a n s d e U h r l a n d t

    ( E l p r o y e c t o d e c r e a c i n d e l o s C u a d e r n o s A r g e n t i n o s d eH i s t o r i a d e l a P s i c o l o g a f u e a p r o ba d o e n 1 9 9 4 , s i e n d o D e ca n a :

    M a r t a T i v i r o l l i ; V i c e - D e c a n a : A n a M a r a C o r t i ; S e c r e t a r i aA c a d m i c a : L e t i c i a M a r n ; P r o - S e c r e t a r i a A c a d m i c a : S u s a n aBenosa ; S e c r e t a r i a G e n e r a l : M a r a E l e n a Y u l i ; S e c r e t a r i a d e

    C i e n c i a y T c n i c a : V i o l e t a G u y o t ) .

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    I .S .S .N. 0328-364 X

    D iagramac in y Compag inac in

    Mar a Ang l ica Camargo

    Diseo de Tapa

    G e r m n R o q ue A r i a s

    Responsab le de Impres in

    Hc tor Moyano

    Hecho e l deps i to que marca la Ley 11723

    Impreso en la Argen t ina - Pr in ted in Argen t ine

    (c ) Jun io de 1995 - Edi tor ia l Univers i tar ia San

    Luis

    Av . Ejrc i to de lo s Andes 950 - San Luis -

    Repblica Argentina

    Editado por:

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    Cuader nos A r gent i nos deH i stor i a de l a P si col oga

    Vol . 1 - N 1 /2 - 1995

    Editor - Director:

    Hugo KLAPPENBACHUniver s idad Nac iona l de San Luis , Argent ina

    Secretar io:

    Ramn SANZ FERRAMOLAUniver s idad Nac iona l de San Luis , Argent ina

    Consejo Asesor - Advisory Board

    A L A R C O N , R e y n a l d o , Unive rs idad Nac iona l Mayor de SanM a r c o s , L i m a , P e r

    ARDILA, Rubn , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l d e C o l o m b i a , B o g o t .

    A S C O L A N I , A l b e r t o , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l d e R o s a r i o ,A r g e n t i n a .

    A S H , M i t c h e l l , U n i v e r s i t y o f I o w a , U S A .

    A S S O U N , P a u l - L a u r e n t , U n i v e r s i t P a r i s V I I , F r a n c e .

    B E C E R R A B A T N , M a r c e l a , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l d e S a n L u i s .

    BORRUAT, Mar ta , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l d e S a n L u i s .

    B R I N G M A N N , W o l f a n g , U n i v e r s i t y o f S o u t h A l a b a m a , U S A .

    BONANO, Lu i s , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l d e T u c u m n , A r g e n t i n a .

    BROZEK, Joseph , L e h i g U n i v e r s i t y , U S A .

    C A P A R R S , A n t o n i o , U n i v e r s i d a d d e B a r c e l o n a , E s p a a .

    C A R P I N T E R O , H e l i o , U n i v e r s i d a d C o m p l u t e n s e , M a d r i d , E s p a a .

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    DAGFAL, Carmen , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l d e S a n L u i s .

    DANZIGER, Kur t , Y o r k U n i v e r s i t y , T o r o n t o , C a n a d a .

    G A L L E S , C a r l o s , U n i v e r s i d a d d e B u e n o s A i r e s , A r g e n t i n a .

    G E N T I L E , A n t o n i o , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l d e R o s a r i o , A r g e n t i n a .

    G E U T E R , U l f r i e d , B e r l i n , D e u t s c h l a n d .

    G O M E S P E N N A , A n t o n i o , U n i v e r s i d a d e d a R i o d e J a n e i r o ,B r a z i l .

    G O T T H E L F , R e n , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l d e C u y o , A r g e n t i n a .

    G U Y O T , V i o l e t a , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l d e S a n L u i s , A r g e n t i n a .

    K O H N L O N C A R I C A , A l f r e d o , U n i v e r s i d a d d e B u e n o s A i r e s ,A r g e n t i n a .

    LEON, Ramn, U n i v e r s i d a d C a y e t a n o H e r e d i a , L i m a , P e r .

    LCK, Helmut , F e r n U n i v e r s i t t , H a g e n , D e u t s c h l a n d .

    M A N S U R , G e r a r d o , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l d e C r d o b a ,A r g e n t i n a .

    M A R I N C E V I C , J u a n , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l d e S a n L u i s ,A r g e n t i n a .

    M A S S I M I , M a r i n a , U n i v e r s i d a d e d e S o P a u l o , B r a z i l .

    M O R A L E S D E B A R B E N Z A , C l a r i b e l , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l d eS a n L u i s , A r g e n t i n a .

    M O C H I U T T I , J u a n , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l d e C r d o b a ,A r g e n t i n a .

    PAVESI , Pab lo , U n i v e r s i d a d d e B u e n o s A i r e s , A r g e n t i n a .

    P E I R , J o s M a r a , U n i v e r s i d a d d e V a l e n c i a , E s p a a .

    PONCE DAZ, Car los , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l M a y o r d e S a nM a r c o s , L i m a , P e r .

    R E U C H L I N , M a u r i c e , U n i v e r s i t R e n D e s c a r t e s - P a r i s V - ,P a r i s , F r a n c e .

    R O B I N S O N , D a n i e l , G e o r g e t o w n U n i v e r s i t y , Wa s h i n g t o n , U S A .

    R O D R G U E Z , V c t o r , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l d e C r d o b a ,A r g e n t i n a .

    R O D R I G U E Z K A U T H , A n g e l , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l d e S a n L u i s ,A r g e n t i n a .

    ROSS, Barbara , U n i v e r s i t y o f M a s s a c h u s e t t s , U S A . ROSSI , Luc a , U n i v e r s i d a d d e B u e n o s A i r e s , A r g e n t i n a .

