Honoring the founders of 'psychology's attic'

By Jamie Chamberlin
Monitor staff

Thanks to John Popplestone and Marion White McPherson, scholars of American psychol- ogy can pour over the papers of Abraham Maslow and Hans Eysenck, examine Stanley Milgram's shock box, and watch an original film that documents the year Winthrop and Luella Kellogg raised their toddler son alongside a chimpanzee.

Researchers seeking the ultimate psychology experience can even read sitting in a chair identical to one that G. Stanley Hall reserved for office visitors--all because John Popplestone, PhD, and his wife Marion White McPherson, PhD, each devoted 35 years to developing the Archives of the History of American Psychology at the University of Akron, the largest collection of psychology materials in the world.

At a symposium at APA's 1999 Annual Convention in Boston, psychology historians honored the work of the archives' founders, who this year turned leadership of the collection over to its new director, David Baker, PhD.

An integral role in science history

The collection Popplestone and McPherson have amassed--often referred to as "psychology's attic"--has helped the history of American psychology flourish as a discipline, said psychologists who spoke at the symposium. The archives have enabled historians to use primary documents as resources and has increased awareness of psychology's integral role in science history, noted speakers.

"If John Popplestone and Marion White McPherson had not founded the archives and given it wise and thoughtful direction over the years, very significant pieces of the history of psychology would have been lost and the discipline would have been poorer as a result," says APA Chief Executive Officer Raymond D. Fowler, PhD, who presented Popplestone with a commemorative plaque at the symposium.

Located in the refinished basement of an old department store donated to the university, the archives houses more than 3,000 books, 719 collections of personal papers, 102 society and journal collections, 700 pieces of lab equipment and more than 3,000 photographs of psychologists, meetings, laboratory experiments and apparatus. There are 153 miles of film on child development and more than 200 reels of classroom demonstration film.

Psychologists and other scientists travel to Akron from all over the world to tap into the archives resources, says Popplestone. German and Japanese psychologists recently visited to observe how the archives is run because they are developing archives in their countries.

The archives also offers fellowships that enable investigators to conduct research at the archives. Funding comes in part from the profits of the Popplestone and McPherson book, "An Illustrated History of American Psychology" (University of Akron Press, 1994), which gives a visual tour of the collection.

From the ground up

Neither Popplestone nor McPherson started their careers as historians--both were clinical psychologists. Popplestone joined the faculty at Akron in 1961 and was told he'd teach history of psychology--which he knew little about at the time. But his interest in the material grew over the years, as did his frustration about the lack of primary sources in psychology.

"The field wasn't going to amount to anything unless we had data," says Popplestone, who, with his wife, decided to seek out funding for an archive. "But little did we know what we were starting."

The university approved their idea, but provided no money or office space for the project. All they got was a student volunteer and elegant letterhead, recalls Popplestone, but that was all they needed to request materials. Acquiring materials was slow at first, but as word of the archives spread, so did their holdings. The university eventually gave them a home for the collection.

"We didn't expect it to grow as much as it did," says McPherson, who also taught at Akron. She became associate director of the archives in 1967. "We found that the field was much more fertile than we had dreamed and much more productive."

Popplestone became director of the archives in 1975 when the university switched his major appointment from teaching to the archives. He also became a certified archivist.

"At the time they were first developing the archives, people questioned the value of what they were doing," says David Baker, PhD, who became director in July. "Now, everyone appreciates what they have done. It's the most important collection of its kind in the world."

Baker, who has taught at the University of North Texas for the past 10 years, is learning the secrets of the archives from Popplestone, who now serves as director emeritus of the archives. "There are a million great stories here," says Baker. One of his first projects will be to create a computer database for the card-catalog system to make retrieving information faster and easier for visiting scholars.

Neither Popplestone nor McPherson regrets the decision to abandon their original career goals to develop the archives.

"This was a joint effort from the beginning--neither of us could have done it on our own," says Popplestone. "And it has been a great experience."Y



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