Hollingworth, Leta Stetter
| Line 6: | Line 6: | ||
==Life== | ==Life== | ||
| − | '''Leta Anna Stetter''' was born on May 25, 1886 on a farm outside of [[Chadron, Nebraska]]. After graduating from the [[University of Nebraska]] in 1906 Stetter pursued a writing career, but financial considerations led her to take on a teaching position in her home state. | + | '''Leta Anna Stetter''' was born on May 25, 1886 on a farm outside of [[Chadron, Nebraska]]. After graduating from the [[University of Nebraska]] in 1906 Stetter pursued a writing career, but financial considerations led her to take on a teaching position in her home state. (Benjamin, 1975, 1990) (Benjamin and Shields 1990), (Gates, 1940) (Shields, 1975). On December 31, 1908 Stetter married [[Harry Levi Hollingworth]], a graduate assistant of [[James McKeen Cattell]]’s at [[Columbia University]] in New York City. Once married Hollingworth was unable to gain employment because married women were not hired as teachers in New York City. (Benjamin 1975, 1990, 1996) (Benjamin et al 1991). (Shields 1975, 1991) (Shields and Mallory 1987). This left Hollingworth frustrated at her inability to be more than a housewife. (Benjamin 1975, 1990) (Shields, 1975, 1991) |
| − | Eventually, the Hollingworths were able to save enough money to allow Leta to attend graduate school, and in 1911 Hollingworth began graduate work in educational psychology at Columbia under the supervision of [[Edward Lee Thorndike]]. | + | Eventually, the Hollingworths were able to save enough money to allow Leta to attend graduate school, and in 1911 Hollingworth began graduate work in educational psychology at Columbia under the supervision of [[Edward Lee Thorndike]]. |
| − | Hollingworth’s doctoral dissertation also dealt with the psychology of women. Entitled “Functional periodicity: An experimental study of the mental and motor abilities of women during menstruation” it found no evidence of changes in performance associated with phases of the menstrual cycle, refuting a common belief of the time. | + | Hollingworth’s doctoral dissertation also dealt with the psychology of women. Entitled “Functional periodicity: An experimental study of the mental and motor abilities of women during menstruation” it found no evidence of changes in performance associated with phases of the menstrual cycle, refuting a common belief of the time.(Shields 1991) Although Hollingworth continued to publish theoretical papers on the psychology of women for years, her empirical research on the topic came to an end shortly after she received her PhD in 1916. In fact, Hollingworth planned for years to write a book on the psychology of women for which she had chosen the title, “Ms. Pilgrim’s Progress.” Unfortunately Hollingworth passed away before she could complete this work. It has been speculated that one reason Hollingworth didn’t continue her empirical work on the psychology of women, was that American womens’ attainment of the vote in 1920 lessened the urgency of the need for such work (Hollingworth herself was an active member of the Women's Suffrage Party).(Benjamin Ben1990) |
Leta Hollingworth died of abdominal cancer in 1939. | Leta Hollingworth died of abdominal cancer in 1939. | ||
==Work== | ==Work== | ||
| − | Having experienced impediments to personal achievements as a result of her gender, Hollingworth was moved to empirically investigate the factors that were thought to make women inferior to men. | + | Having experienced impediments to personal achievements as a result of her gender, Hollingworth was moved to empirically investigate the factors that were thought to make women inferior to men.(Benjamin, 1975, 1990) (Shields 1975, 1991) Consequently, Hollingworth was a leading figure in the development of the psychology of women. A job opportunity at the Clearing House for Mental Defectives allowed Hollingworth the opportunity to refute the [[variability hypothesis]], an element of the [[Social Darwinism]] of the period, and a basis for many claims of female inferiority. By examining case records Hollingworth determined that although men outnumbered women, the ratio of men to women decreased with age. Hollingworth explained this as the result of men facing greater societal expectations than women, leading to the earlier detection of deficiencies in men. (Benjamin 1975, 1990) (Denmark and Fernandez 1993). (Shields 1975, 1991) |
