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Magda Arnold and the Human Person: A Mid-Century Case Study on the Relationship Between Psychology and Religion

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dc.contributor.advisorRutherford, Alexandra
dc.creatorRodkey, Elissa Nicole
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-16T19:22:29Z
dc.date.available2015-12-16T19:22:29Z
dc.date.copyright2015-07-23
dc.date.issued2015-12-16
dc.date.updated2015-12-16T19:22:29Z
dc.degree.disciplinePsychology (Functional Area: History and Theory)
dc.degree.levelDoctoral
dc.degree.namePhD - Doctor of Philosophy
dc.description.abstractThe life of Magda Arnold (1903-2002)—best known for her pioneering appraisal theory of emotion—spanned the 20th century, and she witnessed the rise and fall of many of the major “schools” of psychology. Arnold had an unusual perspective on these theories of psychology, due in large part to an event that occurred in 1948: her conversion to Roman Catholicism. Throughout her life, but especially following her conversion, Arnold rejected reductionistic theories of the human person, instead articulating theories which emphasized human agency and telos, and which held up the human experience as the primary source of psychological knowledge. Arnold’s conversion significantly affected her career, as she made professional sacrifices to teach in Catholic institutions and was open about her religious identity in her academic work at a time when Catholic scholars were suspect. Arnold’s conversion also shaped her psychological thinking—she later credited her conversion and resulting exposure to scholastic philosophy with inspiring her appraisal theory. Arnold’s involvement in psychology (1935-1975) roughly corresponds with a period in academic psychology in which there was very minimal investigation of religious topics (1930-1976)—they were generally considered taboo or unscientific. Yet the majority of American consumers of psychology remained religious in this period, and applied and popular psychology addressed their interests. Arnold’s life contributes an important perspective on this period, highlighting how one psychologist of faith responded to the pressures of an increasingly secular psychology by rejecting the apparent conflict to affirm the fundamental compatibility of faith and science. As such Arnold’s life is a useful contribution to the growing literature on the “complexity” perspective on the relationship between science and religion (as opposed to the traditional “conflict” perspective). Arnold was also aware of her own perspective as a religious psychologist and emphasized experimenter subjectivity in her work—offering a critical perspective on psychology that anticipated modern critiques of scientific objectivity. As a result Arnold contributes to discussions of reflexivity and objectivity in psychology, by drawing on her writings about the role of basic assumptions in science, and by considering her life to see just how her personal beliefs shaped her science.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/30691
dc.language.isoen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectPsychology
dc.subjectHistory of science
dc.subjectReligious history
dc.subject.keywordspsychology
dc.subject.keywordshistory
dc.subject.keywordsreligion
dc.subject.keywordsemotion
dc.subject.keywordsimmigration
dc.subject.keywordsscience
dc.subject.keywordsCatholics
dc.subject.keywordsCatholicism
dc.subject.keywordsCatholic
dc.subject.keywordstheology
dc.subject.keywordsAquinas
dc.subject.keywordsAristotle
dc.subject.keywordsThomism
dc.subject.keywordsneoscholasticism
dc.subject.keywordsneoscholastic
dc.subject.keywordsFreud
dc.subject.keywordsJung
dc.subject.keywordsFrankl
dc.subject.keywordsphilosophy
dc.subject.keywordstheory
dc.subject.keywordswomen
dc.subject.keywordsfeminism
dc.subject.keywordswomen's history
dc.subject.keywordswomen in science
dc.subject.keywordshistory of psychology
dc.subject.keywordshistory of science
dc.subject.keywordsappraisal
dc.subject.keywordsMagda Arnold
dc.subject.keywordsJohn Gasson
dc.subject.keywordsintegration
dc.subject.keywordsintegration of faith and science
dc.subject.keywordsbehaviorism
dc.subject.keywordspsychoanalysis
dc.subject.keywordsCanada
dc.subject.keywordsUniversity of Toronto
dc.subject.keywordsLoyola
dc.subject.keywordsChristian
dc.subject.keywordsChristianity
dc.subject.keywordsbiography
dc.subject.keywordsfaith
dc.subject.keywordsconversion
dc.subject.keywordsAustria
dc.subject.keywordsWandervogel
dc.subject.keywordsemotions
dc.subject.keywordsappraisal theory
dc.subject.keywordsMooseheart Symposium
dc.subject.keywordsBarat
dc.subject.keywordsThe Human Person
dc.subject.keywordsEmotion and Personality
dc.subject.keywordspersonality
dc.subject.keywordsself-ideal
dc.subject.keywordsobjectivity
dc.subject.keywordsreflexivity
dc.subject.keywordsphenomenology
dc.subject.keywordsvalues
dc.subject.keywordsbelief
dc.subject.keywordsbeliefs
dc.subject.keywordsreductionism
dc.subject.keywordsmodernity
dc.subject.keywordsGordon Allport
dc.subject.keywordshumanistic psychology
dc.subject.keywordsself-actualization
dc.subject.keywordsreductionistic
dc.subject.keywordscognitive psychology
dc.subject.keywordsBryn Mawr
dc.subject.keywordsHarvard
dc.subject.keywordsTwentieth Century
dc.subject.keywordsscientist
dc.subject.keywordssubjectivity
dc.subject.keywordstruth
dc.subject.keywordslogos
dc.subject.keywordstelos
dc.subject.keywordsphilosophy
dc.subject.keywordsmetaphysics
dc.subject.keywordsMaslow
dc.subject.keywordsmeaning
dc.subject.keywordspsychology of religion
dc.subject.keywordsTAT
dc.titleMagda Arnold and the Human Person: A Mid-Century Case Study on the Relationship Between Psychology and Religion
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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