Download - Leona Tyler
10 May 1906 -
29 April 1993LEONA TYLER
HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS
Leona Tyler was born in Chetek, Wisconsin on May 10, 1906
No one in her family had ever gone to college, so her parents supported her and her three brothers in pursuit of high education.
Because of this, she was constantly ahead of her peers academically and graduated high school at the age of fifteen.
EARLY YEARS
Graduated from junior college at the age of 19
Went on to the University of Minnesota where she earned a Bachelor ’s degree in English in 1925.
Due to the culture at the time, she began a career as a teacher and taught junior high school for 13 years in both Minnesota and Michigan.
COLLEGE
Through teaching, Tyler developed an interest in individual differences due to the diversity of her students.
In 1937 she enrolled in a course on individual differences at the University of Southern Califronia
She continued to teach junior high while pursuing her master ’s and PhD.
She used her students to gather data for her dissertation on development of interests of adolescent girls.
INTEREST IN PSYCHOLOGY
OBSTACLES & STRUGGLES
“Throughout my entire life, being female has never made me feel inferior. I accepted many aspects of prevailing sex roles without thinking much about them, and I have probably been discriminated against on occasion, but I never had to struggle with such discrimination, and I never saw it as a tremendous obstacle.”
- Leona Tyler (1978)
OBSTACLES & STRUGGLES
Professional ly came of age between the two great women’s movements of the 20 t h Century ( a s c i t e d i n F a s s i n g e r )
Tyler ’s mother adamantly bel ieved in the 19 t h Amendment
Tyler took this to heart , having once commented:
“My assumption that intell igent people no longer considered women inferior persis ted. I never had occasion to quest ion i t .” (Tyler, 1988)
Claimed to have no experiences of discrimination (a s c i t ed i n F ass i nge r )
Tyler later realized her career probably progressed at a slower rate than her male col leagues
OBSTACLES & STRUGGLES:SEXISM
Tyler was rather reserved and modest – she never forced her way into psychology’s l imel ight
Tyler was wel l accepted by powerful male mentors and peers
One of the few women in the history of psychology who experienced uniformly supportive relat ionships with men
( a s c i t e d i n F a s s i n g e r )
OBSTACLES & STRUGGLES:SEXISM
Tyle r never mar r i ed , nor have ch i ld ren
Found a f ew of he r ma le f r i ends to be v iab le candida t es fo r romant ic pa r tne r s - none of them were ava i l ab le in th i s capac i ty
Tyle r found the idea of da t ing s t r anger a f t e r s t r anger in sea rch of the “ r igh t one” to be d i shones t and r epugnan t
She no ted tha t a t the t ime , i t was ex t r emely d i f f i cu l t fo r women to jugg l e bo th a ca ree r and a f ami ly :
“I would have had to marry a man who would take care o f my f ami ly, encourage my work , and over look my lack o f soc ia l sk i l l s .” (Tyl er, 1977)
Tyle r d id , however, acknowledge tha t he r ce l i bacy a l lowed for he r to remain focused on he r work :
“Being on my own has con t r ibu ted to my success , a l though i t i s no t t he l i f e I would have chosen . ‘She t rave l s fas t es t who t rave l s a lone , ’ to adapt a famous quota t ion .” (Tyl er, 1988)
Regard l ess , Ty le r ma in ta ined ve ry c lose bonds wi th he r f r i ends and he r ex t ended fami ly
OBSTACLES & STRUGGLES:PERSONAL LIFE
While Tyler was an extremely demure woman, at t imes her modesty was her own enemy
During the las t 6 years of her career at the Univers i ty of Oregon, Tyler served as dean of the Graduate School
She bel ieved this honor was only g iven to her owing to a need and not to her own meri t or sk i l l