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    R O U D I N E S C O , E l i s a b e t h , P a r i s , F r a n c e .

    RUIZ , R icardo , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l d e L a P l a t a , A r g e n t i n a .

    S M I T H , R o g e r , L a n c a s t e r U n i v e r s i t y , U n i t e d K i n g d o m .

    S O K A L , M i c h a e l , Wo r c e s t e r P o l y t e c h n i c I n s t i t u t e , U S A .

    S P R U N G , L o t h a r , H u m b o l d t U n i v e r s i t t , B e r l i n , D e u t s c h l a n d.

    V A N R A P P A R D , H a n s , V r i j e U n i v e r s i t e i t A m s t e r d a m , T h eNe the r lands .

    V A N S T R I E N , P i e t e r , U n i v e r s i t y o f G r o n i n g e n , T h e N e t h e r l a n d s .

    V E Z Z E T T I , H u g o , U n i v e r s i d a d d e B u e n o s A i r e s , A r g e n t i n a .

    V I D A L , F e r n a n d o , U n i v e r s i t d e G e n e v a , S w i t z e r l a n d

    V I L A N O V A , A l b e r t o , U n i v e r s i d a d N a c i o n a l d e M a r d e l P l a t a ,A r g e n t i n a .

    W O O D W A R D , W i l l i a m , U n i v e r s i t y o f N e w H a m p s h i r e , U S A .

    W O Z N I A K , R o b e r t , B r y n M a w r C o l l e g e , U S A .

    P ar a s us c r i pc i n anua l ( u$s 30 ) , d i r i g i r s e a :

    C ua d e r no s A r g e n t i no s d e H i s t o r i a d e l a P s i c o l o g a

    F ac u l t ad de C i e nc i a s H um anas

    U ni ve r s i dad N ac i ona l de San L u i s

    A vda . E j r c i t o de l o s A nde s 950

    5700 - San L u i s , A r ge nt i na

    F ax: 54 - 652 - 30224

    E - M ai l : hk l appe n@ uns l . e du . ar

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    SUMARIO - TABLE OF CONTENTS

    ARTICULOS - PAPERS

    La t rayector ia in ic ia l de Enr ique P ichon-Riv ire :

    ps iqu iatr a , ps icoanl i s i s y poes a .

    [Enr ique P ichon Riv i r e ' s f i r s t in te l lec tua l

    deve lopment : Psychia t ry , Psychoana lys i s and

    Poe t ry . ]

    Hugo Vezzet t i , Univer s idad de Buenos

    Aires -Conice t , Argent ina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 13

    Woman in the His tory of German-speaking

    Psychology: the mode l o f Kurt Lewin 's research

    group in Ber l in .

    [La muje r en la h i s to r ia de la ps ico log a en lengua

    a lemana : e l mode lo de l g rupo de inves t igac in de

    Kur t Lewin en Ber l n ]

    Helga Sp rung, Fre i Univer s i t t , Ber l in ;

    Lothar Sprung, Humbold t Univer s i t t , Ber l in ;

    Wil l iam Woodward , Univer s i ty of New Hampshi r e ,

    USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 61

    El d i lema de la ps ico log a la t inoamer icana .

    [The La t in-Amer ican Psychology d i lemma. ]

    Alber to Vilanova, Univer s idad Nac iona l de Mar de lP la ta , Argent ina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 81

    Knowledge and pract ice o f Psychology in

    Civ i l i zat ion Projec t s d irec ted at Braz i l ian

    Ind ians in the 17th , 18th and 19th centur ies .

    [Conoc imiento y prc t ica de ps ico log a en los

    proyec tos c iv i l i za tor ios d i r ig idos a los ind ios de l

    Bras i l en los s ig los XVI I , XVI I I y XIX. ]

    Marina Massimi, Univer s idade de S o Paulo ,Bras i l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 101

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    No tas para una breve h is tor ia cr t i ca de la

    ps ico log a soc ia l .

    [Notes towards a b r ie f c r i t i ca l H is tory of Soc ia l

    Psychology . ]

    Angel Rodrguez Kauth, Univer s idad Nac iona l de

    San Luis , Argent ina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 133

    Enzo Bonaventura and Appl ied Psychology .

    [Enzo Bonaventura y la ps ico log a ap l icada . ]

    S imonetta Gori Savel l in i ;

    Cater ina Pr imi , Univer s i t Degl i S tud i d i F i r enz i ,I t a l i a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 151

    Ps ico log a y campo mdico . Argent ina: aos 30 .

    [Psychology and medica l f i e ld . The Republ icArgent ine in the th i r t i e s ]

    Hugo Klappenbach, Univer s idad Nac iona l de San

    Luis , Argent ina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 159

    La Ps ico log a de lo moral en torno a Emi l io Mira

    y Lpez en la Espaa de los aos 3 0 .

    [Mora l Psychology a round the f igure of Emi l io

    Mira y Lpez in Spa in dur ing th e th i r t i e s . ]

    Esteban Prez Delgado;

    Mara Vicenta Mestre, Univer s idad de Va lenc ia ,

    Espaa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 227

    The product ion of Psycholog ica l Knowledge by

    expert s .

    [La producc in de l conoc imiento ps ic log ico por

    par te de especi l is tas]

    Kurt Danzi ger , York Univer s i ty , Canada . . . . p . 259

    TESTIMONIOS - TESTIMONIES

    Test imonio autob iogrf ico .

    [Autobiographica l t e s t imony]

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    Horacio Rimoldi , CIIPME, CONICET,Argent ina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 275

    DOCUMENTOS ORIGINALES

    ORIGINAL SOURCES

    Presentac in de la di ser tac in de V irey acerca

    de l sa lvaje de l Aveyron .

