Psychologists on the March : Science, Practice, and Professional Identity in America, 1929–1969

Why are there so many psychologists in America today? This study seeks to answer this question through historical analysis of the middle years of this century. The book argues that the Second World War exerted a profound influence on the shape and structure of the field.

Psychologists on the March argues that the Second World War had a profound impact on the modern psychological profession in America. Before the war, psychology was viewed largely as an academic discipline, drawing its ideology and personnel from the laboratory. Following the war, it was increasingly seen as a source of theory and practice to deal with mental health issues. With the support of the federal government, the field entered a prolonged period of exponential growth. With this growth came major changes in the institutional structure of the field that spread to include the epistemological foundations of psychology. This book is a sustained study of this important era in American psychology. Moving back and forth between collective and individual levels of analysis, it provides a narrative that weaves together the internal politics and demography of psychology in relation to the cultural environment.