D Picard Dissertation
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Analyzing the Human Factor in British Industrial Psychology, 1919-1939 By Danielle R. Picard Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in History August 10, 2018 Nashville, Tennessee Approved: Celia Applegate, Ph.D. Michael Bess, Ph.D. James Epstein, Ph.D. Sarah Igo, Ph.D. Laura Stark, Ph.D. Copyright © 2018 by Danielle R. Picard All Rights Reserved ii For my mom iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dissertations are long journeys full of possibilities, excitement, frustrations, and the occasional sharp detour. I am forever grateful for the people, organizations, and institutions that have been part of my journey, especially those mentors and colleagues who have shared in my excitement and helped me navigate the inevitable roadblocks and rough patches. I could not ask for a more thoughtful and generous dissertation advisor than Celia Applegate. I am grateful to her for all of her detailed and thoughtful comments on chapter drafts and for her encouragement to pursue my interest in robots after a course together at the University of Rochester. My dissertation committee provided generative conversations, feedback, and encouragement. Michael Bess, James Epstein, Sarah Igo, and Laura Stark each provided new insights and directions that have deepened not only my research, but my thinking on history, science, and life more generally. My research has also benefitted greatly from insights, suggestions, and professional guidance from David Blackbourn, Mickey Casad, Ole Molvig, Richard Kaeuper, Matthew Lenoe, Helmut Walser Smith, Arleen Tuchman, and Stewart Weaver. The initial interest in the topic developed during a series of psychology courses with Paul Harris and Roger Ray at Rollins College. Dozens of archivists and librarians have helped me in countless ways. I am particularly thankful for the staff of the London School of Economics (LSE) archive, the American Federation for the Blind and the American Printing House for the Blind, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Rare Books and Manuscript Archive, and the Royal National Institute for the Blind Heritage Services. Specifically, I benefitted enormously from the generosity of Emily Malinovsky from the American Printing House for the Blind who provided digitized versions of materials from the National Institute for the Blind. Their digitization services, which place iv archival materials online, benefit researchers with low vision and blindness, as well as those who cannot travel to their facility. My research was generously funded by several organizations and institutions, including the National Science Foundation, the History of Science Society, the Central European History Society, the Vanderbilt University’s History Department and Graduate School, and the University of Rochester’s History Department and Graduate School. Several Vanderbilt fellowships added dimensions to my work, including the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy, HASTAC, the Center for Teaching, and the Mellon Institute in Digital and Public Humanities. Finally, I am deeply indebted to the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities for the fellowship that allowed me to finish the dissertation, and to Mona Frederick and Terry Tripp for all of their support. This dissertation is a product of the many ideas generated during my time at Vanderbilt University, the University of Rochester, and Rollins College. I am especially grateful to the Vanderbilt History of Science and Medicine Society and the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities fellows for their comments on drafts and lively discussions, particularly Alexandra Alekseyeva, Patrick Anthony, David Vila Dieguez, Jenifer Dodd, Sarah Koellner, James Phelan, Rachel Skaggs, Wietske Smeele, John Speed, Brianne Wesolowski, J’Nese Williams, and Anna Young. Thanks also goes to many others at Vanderbilt, particularly Cynthia Brame, Nancy Chick, Brad and Heather Daugherty, Vivian Finch, Lauren Mitchell, and Cassandra Painter. I am also indebted to my friends and colleagues from the University of Rochester, without whom I could not have navigated graduate school, especially Douglas Flowe, Daniel Franke, Jeff and Katie Ludwig, Jacqui Rizzo, and Kira Thurman. v No words can do justice to the amount of love and support provided by Karen Picard and Shane Crounse. None of this would have been possible without their patience, kind words, and abilities to distract me when necessary. Finally, I am grateful to my darling Charlotte, who has made the last year both more fulfilling and more difficult than she may ever know. I look forward to the next stage of our journey. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................ x Chapter I. Introduction: Science and its Publics ..................................................................................... 1 II. Mechanization, Robots, and the Comedy of Science .......................................................... 15 “Then Call Them Robots”: Karel Čapek’s Comedy of Science .......................................... 17 R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) .................................................................................. 21 R.U.R. in London ................................................................................................................ 25 From Homunculus to Robot ................................................................................................ 31 Missing from the British Context ....................................................................................... 40 III. Human Factors: Charles Myers and the Creation of the National Institute of Industrial Psychology ........................................................................................................................... 51 Existing Scholarship on the National Institute of Industrial Psychology ............................ 55 Part One: Charles Samuel Myers ........................................................................................ 58 Torres Straits Expedition ............................................................................................ 65 Returning to Cambridge, Turning to Psychology ...................................................... 69 Part Two: Founding the National Institute of Industrial Psychology .................................. 72 Building Public Support, Building Publics ................................................................. 77 Human Factors ............................................................................................................ 80 Government Support ................................................................................................... 82 Leadership ................................................................................................................... 84 Initial Benefactors: Foundations, Trusts, and Grant-funding ..................................... 86 Initial Benefactors: Industrial Partnerships and the Specter of Capitalism ................ 87 Securing Support through Outreach, Appeals, and Advertising ................................. 89 Building Public Support through Film ....................................................................... 92 Building Public Support through Publications ........................................................... 94 Building Support: Location, Proximity, and Prestige ................................................. 97 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 100 vii IV. “Round Peg in a Square Hole”: Medicalizing the Occupational Misfit through Scientific Vocational Guidance ......................................................................................... 105 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 105 The Problem of Youth Unemployment ............................................................................. 107 Developing the Vocational Guidance Section .................................................................. 112 “A Very Interesting Lump of Humanity:” The Case of John Jones ................................. 122 Public Health, Eugenics, and the Risk of the Misfit ......................................................... 129 Class-Based Disparities in Vocational Guidance ............................................................. 139 The Recommendation for Advanced Education ............................................................... 147 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 149 V. Limits of the Human Factor: The NIIP, “Efficiency Engineers,” and the National Institute for the Blind ......................................................................................................... 152 Introduction ......................................................................................................................