    [ In troduct ion to the Virey s di s ser tat ion on the

    Aveyron s wi ld ch i ld . ]

    Pablo Paves i , Univer s idad de Buenos A i r es ,

    Argent ina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .p . 301

    Diser tac in sobre un joven n io encontrado en

    los bosques de l Departamento de l Aveyron . [ ]

    [D isse r ta t ion on the young boy found in the

    Aveyron Depar tment s woods . ]

    J . J . V irey , F r anc ia , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 314

    Disser tat ion sur une j eune enfant t rouv dans le s

    for t s de le Department de l 'Aveyron . . . . . p . 315

    LIBROS - BOOKS

    Resea de Helmut Lck y Rudol f Mi l ler , Rudol f

    (Eds ) , I l lus t r ie r te Gesch ich te der Psychologie

    [His tor ia i lus t rada de la ps ico log a] y de John

    Popples tone y Marion White Mc Pherson , An

    i l lus t ra ted His tory of Amer ican Psychology . Josef Brozek, Lehig Univer s i ty (USA) . . . . . . . p . 403

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    Resea de Reynaldo Alarcn , El pensamien to

    ps ico lg ico de Wal ter Blumenfe ld .

    Hugo Klappenbach, Univer s idad Nac iona lde San Luis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 406

    Resea de El izabeth Roudinesco , Lacan . Esbozo

    de una v ida , h i s tor ia de un s i s tema de

    pensamiento.

    Andrea Ferrero, Univer s idad Nac iona lde San Luis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 409

    Resea de Rubn Ard i la (Ed) , Ps icologa en

    Colombia . Contex to soc ia l e h i s tr ico .

    Hugo Klappenbach, Univer s idad Nac iona lde San Luis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 412

    Resea de Hel io Carp in tero , His tor ia de la Psicologa en Espaa.

    Ramn Sanz Ferramola, Univer s idad Nac iona lde San Luis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 415

    Resea de Alberto V i lanova , Contr ibuc iones a la

    ps ico log a c l n ica . Algunos apor tes t er icos de

    ps ic logos notables .

    Hugo Klappenbach, Univer s idad Nac iona l

    de San Luis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 421

    Resea de Anton io Gomes Penna, Freud, as

    c inc ias humanas e a f i losof ia .

    Andrea Ferrero, Univer s idad Nac iona lde San Luis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 423

    Reuniones Cient f icas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p . 429

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    Cuadernos Argen t inos de

    His tor ia de la Ps ico log a

    1995 , 1 (1 /2) , pp . 259- 273

    THE PRODUCTION OF

    PSYCHOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE

    BY EXPERTS

    Kurt Danzi ger

    York Univers i ty , Toronto , Canad

    Abstract

    T h i s p a p e r a p p l i e s t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f m o d e r n p s y c h o l o g y s o m e p e r s p e c t i v e s t h a t h a v e b e e n o p e n e d u p b y r e c e n t w o r k

    i n t h e s o c i o l o g y , h i s t o r y , a n d p h i l o s o p h y o f s c i e n c e . S u c h p e r s p e c t i v e s l e d t o a r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e f u n d a m e n t a l r o l e p l a y e d b y t w o f a c t o r s i n t h e p s y c h o l o g i c a l k n o w l e d g ep r o d u c t i o n d u r i n g t h e e a r l y d a y s o f m o d e r n p s y c h o l o g y : t h en e e d t o p r o d u c e t h e k i n d o f k n o w l e d g e t h a t a p p e a r s t o b e

    p r a c t i c a l l y u s e f u l t o c e r t a i n p o t e n t i a l c o n s u m e r s o f t h ek n o w l e d g e o u t s i d e t h e d i s c i p l i n e , a n d t h e n e e d t o i m i t a t et h e p r a c t i c e s o f t h e m o r e p r e s t i g i o u s s c i e n c e s .

    T h e n t h e a r t i c l e s a n a l y z e d t h e e d u c a t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t i v e s u p p o r t o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l k n o w l e d g e a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h ec e n t u r y , a n d s u p p o s e t h a t i n t h e f u t u r e p s y c h o l o g y w i l l c h a n g e o n l y i n s o f a r a s i t s s o c i a l a l l i a n c e s c h a n g e . H e n c e ,

    e a c h v a r i e t y o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l k n o w l e d g e w i l l h a v e i t s o w na p p r o p r i a t e f i e l d o f a p p l i c a t i o n a n d i t s o w n l i m i t a t i o n s .

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    Resumen

    E l p r e s e n t e a r t c u l o p a r t e d e l a c o n s i d e r a c i n d e a l g u n a s p e r s p e c t i v a s a b i e r t a s e n l o s c a m p o s d e l a s o c i o l o g a ,h i s t o r i a y f i l o s o f a d e l a c i e n c i a , l a s c u a l e s p e r m i t e nr e c o n o c e r e l p a p e l j u g a d o p o r d o s f a c t o r e s e n l a

    p r o d u c c i n d e l c o n o c i m i e n t o p s i c o l g i c o : l a n e c e s i d a d d e p r o d u c i r u n t i p o d e c o n o c i m i e n t o t i l a d m i n i s t r a t i v a m e n t e ,e s d e c i r d e u t i l i d a d p a r a p o t e n c i a l e s c o n s u m i d o r e s e x t e r n o sa l a d i s c i p l i n a , y l a n e c e s i d a d d e i m i t a r l o s m o d e l o s d e l a sc i e n c i a s d e m a y o r p r e s t i g i o .

    E l a r t c u l o a n a l i z a t a m b i n e l s o p o r t e e n e l c a m p o d e l aa d m i n i s t r a c i n e d u c a t i v a d e l c o n o c i m i e n t o p s i c l o g i c o .

