University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Winter 2005 Boundary -work in United States psychology: A study of three interdisciplinary programs Michael J. Root University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation Root, Michael J., "Boundary -work in United States psychology: A study of three interdisciplinary programs" (2005). Doctoral Dissertations. 308. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/308 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BOUNDARY-WORK IN UNITED STATES PSYCHOLOGY: A STUDY OF THREE INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAMS BY MICHAEL J. ROOT Bachelor of Science, Springfield College, 1992 Master of Science, Springfield College, 1998 Master of Arts, University of New Hampshire, 2001 DISSERTATION Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology December, 2005 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3198013 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3198013 Copyright 2006 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation has been examined and approved. (J >fn&■M i Dissertation Director, William R. Woodward, Professor of Psychology njamin Harris, 5rofessor of Psychology 'John Limber, Associate Professor of Psychology n * ’ Jan Golinski, Professor of History V Derek Paar, Professor of Psychology / \ /j Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEDICATION For my mother and father iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I would like to thank my dissertation committee for their patience and guidance as I wrote this manuscript. William Woodward provided me with timely feedback, gentle criticism, and persistent encouragement throughout this process. His patience, flexibility, and knowledge of the history of psychology have significantly improved my research. John Limber helped foster my interest in cognition, consciousness, and cognitive science through his stimulating class concerning Julian Jaynes’ controversial ideas on the formation of human consciousness. Also, John was of immense help on my master’s degree committee for a project regarding domain-specific reasoning in social exchanges. Jan Golinski provided me with an interesting course on historiography that allowed me to extend my reading outside the boundaries of the history of psychology. I also found his book, Making Natural Knowledge, an invaluable resource on the relationship between history of science and the sociology of scientific knowledge. Derek Paar helped me greatly throughout my years as a student. His initial encouragement and friendly advice gave me the confidence to pursue my interests in chaos theory. I would not have pursued my doctoral degree without his intervention early in my undergraduate career. I would like to thank Peter Fernald who has done so much for me during my graduate career at UNH. He accepted me into the UNH psychology iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. program and served as my master’s degree committee chairperson. He provided me with vast amounts of encouragement throughout my years at UNH. I only hope I can be half as good a teacher to my students as he has been to me. I would also like to thank many friends who have supported me throughout my undergraduate and graduate education. AT UNH, I would like to thank Ken Gardner, Mary Harmon, Kelly Perrachi, and Kathy Bailey for many “discussions” on various “psychological” topics. At Springfield College, I would like to thank Ann and John Moriarty for their kindness, humor, and generosity. Jim Merrill, Bob Clausi, and George Vafiades were also immensely influential in my intellectual pursuits as an undergraduate at Springfield. In Vermont, I would like to thank a number of people who have helped me in various ways throughout my educational pursuits. First, I need to thank Stephen Mulholland for keeping me relatively sane for 35 years and for our numerous conversations about psychological topics. I would like to thank Scott Noren for our many discussions on all things evolutionary and triarchic throughout the years. I want to thank Paul Fila, Todd Field, and Brent Benson for keeping me focused on finishing this project with their “gentle” persistence. In New Jersey, I would like to thank Tim and Stacey Lanni for being so supportive over the years. I hope there will always be 25 plays on the jukebox. I need to thank a group of people who have kept me motivated in my pursuit of a doctoral degree: Rick Lyons, Chris Higgins, Gene and Katherine v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Beebe, Fred-Ted-Ned or Red (also known as Bob Paquette), George Paquette, Ed Preseau, Freddy Marchaland, and finally Trevor Hughes (whose name I changed to protect the innocent). I would like to extend my special thanks to Michael Graham and Patrick Loughan for being so close and supportive to my father and me for all these years. Lastly, I need to acknowledge my parents, John and Jeanne Root, for their infinite patience and support during my educational pursuits. Without them, this endeavor would have been impossible. To my mother and father, I dedicate this dissertation. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION..............................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.......................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES......................................................................................................x ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................xi CHAPTER PAGE INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 1 A. The Dynamic Nature of Psychological Knowledge ................................ 1 B. Making Psychological Knowledge Public ............................................... 5 C. The Nature of Disciplines and Disciplinary Boundaries ........................ 6 D. Statement of Purpose ............................................................................. 16 I. DISCIPLINARY BOUNDARY-WORK AND THE SOCIOLOGY OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE............................................................................... 23 A. Sociology of Scientific Knowledge ......................................................24 B. Philosophical Perspectives on Boundary-work ...................................31 C. Outline of Boundary-work .................................................................... 33 D. Threats to Scientists’ Authority..............................................................35 E. Types of Boundary-work ........................................................................37 F. Impermeable and Permeable Boundaries ............................................41 G. Resistances and Accommodations to Knowledge ...............................43 vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. II. THE COMPLEX DISCIPLINARY BOUNDARIES OF U.S. PSYCHOLOGY...45 A. Psychologists Establish Psychology’s Boundaries ............................. 46 B. Psychologists and the World Wars ...................................................... 49 C. Reasons for Psychology’s Complex Boundaries .................................52 D. Changes in Psychology’s Disciplinary Boundaries, 1970-2000 ......... 55 III. ADAPTATIONS OF THE MIND: EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY..............64 A. Lamarck and Spencer on Behavior ...................................................... 65 B. Darwin and His Followers in Psychology ............................................. 67 C. The Decline of Evolutionary Thought in Psychology ...........................72 D. Outline of Evolutionary Psychology................................................. 74 E. History of Evolutionary Psychology ......................................................79