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Beatrice A. Wright: a Life History

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Beatrice A. Wright: a Life History University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2008 Beatrice A. Wright: A Life History Sheryl Lee Wurl University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Wurl, Sheryl Lee, "Beatrice A. Wright: A Life History. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2008. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/357 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Sheryl Lee Wurl entitled "Beatrice A. Wright: A Life History." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Education. Diana Moyer, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Robert Kronick, Trena Paulus, Susan Speraw Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Sheryl Lee Wurl entitled, “Beatrice Wright: A Life History.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Education. _________________________ Diana Moyer, Major Professor We have read this dissertation And recommend its acceptance _________________________ Robert Kronick _________________________ Trena Paulus _________________________ Susan Speraw Accepted for the Council: ___________________________________ Carolyn R. Hodges, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) BEATRICE A. WRIGHT: A LIFE HISTORY A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor Of Philosophy Degree University of Tennessee, Knoxville Sheryl Lee Wurl May 2008 Copyright © 2008 by Sheryl Lee Wurl All rights reserved. ii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to Beatrice A. Wright, with great respect for her many accomplishments and with fond gratitude for her generous gifts of time and friendship. Beatrice A. Wright iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank all those who assisted and encouraged me in the process of completing this project. My major professor, Diana Moyer, and committee members, Robert Kronick, Trena Paulus, and Susan Speraw, each contributed more than they ever will realize to my learning, and did so with kind but scholarly direction. I appreciate also the help provided by librarians at the University of Tennessee, the University of North Carolina, the University of Kansas, and the University of Iowa when archival materials needed to be located and copied. Finally, I want to acknowledge the support of colleagues and students at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, of Greg and other dear friends, and of my beloved family. iv ABSTRACT This study investigated the life history and influences of Beatrice A. Wright on rehabilitation psychology. The research had four purposes: (1) to record and transcribe recollections of Beatrice A. Wright, the person known as a Founder/Mother of Rehabilitation Psychology, about her life and her work; (2) to trace the development of her major conceptual notions; (3) to explore the interplay between her life and her times; and, (4) to assess the merits of her contributions to the fields of psychology and rehabilitation counseling, as well as to disability rights. The data gathered for this life history included audio recordings of in-depth interviews with Dr. Wright and Louise Barker; a telephone interview with Dr. Miriam Lewin; field notes from non-recordable time spent with Dr. Wright; and her presentations in Knoxville, Tennessee in September 2005. E-mail communication also was used to collect and verify information, and primary and secondary sources were reviewed. Dr. Wright’s own words liberally were used in the body of the document, in order to preserve her personality and views. Data other than that comprising the introduction and conclusion were organized into major chronological segments of her life, which she identifies by major events or her geographical location at the time: the early years, war and transition, Kansas, and Wisconsin. Contextual influences of Dr. Wright’s life provide backdrops against which her actions were analyzed, especially the intellectual tenor of groups associated with Kurt Lewin during the 1930s and 1940s and the status of female psychologists from the 1930s v through the 1960s. While Dr. Wright’s life has formed her ideas, the data reveal that her ideas have shaped her life. Dr. Wright has dedicated her professional life to the psychosocial aspects of rehabilitation psychology and their application to real life and has contributed so richly to these areas that recent research confirms her as the most-cited person in the world on those topics. At the same time, she has dedicated her personal life to her family and, still independent at ninety years of age, she continues to enjoy loving interactions with all four generations. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................... 1 Background......................................................................................................... 1 Beatrice Wright as Focus.................................................................................... 3 The Problem........................................................................................................ 6 Purposes of the Project ....................................................................................... 8 Importance of the Study...................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER II. METHODOLOGY....................................................................... 10 Combining Biographical and Historical Documentation.................................. 10 Life History Research Methodology............................................................. 13 The Risk of Life History Research ............................................................... 17 A Philosophy of History ................................................................................... 19 Interpreting Historical Research ................................................................... 23 The Issue of Gender ...................................................................................... 27 Critiques............................................................................................................ 37 Data Collection ................................................................................................. 41 Documentation.................................................................................................. 45 The Process....................................................................................................... 47 Data Analysis.................................................................................................... 50 Limitations........................................................................................................ 54 Chronology is Not Sacred................................................................................. 57 The Nature of Historical Studies ...................................................................... 59 CHAPTER III. THE EARLY YEARS ................................................................ 60 Childhood.......................................................................................................... 60 Brooklyn College.............................................................................................. 65 Iowa .................................................................................................................. 70 Kurt Lewin .................................................................................................... 71 The Topology Group..................................................................................... 82 Treatment of Women........................................................................................ 92 Her Studies at Iowa........................................................................................... 97 Meeting M. Erik Wright ................................................................................. 100 Importance of the Iowa Years......................................................................... 104 CHAPTER IV. WAR AND TRANSITION ...................................................... 108 Transition from Student to Professional Activities......................................... 108 Gender Bias..................................................................................................... 109 Her Experience was Different......................................................................... 115 Introduction to Disability Issues..................................................................... 119 Adjustment
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