    A p l i c a d o e n p e r s p e c t i v a , s e s o s t i e n e q u e l a p s i c o l o g a s l o

    c a m b i a r e n e l f u t u r o , e n l a m e d i d a e n q u e s e m o d i f i c a n s u sa l i a n z a s s o c i a l e s , y a q u e c a d a v a r i e d a d d e l c o n o c i m i e n t o p s i c o l g i c o a d q u i e r e s u p r o p i a p e r t i n e n c i a y a p l i c a c i n ,c o m o a s t a m b i n s u s p r o p i a s l i m i t a c i o n e s .

    Producers of sc ien t i f ic knowledge never work as

    independent ind iv iduals bu t a re enmeshed in a ne twork

    of soc ia l re la t ionsh ips . What they in i t ia l ly produce is

    no t so much knowledge as knowledge c la ims . Such

    cla ims are on ly t rans formed in to knowledge by an

    acceptance process tha t involves a number of ind iv iduals , rev iewers , readers , tex t -book wr i te rs e tc . ,

    tha t share cer ta in norms and in teres ts . Natura l ly , the

    ant ic ipa t ion of th is acceptance process af fec ts the

    product ion of knowledge f rom the beginning .

    This soc ia l sys tem for the product ion of a cer ta in

    k ind of knowledge is a lways in process of change .

    There are fash ions in research as in so many o ther

    a reas . What was acceptab le yes terday is no longer

    acceptab le to -day and v ice versa . Beneath the r ipp les of

    fash ion , however , there are deeper cur ren ts tha t ex tend

    over much longer per iods and have much more las t ingef fec ts on a f ie ld . The contemporary researcher ,

    p rac t i t ioner , o r consumer of psychologica l knowledge is

    aware of the sys tem only as i t a f fec ts h is o r her cur ren t

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    work . Typica l ly , the demands of the sys tem of

    knowledge product ion and d is t r ibu t ion are s imply taken

    for gran ted , o r perhaps are seen as requir ing reform in

    cer ta in speci f ic respects . I f , however , we want to

    unders tand why psychologica l knowledge product ion

    has taken on the shape tha t i t has , we wi l l no t be ab le to

    d ispense wi th a h is tor ica l perspect ive . I t i s on ly when

    we inquire in to how our sys tem of psychologica l

    knowledge product ion or ig ina ted tha t we wi l l be ab le to

    unders tand where the forms come f rom tha t a re taken

    for gran ted to -day .

    Let me therefore go back br ief ly to the ear ly days

    of modern psychology. Any new group of knowledge

    producers , l ike sc ien t i f ic psychologis ts a t the beginning

    of th is cen tury , mus t come to te rms wi th a wor ld tha ta l ready conta ins knowledge producers tha t make re la ted

    cla ims , l ike medica l p rofess ionals , educat ion is ts ,

    exper imenta l phys io log is ts , and so on . These

    es tab l ished groups wie ld a cer ta in amount of soc ia l

    power , and tha t power i s based on the i r

    ins t i tu t ional ized monopoly over cer ta in types of

    knowledge product . How can a new group of knowledge

    producers th r ive under these condi t ions?

    I t can th r ive on ly i f i t manages to form ef fec t ive

    a l l iances . This i t can do by en l is t ing the in teres t o f

    es tab l ished groups in i t s knowledge products andavoid ing the i r censure , a p rocess tha t has many face ts .

    Fi r s t o f a l l , the new knowledge products had

    be t te r re f lec t wel l es tab l ished preconcept ions about the

    forms of va luable knowledge . I f quant i ta t ive knowledge

    is par t icu lar ly va lued , then i t he lps to es tab l ish new

    cla ims i f one can g ive them a quant i ta t ive form. But

    es tab l ished preconcept ions about the form of knowledge

    products au tomat ica l ly ex tend to the methods used to

    genera te them, for the form of the product depends

    direc t ly on the na ture of the method of p roduct ion . Soone mus t be seen to be engaging in prac t ices tha t

    p roduce the r igh t type of knowledge , even though such

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    r i tua ls may have more in common wi th magic than wi th

    sc ience . More speci f ica l ly , the bor rowing of techniques

    f rom bet te r es tab l ished f ie lds provides a bas is for

    l imi ted a l l iances which l ink the new f ie ld and i t s

    p roducts to the ex is t ing ne twork of recognized

    sc ien t i f ic knowledge .

    But th is k ind of a l l iance would provide on ly a

    l imi ted bas is for the development of a new d isc ip l ine i f

    i t s knowledge products were no t seen as hav ing a

    s ign if ican t soc ia l va lue of the i r own. They mus t become

    marketab le , and tha t means tha t there mus t be

    categor ies of persons to whose in teres ts the new

    product i s ab le to appeal . The more powerfu l and be t te r

    o rganized these consumers of knowledge products a re ,

    the more success fu l the producers wi l l be inconsol ida t ing the i r own pos i t ion . Amer ican

    psychologis ts scored some rea l successes in th is

    d i rec t ion by provid ing knowledge products tha t

    mobi l ized the in teres ts o f educat ional and mil i ta ry

    adminis t ra tors as wel l as the adminis t ra tors o f p r iva te

    foundat ions . Even i f the a l l iances so formed were of ten

    temporary , and based more on promissory no tes than on

    rea l goods , they served an impor tan t funct ion in

    es tab l ish ing the credent ia ls o f the new d isc ip l ine a t a

    cr i t ica l s tage in i t s development .

    The success fu l es tab l ishment of a new d isc ip l ine

    is very much a poli t ical process in which a l l iances haveto be formed, compet i to rs have to be defea ted , p rograms

    have to be formula ted , recru i ts have to be won, power

    bases have to be cap tured , o rganiza t ions have to be

    formed, and so on . These po l i t ica l ex igencies

    necessar i ly leave the i r mark on the d isc ip l ine i t se l f

    because they la rge ly de termine what types of knowledge

    product can be success fu l ly marketed a t a par t icu lar

    t ime and p lace .

