‘Imagined Conversations’ Assignment: an Introduction to

Psychology’s Feminist Voices

1. Tour of the site2. Learn how to search site3. Strategies for choosing and pairing women

Part 1: Tour of the site

Part 2: Learn how to search site

“Blank” Search Results

Search Results: World War II

Part 3: Strategies for choosing and pairing women

Scavenger Hunt

• For example: • QUESTION:

Who was the first female psychologist to have a United States postage stamp issued in her honor?

ANSWER: Lillian Gilbreth

Consider Gender Research

Differences

Measuring

Functional periodicity

Functional periodicity

Sexual orientation

Helen Thompson Woolley

Georgene Seward

Leta Stetter Hollingworth

Catharine Cox Miles Evelyn Gentry Hooker

Pick a common research topic

Both conduct(ed) research related to nature vs. nurture

Barbara Stoddard Burks (1902-1943) & Alice Eagly (1938-)

Pick a similarity...

• Mary Whiton Calkins (1863-1930) & Naomi Weisstein (1939-)– Educational experiences at Harvard University

...or a difference

• Florence Goodenough (1886-1959) & Carol Gilligan (1936-)– Goodenough refused the feminist label and did

not identify as a woman-psychologist, but Gilligan argues for the “different voice” of women to be included in psychology

Demonstrate differencesRhoda Unger and Leta Hollingworth discuss gender research:• LH: [talking about her sex diff. research]… You ladies must have

come to the same conclusion in your work.• RU: Well yes, to an extent. We tend to look at the issue from

less of a biological sex differences perspective though. In fact, I’ve tried to move away from the feminist empiricist method of drawing from theory, and ask questions with social meaning (Unger, 2006).

• LH: How do you mean? Don’t you think that rigorous, objective scientific research will naturally undermine these biased assumptions about women?

• RU: I think the type of questions you ask make a big difference…

Be creative and have fun!Mary Whiton Calkins & Elizabeth Scarborough:MWC: Where am I? I was in my office a moment ago...ES: Damned if I know, I was just---- wait just a minute. You look

just like Mary Whiton Calkins!MWC: Last time I checked, that was my name. How did we get

in this room?ES: If you're Mary Whiton Calkins, I'm more concerned with

how one of us travelled through time...Mysterious Voice: Never mind that, Elizabeth, I've brought you

two here to have a conversation so that I can transcribe it for my History of Psychology assignment, you'll be back home shortly.