She found the ro le of dean diff icul t to get used to and considered such a ro le unsui table for women; however, she would later note:
“Had the opportuni ty come ten years la ter, a f ter the resurgence of mi l i tant feminism, perhaps my s truggle wi th mysel f would have been easier ” (Tyler, 1988)
After a t r ip abroad, Tyler was as tonished to f ind that hersel f and her theories had become so widely recognized in the psychological wor ld
OBSTACLES & STRUGGLES:PROFESSIONAL CAREER
Le o n a Ty le r d e v o t ed h e r t im e a n d e ff o r t s t o m a n y a v e n u e s , b o th a ca d e m ic a n d p h i l an th r o p i c
H e r c h a ra c te r a n d d r iv e we r e a b l e to o p e n d o o r s th a t v e ry f ew w o m e n w a lk e d t h ro u g h a t t h e t im e
A “ f e w ” o f h e r a c c o m p l i sh m en t s :
- El e c t e d p r e s i d e n t o f t h e Or e g o n Psy c h o l o g ic a l Asso c i a t i o n , t h e We s t e r n Psy c h o l o g ic a l A sso c i a t i o n , a n d D i v i s i o n 1 7 ( Co u n se l i n g P sy ch o l o g y ) o f t h e Am e r i c a n Psy c h o lo g ic a l A sso c ia t io n
- Th e APA h o n o r e d h e r b y n a m in g i t s h i g h e s t a w ar d a f t e r h e r – t h e Le o n a Ty l e r Aw a r d – wh ic h h o n o r s t h o se w h o h a v e g r e a t l y c o n t r i b u t e d t o Co u n se l i n g P sy ch o l o g y
- El e c t e d to t h e APA B o a r d o f D i r e c t o r s a n d l a t e r t o th e Po l i c y a n d P l a n n i n g Bo a r d
- I n 1 9 7 2 , sh e b e c a m e t h e 8 1 s t p r e s id e n t a n d f o u r t h w o m a n t o b e e l e c t ed p r e s id en t o f t h e A PA .
OBSTACLES & STRUGGLES:A LAST NOTE
EXPERIMENTS & RESEARCH
Lifetime fascination of the study of the individual and characteristics that separated one person from another (Tyler, 1961)
Looked at how choices affected peoples’ lives (Sundberg, 1994)
RESEARCH
Longitudinal, cross-cultural study where individuals would sort cards that had an occupation written on them
Explored reasons why they sorted them in that way (Held, 2010)
Result: Dislikes and avoidances are more important than likes, when thinking about careers (Sundberg, 1994)
CHOICE PATTERN TECHNIQUE
Choice pattern technique is still used in career counseling (Held, 2010)
Leona Tyler instructed more graduate students for theses and dissertations than any other faculty member at the University of Oregon (Sundberg, 1994)
CHOICE PATTERN TECHNIQUE
THEORIES WITH THEIR STRENGTHS &
WEAKNESSES
The theory that all creatures, based on certain biological factors, are born with multipotentiality, and by choosing to actualize only certain possibilities throughout his or her life, the creature develops into the individual that it is now. These choices are both conscious and unconscious, driven by both internal and environmental pressures.
THEORY OF POSSIBILITIES
StrengthsAppreciates the impact of
environment and context on the development of the individual
Realizes that each choice leads an individual down a narrower path (each choice eliminates other potentialities)
Does not hold the individual completely responsible for his or her choices*
Weaknesses Does not fully account for
biological influencesDoes not hold the individual
completely responsible for his or her choices*
THEORY OF POSSIBILITIES
“A means of encouraging natural,
developmental processes and
exploring cognitive structures and their role in organizing
individual experiences and choices.” (Held
2010)
StrengthsOffers guidance to ‘normal’
people, rather than only to people who have some sort of psychological ‘problem’
COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY
A type of counseling, or therapy, that brings about the least amount of change needed to steer the client in a new direction. “Its most fundamental assumption is that there are many different ways of living an individual life richly and well, and that it is natural for a person to continue to develop throughout his life in his own unique way.” (Tyler 1960)