    Almos t f rom the beginning of the twent ie th

    century psychology ceased to be a pure ly academic

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    disc ip l ine and began to market i t s p roducts in the

    outs ide wor ld . That meant tha t the requirements of i t s

    po ten t ia l market were ab le to in f luence the d i rec t ion in

    which psychology 's p rac t ices were l ike ly to develop .

    Prac t ices which were usefu l in the cons t ruc t ion of

    speci f ic marketab le products were l ike ly to rece ive a

    boos t , whi le prac t ices which lacked th is capaci ty were

    hencefor th p laced under a handicap .

    Many Amer ican psychologis ts wanted to see the i r

    d isc ip l ine t rans formed in to a soc ia l ly usefu l sc ience .

    But as soon as they t r ied to conver t th is idea l in to

    prac t ice they had to accommodate themselves to the

    speci f ic oppor tun i t ies o f fered by a par t icu lar h is tor ica l

    contex t . In pr inc ip le the poss ib i l i t ies o f apply ing

    psychologica l knowledge might be un l imi ted , bu t theactua l poss ib i l i t ies avai lab le here and now are a lways

    sharp ly c i rcumscr ibed . They depend on ex is t ing

    ins t i tu t ional forms and on the requirements of those

    who can command the socia l resources for pu t t ing

    psychologica l knowledge to work .

    For example , the f i r s t impor tan t market tha t

    opened up for the products o f psychologica l research

    was in the f ie ld of educat ion . However , the people who

    were the major consumers of these products were no t

    paren ts , and not even c lass room teachers bu t

    educat ional adminis t ra tors .

    To these c l ien ts research meant someth ing tha t

    was ra ther d i f feren t f rom academic psychologis ts '

    t rad i t ional labora tory prac t ice . Research , to the

    adminis t ra tors , was an ac t iv i ty whose resu l ts had to be

    re levant to manager ia l concerns . I t had to provide da ta

    tha t were usefu l in making immedia te dec is ions in

    res t r ic ted bureaucra t ic contex ts . This meant research

    which produced essen t ia l ly s ta t i s t ica l in format ion on

    re la t ive ly la rge numbers of ind iv iduals . What was

    def in i te ly excluded was research which went beyond the

    given human and socia l parameters wi th in which theadminis t ra tors had to make the i r dec is ions . I t was , in

    o ther words , technologica l research tha t would he lp in

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    p resen ted by the la rge sca le requirements of mi l i ta ry

    bureaucracy in bo th Wor ld Wars . Without the methods

    of menta l measurement a l ready t r ied ou t wi th in an

    educat ional contex t Amer ican psychologis ts would have

    had noth ing immedia te ly usefu l to of fer the mi l i ta ry

    author i t ies . Vir tua l ly the en t i re f ie ld of appl ied

    psychology now came to be def ined in te rms of

    psychologica l knowledge tha t would be usefu l in

    adminis t ra t ive contex ts . Moreover , the convic t ion tha t

    psychologica l research had to produce the k ind of

    knowledge tha t would be po ten t ia l ly appl icab le in

    cer ta in prac t ica l contex ts charac ter ized an impor tan t

    and growing sec t ion of academic psychologis ts . What

    th is concern wi th usefu l knowledge genera l ly came

    down to in prac t ice was the des i re for knowledge tha t

    was marketab le in bureaucra t ic adminis t ra t ive contex ts .

    In the broades t te rms , the k ind of knowledge tha t

    was mos t obvious ly usefu l in such contex ts was

    s ta t i s t ica l knowledge . Informat ion about ind iv iduals

    was genera l ly of in teres t on ly insofar as i t per ta ined to

    the ca tegor iza t ion of ind iv iduals in te rms of g roup

    charac ter is t ics . Deal ing wi th ind iv iduals by ca tegor ies

    cons t i tu tes the essence of bureaucra t ic p rac t ice . In fac t ,

    the h is tor ica l o r ig in of s ta t i s t ics ( inc lud ing the te rm

    itse l f ) i s very in t imate ly bound up wi th t he prac t ice and

    ra t ional iza t ion of publ ic adminis t ra t ion , and

    psychologica l s ta t i s t ics a re no except ion . Mindfu l o f the need to market the products o f the i r research ,

    appl ied psychologis ts avoided the explora t ion of

    ind iv idual menta l l i fe and l imi ted themselves to

    ass ign ing ind iv idual per formance a p lace in an

    aggregate of per formances .

    I t became fash ionable to refer to th is new,

    adminis t ra t ive ly re levant , psychology as the psychology

    of ind iv idual d i f ferences , and i t s major p rac t ica l

    appl ica t ion was the f ie ld of menta l tes t ing . But the

    reference to ind iv idual d i f ferences h ides more than i t

    reveals . The te rm " ind iv idual d i f ferences" taken iniso la t ion f rom a speci f ic contex t i s exceedingly vague

    and could jus t as eas i ly apply to the work of the

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    novel is t as to tha t o f the psychologis t . Clear ly , when

    menta l tes t ing is der ived f rom an in teres t in ind iv idual

    d i f ferences i t i s no t th is very genera l meaning tha t i s

    re levant bu t a very speci f ic meaning which is conveyed

    by the contex t . I t was an in teres t in looking a t

    ind iv idual d i f ferences in a par t icu lar way tha t found

    express ion in the development of menta l tes ts .