| − | In an attempt to examine the validity of the variability hypothesis, and to avoid the effects of intervening social and cultural factors, Hollingworth gathered data on birth weight and length of 1,000 male and 1,000 female neonates. This research found virtually no difference in the variability of male and female infants, and it was concluded that if variability “favoured” any sex it was the female sex. | + | In an attempt to examine the validity of the variability hypothesis, and to avoid the effects of intervening social and cultural factors, Hollingworth gathered data on birth weight and length of 1,000 male and 1,000 female neonates. This research found virtually no difference in the variability of male and female infants, and it was concluded that if variability “favoured” any sex it was the female sex. (Benjamin 1975, 1990) Along with the anthropologist [[Robert Lowie]] Hollingworth published a review of literature from anatomical, physiological, and cross-cultural studies, in which no objective evidence was found to support the idea of innate female inferiority. Hollingworth also attacked the variability hypothesis theoretically, criticizing the underlying logic of the hypothesis. |
| − | In 1916 Hollingworth accepted a position at Columbia University Teachers College where she continued research into the psychology of exceptional children began by her predecessor at the college, [[Naomi Norsworthy]]. This work didn’t begin immediately, as from 1916 to 1920 Hollingworth’s work focused on children with some form of mental retardation or education difficulties. It was only in the early 1920s that Hollingworth continued Norsworthy’s work in earnest. | + | In 1916 Hollingworth accepted a position at Columbia University Teachers College where she continued research into the psychology of exceptional children began by her predecessor at the college, [[Naomi Norsworthy]]. This work didn’t begin immediately, as from 1916 to 1920 Hollingworth’s work focused on children with some form of mental retardation or education difficulties. It was only in the early 1920s that Hollingworth continued Norsworthy’s work in earnest. She devoted the remainder of her life to this work and gained a reputation as a national authority on exceptional children, in the realms of both education and [[clinical psychology]]. Additionally, Hollingworth helped found a special experimental public school for the study of the gifted and mentally deficient and conducted longitudinal research on the intellectually gifted. Although Hollingworth repeatedly applied for research funding she was never awarded any funds. |
==Legacy== | ==Legacy== | ||
| Line 41: | Line 41: | ||
* Hollingworth, Harry. L., and Leta Hollingworth. ''Vocational Psychology, Its Problems And Methods: With A Chapter On The Vocational Aptitudes Of Women''. Kessinger Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1432508982 | * Hollingworth, Harry. L., and Leta Hollingworth. ''Vocational Psychology, Its Problems And Methods: With A Chapter On The Vocational Aptitudes Of Women''. Kessinger Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1432508982 | ||
| − | + | ||
| − | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 22:39, 22 September 2008
Leta Stetter Hollingworth (May 25, 1886—November 27, 1939) was a psychologist who conducted pioneering work on the psychology of women as well as on the education of exceptional children.
Life
Leta Anna Stetter was born on May 25, 1886 on a farm outside of Chadron, Nebraska. After graduating from the University of Nebraska in 1906 Stetter pursued a writing career, but financial considerations led her to take on a teaching position in her home state. (Benjamin, 1975, 1990) (Benjamin and Shields 1990), (Gates, 1940) (Shields, 1975). On December 31, 1908 Stetter married Harry Levi Hollingworth, a graduate assistant of James McKeen Cattell’s at Columbia University in New York City. Once married Hollingworth was unable to gain employment because married women were not hired as teachers in New York City. (Benjamin 1975, 1990, 1996) (Benjamin et al 1991). (Shields 1975, 1991) (Shields and Mallory 1987). This left Hollingworth frustrated at her inability to be more than a housewife. (Benjamin 1975, 1990) (Shields, 1975, 1991)
Eventually, the Hollingworths were able to save enough money to allow Leta to attend graduate school, and in 1911 Hollingworth began graduate work in educational psychology at Columbia under the supervision of Edward Lee Thorndike.