MINIMUM CHANGE THERAPY
StrengthsShortens the duration of
counselingAllows the client to
maintain most aspects of his or her personality; a change in direction rather than a change in personality
WeaknessesMay not provide enough
change for clients
MINIMUM CHANGE THERAPY
Wro t e t h e p r i m a r y t e x t b o o k f o r g r ad u a t e s t u d en t s i n c o u n s e l i n g p s y c h o l o g y ( Wo r k o f t h e C o u n s e l o r )
Wro t e t h e l a t e s t ed i t i o n o f D ev e l o p m e n t a l P s y c h o l o g y w i t h F l o r e n c e Go o d e n o u g h
C r e a t e d T h e C h o i c e P a t t e r n Te c h n i q u e , a t e s t s h e d e v e l o p e d t o r e s e a r c h c h o i c e p a t t e r n s , wh i c h i s s t i l l u s e d t o d a y i n c a r e e r co u n s e l i n g
De e p e n e d a n d ex p a n d e d p s y c h o l o g y ’s c o n c e p t i o n o f t h e n a t u r e a n d c o m p l e x i t y o f i n d i v i d u a l d i f f e r e n c e s
Op e n e d a n d m a n a g e d t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Ore g o n ’s C o u n s e l i n g C e n t e r
Ad v o c a t ed t h e i m p o r t a n c e an d c o n t i n u a t i o n o f c o u n s e l i n g p s y c h o l o g y t h r o u g h h e r l a s t d a y s
He r g r e a t e s t l e g a c y wa s h e r e n d u r i n g “c o n c e r n fo r a l l o wi n g a n d e n c o u ra g i n g p e o p l e t o f i n d t h em s e l v e s , t o l e a r n , an d e s p e c i a l l y t o c l a r i f y a n d c h o o s e t h e i r p o t en t i a l i t i e s i n an o f t e n c h a o t i c w o r l d . ” ( An o n y m o u s , 1 9 9 1 )
LEONA TYLER’S INFLUENCE
B ro o k s . , & G o n z a l e s ( 1 9 9 9 ) . Ti me l i n e o f w o m e n ' s s u f f r a g e i n t h e u n i t e d s t a t e s . R e t r i e v e d f r o m h t t p : / / d p s i n f o . co m / w o m e n / h i s t o r y / t i m e l i n e .h t m l
F as s i n g e r R . E . ( 2 0 0 3 ) . Le o n a Ty l e r : P i o n ee r o f P o s s i b i l i t i e s . I n G . A . K i m b l e & M . We r t h e i m e r, P o r t r a i t s o f P i o n e er s i n Ps yc h o l o g y, Vo l u m e V . M ah w a h , N J : L a w re n ce E r l b a u m A s s o c i a t e s .
H el d , L . ( 2 0 1 0 ) . P ro f i l e o f L eo n a Ty l e r. I n A . R u t h e r fo r d ( Ed . ) , P s y ch o l o g y ' s F em i n i s t Vo i c e s M u l t i m e d i a I n t e rn e t A rc h i v e . R e t r i e v e d f r o m h t t p : / / w w w. f em i n i s t v o i c e s . c o m / l e o n a - - t y l e r/
O 'C o n n e l l , A . N . , & R u s s o , N . F. ( Ed s . ) ( 1 9 9 0 ) . Wo m e n i n Ps y c h o l o g y. We s t p o r t , C T: G r ee n w o o d P re s s .
S u n d b e rg , N . D . , & L i t t ma n , R . A . (1 9 9 4 ) . L eo n a E l i z ab e t h Ty l e r (1 9 0 6 -1 9 9 3 ) . A m e r i ca n P s y c h o l o g i s t , 4 9 ( 3 ) , 2 11 .
Ty l e r, L . E (1 9 5 9 ) . To w a rd A Wo rk a b l e P s y ch o l o g y O f I n d i v i d u a l i t y. U n i v e r s i t y o f O re g o n .
Ty l e r, L . E . ( 1 9 5 8 ) . T h e o re t i c a l P r i n c i p l e s U n d e r l y i n g t h e C o u n s e l i n g P ro c e s s .
Ty l e r, L . E . ( 1 9 6 1 ) . R e s ea rc h E x p l o r a t i o n s i n t h e R e a l m o f C h o i ce . J o u r n a l o f C o u n s e l i n g P s y c h o l o g y , 8 ( 3 ) 1 9 5 -2 0 1 .
Ty l e r, L . E . ( 1 9 4 3 ) . R e l a t i o n s h i p s B e t w ee n S t ro n g Vo ca t i o n a l I n t e r e s t Sc o re s a n d O t h e r A t t i t u d e a n d P e r s o n a l i t y F a c t o r s . U n i v e r s i t y o f O re g o n .
Ty l e r, L . E . ( 1 9 6 0 ) . C o n t r o l l i n g t h e D u ra t i o n o f C o u n s e l i n g : M i n i m u m C h a n g e Th e ra p y. U n i v e r s i t y o f O re g o n .
REFERENCES