    Indeed , the inves t iga t ion of ind iv idual

    d i f ferences preceded the use of la rge sca le menta l

    tes t ing by many years . This ear l ie r in teres t , however ,

    approached the top ic of ind iv idual d i f ferences in te rms

    of ques t ions of ind iv idual i ty and typology. What the

    development of menta l tes t ing d id was to redef ine the

    problem of ind iv idual d i f ferences . I t was no longer

    conceived as a p roblem of descr ib ing ind iv idual i ty or o f analyz ing typologica l pa t te rns bu t as a mat ter o f

    speci fy ing the ind iv idual ' s pos i t ion wi th respect to an

    aggregate of ind iv iduals . This meant tha t the ind iv idual

    was now def ined on the bas is o f the proper t ies o f an

    aggregate . The charac ter iza t ion of the ind iv idual

    depended jus t as much on the per formance of a se t o f

    o thers as i t d id on anyth ing she d id herse l f . Moreover ,

    the whole exerc ise depended on the assumpt ion tha t the

    sa l ien t qual i t ies for charac ter iz ing an ind iv idual were

    qual i t ies which she shared wi th o thers ra ther than

    qual i t ies un ique to herse l f . These common qual i t ies had

    to be thought of as cons tan t e lements whose na ture wasunaf fec ted by the i r co-habi ta t ion wi th o ther such

    elements in the same ind iv idual . Car r ied to i t s log ica l

    conclus ion th is methodology for assess ing " ind iv idual

    d i f ferences" ac tua l ly e l iminated the ind iv idual by

    reducing h im to the abs t rac t ion of a co l lec t ion of po in ts

    in a se t o f aggregates .

    While the s ta t i s t ics o f ind iv idual d i f ferences

    cons t i tu ted the very an t i thes is o f an in teres t in

    psychologica l ind iv idual i ty , they were ab le to speak

    qui te d i rec t ly to another k ind of concern . This was the

    problem of conformity . The new psychologica l p rac t icewas based on the se t t ing up of "norms" in te rms of

    which ind iv iduals could be assessed . In mos t cases

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    these norms were psychologica l on ly by in ference; in

    the f i r s t p lace they were norms of soc ia l per formance .

    The ca tegor ies in te rms of which ind iv iduals were

    graded were no t genera l ly soc ia l ly neutra l ca tegor ies

    bu t car r ied a powerfu l evalua t ive component . Because

    categor ies l ike " in te l l igence" embodied very speci f ic

    socia l def in i t ions of what was des i rab le the normat ive

    s tudy of ind iv idual per formance became a mat ter o f

    es tab l ish ing who would mos t e f fec t ive ly conform to

    cer ta in soc ia l ly es tab l ished cr i te r ia . These cr i te r ia

    ranged a l l the way f rom the un id imens ional "genera l

    in te l l igence" of the eugenic is ts to the qual i t ies needed

    in a good sa lesman. But they were a lways cr i te r ia tha t

    on ly made sense in the contex t o f par t icu lar soc ia l

    in teres ts , be they grand and ideo logica l o r p rac t ica l and

    mundane.

    For the new s ty le of psychologica l research the

    ind iv idual was of in teres t on ly in te rms of h is o r her

    s tanding in an aggregate . Research objec t ives la rge ly

    sh i f ted to the compar ison of such aggregates and the

    s ta t i s t ica l re la t ionsh ips be tween them. In cer ta in

    prac t ica l se t t ings ("psychologica l c l in ics") a more

    indiv idual ized employment of menta l tes ts , c loser to the

    or ig ina l v is ion of Binet , d id cont inue . But insofar as

    such prac t ice c la imed to have a sc ien t i f ic bas is , tha t bas is was a lso s ta t i s t ica l . Even though ind iv idual

    pa t te rns might be cons idered , they were s t i l l pa t te rns of

    per formance def ined in te rms of common group norms .

    At th is po in t we have to pause to remind

    ourse lves tha t the ac t iv i ty of psychologis ts was no t

    only cons t ra ined by the avai lab le poss ib i l i t ies for

    market ing the i r knowledge products bu t a lso by the i r

    concern to es tab l ish and then improve the i r c la im to the

    s ta tus of sc ien t is ts . What the ind iv idual inves t iga tor d id

    had poten t ia l soc ia l consequences for o thers who shared

    his o r her p rofess ional iden t i ty . The k inds of research prac t ices wi th which psychologis ts were associa ted

    served to d is t inguish psychologis ts f rom cer ta in

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    neighbor ing d isc ip l ines and profess ions wi th which

    there was ac tua l o r po ten t ia l compet i t ion , and they

    served to draw a sharp l ine be tween exper ts and laymen.

    Above a l l , however , research prac t ices were cruc ia l fo r

    leg i t imat ing the sc ien t i f ic c redent ia ls o f the d isc ip l ine .

    I t mus t be emphas ized tha t the cr i te r ia for be ing

    recognized as sc ien t i f ic had re la t ive ly l i t t le to do wi th

    how the es tab l ished sc iences ac tua l ly ach ieved the i r

    successes . That involved a se t o f very complex is sues

    which remain controvers ia l to th is day . What was

    socia l ly impor tan t , however , was the widespread

    acceptance of a se t o f f i rm convic t ions about the na ture

    of sc ience . To be socia l ly ef fec t ive i t was no t necessary

    tha t these convic t ions ac tua l ly ref lec ted the essence of

    success fu l sc ien t i f ic p rac t ice . In fac t , the mos t popular be l ie fs in th is a rea were based on ex ternal and

    unanalyzed fea tures of cer ta in prac t ices in the mos t

    p res t ig ious par ts o f sc ience . Such be l ie fs be longed to

    the rhe tor ic of sc ience ra ther than to i t s subs tance .

    They c lus tered around cer ta in unques t ioned emblems of

    sc ien t i f ic i ty l ike quant i f ica t ion , exper imenta t ion , and

    the search for un iversa l ( i . e . ah is tor ica l ) laws . A

    disc ip l ine tha t demons t ra ted i t s devot ion to such

    emblems could a t leas t es tab l ish a ser ious c la im to be

    counted among the augus t ranks of the sc iences .

    The success of psychology as a d isc ip l ine

    therefore involved two se ts o f p roblems wi th of ten

    diverg ing impl ica t ions . On the one hand , there was the

    need to develop prac t ices whose products would answer

    to the immedia te needs of soc ia l ly impor tan t markets .