Hollingworth’s doctoral dissertation also dealt with the psychology of women. Entitled “Functional periodicity: An experimental study of the mental and motor abilities of women during menstruation” it found no evidence of changes in performance associated with phases of the menstrual cycle, refuting a common belief of the time.(Shields 1991) Although Hollingworth continued to publish theoretical papers on the psychology of women for years, her empirical research on the topic came to an end shortly after she received her PhD in 1916. In fact, Hollingworth planned for years to write a book on the psychology of women for which she had chosen the title, “Ms. Pilgrim’s Progress.” Unfortunately Hollingworth passed away before she could complete this work. It has been speculated that one reason Hollingworth didn’t continue her empirical work on the psychology of women, was that American womens’ attainment of the vote in 1920 lessened the urgency of the need for such work (Hollingworth herself was an active member of the Women's Suffrage Party).(Benjamin Ben1990)
Leta Hollingworth died of abdominal cancer in 1939.
Work
Having experienced impediments to personal achievements as a result of her gender, Hollingworth was moved to empirically investigate the factors that were thought to make women inferior to men.(Benjamin, 1975, 1990) (Shields 1975, 1991) Consequently, Hollingworth was a leading figure in the development of the psychology of women. A job opportunity at the Clearing House for Mental Defectives allowed Hollingworth the opportunity to refute the variability hypothesis, an element of the Social Darwinism of the period, and a basis for many claims of female inferiority. By examining case records Hollingworth determined that although men outnumbered women, the ratio of men to women decreased with age. Hollingworth explained this as the result of men facing greater societal expectations than women, leading to the earlier detection of deficiencies in men. (Benjamin 1975, 1990) (Denmark and Fernandez 1993). (Shields 1975, 1991)
In an attempt to examine the validity of the variability hypothesis, and to avoid the effects of intervening social and cultural factors, Hollingworth gathered data on birth weight and length of 1,000 male and 1,000 female neonates. This research found virtually no difference in the variability of male and female infants, and it was concluded that if variability “favoured” any sex it was the female sex. (Benjamin 1975, 1990) Along with the anthropologist Robert Lowie Hollingworth published a review of literature from anatomical, physiological, and cross-cultural studies, in which no objective evidence was found to support the idea of innate female inferiority. Hollingworth also attacked the variability hypothesis theoretically, criticizing the underlying logic of the hypothesis.
In 1916 Hollingworth accepted a position at Columbia University Teachers College where she continued research into the psychology of exceptional children began by her predecessor at the college, Naomi Norsworthy. This work didn’t begin immediately, as from 1916 to 1920 Hollingworth’s work focused on children with some form of mental retardation or education difficulties. It was only in the early 1920s that Hollingworth continued Norsworthy’s work in earnest. She devoted the remainder of her life to this work and gained a reputation as a national authority on exceptional children, in the realms of both education and clinical psychology. Additionally, Hollingworth helped found a special experimental public school for the study of the gifted and mentally deficient and conducted longitudinal research on the intellectually gifted. Although Hollingworth repeatedly applied for research funding she was never awarded any funds.
Legacy
Major publications
- Hollingworth, Leta. Differential Action upon the Sexes of Forces which tend to segregate the feebleminded. American Journal of Sociology, 17, 35-37.
- Hollingworth, Leta. Social devices for impelling women to bare and rear children. American Journal of Sociology, 22,19-29.
- Hollingworth, Leta. Variability as Related to Sex differences in Achievement. American Journal of Sociology, 19, 510-530.
- Hollingworth, Leta. Sex differences in mental traits. Psychological Bulletin,13, 377-384.
- Hollingworth, Leta. The Psychology of Special Disability in Spelling. Teachers College, Columbia University, 1918.
- Hollingworth, Leta. The Psychology of Subnormal Children, Macmillan. 1920.