    But on the o ther hand , there was the need to es tab l ish ,

    main ta in and s t rengthen the c la im tha t what

    psychologis ts p rac t iced was indeed to be counted as

    sc ience . These two requirements could no t a lways be

    eas i ly reconci led , and so i t was inev i tab le tha t there

    was conf l ic t wi th in the d isc ip l ine wi th some of i t s

    members p lac ing re la t ive ly more emphas is on one or o ther o f these d i rec t ions . But in the long run the two

    fact ions depended on one another , ra ther l ike two

    b icker ing par tners in a bas ica l ly sa t i s fac tory marr iage .

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    We can regard the products o f psychologica l

    research as grounded in two se ts o f knowledge

    in teres ts . On the one hand , there i s an in teres t in

    producing the k ind of knowledge tha t appears to be

    prac t ica l ly usefu l to cer ta in po ten t ia l consumers of the

    knowledge outs ide the d isc ip l ine . But on the o ther

    hand , there are in teres ts which a im a t the advancement

    of the d isc ip l ine , bo th in a cogni t ive and a soc ia l sense .

    What i s des i red here i s knowledge which wi l l fu r ther

    the cogni t ive and technica l contro l o f the d isc ip l ine

    over i t s sub jec t mat ter and which wi l l improve i t s s ta tus

    among the sc iences .

    Al though an emphas is on prac t ica l ly usefu lknowledge is more sa l ien t fo r appl ied psychology,

    whi le concern wi th sc ien t i f ic s tandards i s p r imary in

    pure research , the two par ts o f the d isc ip l ine have

    always depended on each o ther . Appl ied psychology

    thr ives on profess ional a l l iances and the crea t ion of

    markets for i t s p roducts . But to surv ive in th is

    compet i t ive environment i t has to main ta in a t leas t a

    modicum of sc ien t i f ic c red ib i l i ty . Psychology as a

    whole mus t have earned suf f ic ien t respect as a

    knowledge producing en terpr ise to be a ser ious

    candidate for compet i t ion or for a l l iance wi th o ther

    p rofess ional ized f ie lds . That means i t s p roducts mus thave become c lear ly d is t inguished f rom the everyday or

    common knowledge and be l ie f o f the lay publ ic and

    achieved the s ta tus of exper t knowledge . There i sno th ing more in imica l to a f ie ld ' s success as a source of

    va lued knowledge than the susp ic ion tha t i t i s ab le to

    supply no more than a dupl ica t ion of what "everyone"

    knows anyway, o r worse , a re inforcement of popular

    supers t i t ions . The "sof t" a reas of psychology and

    parapsychology have a lways had to contend wi th th is

    p roblem and have usual ly had to r ide a long on the back

    of the core d isc ip l ine .

    However , there would have been no core

    d isc ip l ine to be car r ied a long by i f there had not been

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    cons tan t v ig i lance about main ta in ing the sharpes t

    poss ib le d i f feren t ia t ion f rom fo lk knowledge . This was

    not a p roblem l imi ted to some marg inal a reas bu t

    af fec ted the d isc ip l ine as a whole . For does no t

    everyone have to re ly on psychologica l knowledge in

    making h is o r her way through the wor ld? How could

    anyth ing of fered by exper ts compete wi th a l i fe t ime of

    exper ience in human af fa i r s? The ef fec ts o f th is ever

    p resen t background chal lenge on the inves t iga t ive

    prac t ices of psychologis ts should no t be

    underes t imated . Whatever e lse they may have done

    these prac t ices a lso served to demons tra te a c ruc ia l

    dis tance f rom those mundane s i tua t ions in whicheveryday psychologica l knowledge was acquired . This

    was ach ieved la rge ly by drawing on the mys t ique of the

    labora tory and the mys t ique of numbers , bo th of whichhad been wel l es tab l ished pr ior to the appearance of

    modern psychology. The very ar t i f ic ia l i ty of labora tory

    s i tua t ions became a p lus in es tab l ish ing the credent ia ls

    of knowledge c la ims emanat ing f rom th is source , and

    the impos i t ion of a numer ica l fo rm on o therwise t r iv ia l

    knowledge gave i t an apparen t s ign i f icance wi th which

    lay knowledge could no t compete . Replac ing ord inary

    language wi th ja rgon helped too .

    The d is tance tha t separa tes research s i tua t ions

    f rom the s i tua t ions in which the i r knowledge products

    are to be appl ied leads to a ser ious problem. On the onehand , the rhe tor ic of sc ience requires tha t th is d is tance

    be emphas ized and magnif ied . Because the y ie ld f rom

    inves t iga t ive s i tua t ions was supposed to cons is t o f

    un iversa l ly va l id genera l iza t ions ( so-ca l led nomothet ic

    laws) these s i tua t ions were endowed wi th a mys t ique

    that rendered them so remote f rom ord inary l i fe tha t

    they were no t even seen as soc ia l s i tua t ions . Even the

    idea tha t there might be a soc ia l psychology of

    psychologica l exper iments on ly arose a t a la te s tage in

    the development of the d isc ip l ine . However , there

    remained the ra ther ind iges t ib le fac t tha t the

    d isc ip l ine ' s ab i l i ty to make fa i r ly re l iab le pred ic t ions

    about human beings ou ts ide the psychologica l

    labora tory depended to a la rge ex ten t on the c loseness

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    of the contex t o f inves t iga t ion to the contex t o f

    appl ica t ion . More of ten than not , psychologica l

    knowledge had some technica l u t i l i ty on ly insofar as i t s

    inves t iga t ive prac t ices were cont inuous wi th re levant

    socia l p rac t ices ou ts ide the inves t iga t ive s i tua t ion .