- Hollingworth, Leta. Special Talents and Defects: Their Significance for Education. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Library, 1923. ISBN 1429757140
- Hollingworth, Leta. Helping the Nervous Child. The Lincoln school of Teachers college, 1927.
- Hollingworth, Leta. Gifted Children: Their Nature and Nurture. Macmillan, 1929 (original 1926?).
- Hollingworth, Leta. The Psychology of the Adolescent. Appleton, 1928.
- Hollingworth, Leta. Children Above 180 IQ Stanford-Binet: Origin and Development (1942)
- Hollingworth, Leta. The new woman in the making. Current History 27 (1927): 15-20.
- Hollingworth, Leta. Functional Periodicity: An Experimental Study of the Mental and Motor Abilities of Women during Menstruation. AMS Press, 1972 (original 1916). ISBN 040455069X
- Hollingworth, Leta. Children Above 180 IQ: Standford-Binet Origin and Development (Italian American Experience). Arno Press, 1975.
- Hollingworth, Leta. Adolescence: The Difficult Age. Chicago, IL: University Of Chicago Press, 1931.
- Hollingworth, Harry. L., and Leta Hollingworth. Vocational Psychology, Its Problems And Methods: With A Chapter On The Vocational Aptitudes Of Women. Kessinger Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1432508982
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Benjamin, L. T. 1975. The pioneering work of Leta Hollingworth in the psychology of women. Nebraska History, 56, 493-505.
- Benjamin, L. T. 1990. Leta Stetter Hollingworth: Psychologist, educator, feminist. Roeper Review, 12, 145-151.
- Benjamin, L. T., Rogers, A. M., and Rosenbaum, A. 1991. Coca-Cola, caffeine, and mental deficiency: Harry Hollingworth and the Chattanooga trial of 1911. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 27, 42-55.
- Denmark, Florence L., and L. C. Fernandez. 1993. Historical development of the psychology of women. In Psychology of Women: A Handbook of Issues and Theories, Florence L. Denmark and Michele A. Paludi (eds.), 1-22. Westport, CT: Greenwood. ISBN 0313262950
- Hollingworth, Harry L. [1943]1990. Leta Stetter Hollingworth: A Biography. Anker Pub Co. ISBN 0962704202
- Benjamin, L. T. 1996. Harry Hollingworth: Portrait of a generalist. In Portraits of Pioneers in Psychology: Volume 2, Gregory A. Kimble, C. Alan Boneau, and Michael Wertheimer (eds.), 91-135. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ISBN 1557983445
- Klein, Ann G. A Forgotten Voice: A Biography of Leta Stetter Hollingworth . Great Potential Press, 2002. ISBN 0910707537
- O’Connell, Agnes N., and Nancy Felipe Russo (eds.). 1990. Women in Psychology: A Bio-bibliographic Sourcebook. Westport, CT: Greenwood. ISBN 0313260915
- Poffenberger, A. T. 1940. Leta Stetter Hollingworth: 1886-1939. The American Journal of Psychology, 53, 299-301.
- Shields, Stephanie A. 1975. Ms. Pilgrim’s Progress: The contributions of Leta Stetter Hollingworth to the psychology of women. American Psychologist, 30, 852-857.
- Shields, Stephanie A., and Mallory, M. E. (1987). Leta Stetter Hollingworth speaks on "Columbia’s legacy." Psychology of Women Quarterly, 11, 285-300.
- Shields, Stephanie A. 1991. Leta Stetter Hollingworth: "Literature of Opinion" and the study of individual differences. In Portraits of Pioneers in Psychology, Gregory A. Kimble, Michael Wertheimer, and Charlotte L. White (eds.), 243-255. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ISBN 0805811362
External links
- LETA STETTER HOLLINGWORTH: HER LIFE
- Leta Stetter Hollingworth at Indiana University
- Leta Stetter Hollinworth at Missouri Western State University
Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:
The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:
Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.