    This contrad ic t ion be tween sc ien t is t ic rhe tor ic

    and the fac ts o f l i fe in appl ied psychology tended to

    main ta in the separa t ion of "pure" and "appl ied"

    research . Pol i t ica l ly , bo th the rhe tor ic of sc ience and

    speci f ic technica l u t i l i ty were however ind ispensable

    for the rap id development of the d isc ip l ine and both

    cont inued to f lour ish s ide by s ide . In th is way each

    par tner could prof i t f rom the va lue a t t r ibu ted to the

    act iv i t ies o f the o ther . "Pure" research could c la im

    suppor t on the bas is o f i t s u l t imate prac t ica l usefu lnessand "appl ied" research could speak more au thor i ta t ive ly

    by c lo th ing i t se l f in the mant le of sc ience . In ac tua l

    fac t , "appl ied" research usual ly re l ied on i t s own

    prac t ices wi th l i t t le o r no he lp f rom "pure" research ,

    and "pure" research showed a d is t inc t tendency to adopt

    some of the cruc ia l p rac t ices of "appl ied" research ,

    d is t inguish ing i t se l f main ly by technica l sophis t ica t ion

    and a more abs t rac t te rminology.

    Here we have another i l lus t ra t ion of the major

    po in t tha t has formed t he bas is o f these ref lec t ions : The

    bu i ld ing of a d isc ip l ine l ike psychology is no tsometh ing tha t takes p lace in a rea lm of d isembodied

    ideas bu t involves the soc ia l ac t iv i ty of speci f ic g roups

    of people who have par t icu lar in teres ts and who have to

    opera te in a po l i t ica l environment , l ike everyone e lse .

    The pecul iar i t ies o f the i r h is tor ica l s i tua t ion are

    ref lec ted in the k inds of p rac t ices they adopt and in the

    k ind of knowledge which resu l ts f rom these prac t ices .

    Knowledge , inc lud ing psychologica l knowledge , i s

    p roduced by and for people wi th par t icu lar soc ia l

    iden t i t ies and hence par t icu lar soc ia l in teres ts .

    In tak ing th is pos i t ion wi th regard to psychologica l knowledge I have mere ly been ex tending

    some perspect ives tha t have been opened up by recent

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    work in the soc io logy, h is tory , and phi losophy of

    sc ience . I f psychology is to be counted among the

    sc iences i t cannot escape th is k ind of c r i t ica l scru t iny .

    Now, what has tended to happen in the f ie ld of sc ience

    s tud ies i s a k ind of demys t i f ica t ion of sc ience . There

    was a t ime when the ac t iv i ty of the sc ien t is t was seen

    only in h igh ly idea l ized te rms , bu t the more i t has i t se l f

    become the subjec t o f sys temat ic examinat ion by

    socio logis ts , h is tor ians e tc . , the less d is t inguishable i t

    has seemed f rom more mundane socia l ac t iv i t ies .

    Inevi tab ly , th is has af fec ted the way in which we

    th ink about the source of sc ien t i f ic ach ievements . No

    longer are we convinced by the o ld hero ic image of the

    ind iv idual inves t iga tor who unlocks na ture ' s secre ts in

    s ing le handed pursu i t o f the t ru th . More skept ica l ly -and sure ly more rea l is t ica l ly - we are l ike ly to see

    models of rea l i ty emerg ing out o f the co l lec t ive

    in terac t ion of g roups of inves t iga tors wi th each o ther

    and wi th o ther g roups in soc ie ty .

    I f we apply th is perspect ive to the development

    of modern psychology we are led to a recogni t ion of the

    fundamenta l ro le p layed by the two fac tors I have

    emphas ized here : The need to produce adminis t ra t ive ly

    usefu l knowledge , and the need to imi ta te the prac t ices

    of the more pres t ig ious sc iences . These were no t the

    only fac tors involved in the cons t ruc t ion of modern psychologica l knowledge , bu t the i r c ruc ia l impor tance

    cannot be over looked . They have g iven much

    contemporary psychologica l knowledge i t s

    charac ter is t ic shape and are respons ib le for i t s

    charac ter is t ic l imi ta t ions .

    At the presen t t ime i t i s no t uncommon to hear

    p roposals for the recons t ruc t ion of psychology a long

    l ines tha t a re meant to avoid the l imi ta t ions of more

    t rad i t ional models o f psychologica l knowledge . But

    f rom the perspect ive developed here i t would be a

    mis take to regard such a recons t ruc t ion as a pure lyin te l lec tua l mat ter . Psychology wi l l change only insofar

    as i t s soc ia l a l l iances change . For example , ins t i tu t ions

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    tha t a re in teres ted in psychology as a bas is for people

    management have no t been the on ly consumers of

    psychologica l knowledge . Ind iv idual consumers , who

    are in teres ted in psychologica l knowledge as a means to

    achiev ing se l f -unders tanding , cons t i tu te another g roup .

    They tend to demand and to ge t a very d i f feren t k ind of

    psychology, one tha t i s l ike ly to re ly much more on

    psycho-analy t ic o r phenomenologica l sources . The

    shape of the d isc ip l ine as a whole i s l ike ly to ref lec t

    the re la t ive impor tance of d i f feren t types of consumer

    in teres t in i t s p roducts .

    Each var ie ty of psychologica l knowledge wi l l

    have i t s own appropr ia te f ie ld of appl ica t ion and i t s

    own l imi ta t ions . There i s no th ing s t range about tha t .

    What i s s t range is the no t ion of a s ing le body of abs t rac t psychologica l knowledge tha t i s va l id in a l l

    contex ts and for a l l purposes . I t i s no t by chas ing af te r

    th is ch imera tha t the d isc ip l ine wi l l make a rea l

    contr ibu t ion to mat ters o f major human or in te l lec tua l

    s ign if icance . That k ind of ach ievement i s more l ike ly to

    come i t s way i f i t ex tends i t s a l l iances and thereby

    transcends the l imi ta t ions inheren t in everyone of i t s

    speci f ic incarnat ions .