From philosopher to psychologist: the early career of Edwin Ray Guthrie, Jr.
Edwin R. Guthrie rose to prominence as a psychologist in the 1930s. His theoretical outlook was behavioristic. This approach came from his conviction that an objective method could be applied to a scientific treatment of mind. Prior to becoming a psychologist, he was a philosopher of mathematics. Guthrie was initiated into psychology by Stevenson Smith, from whom he learned a psychology of adjustment informed by comparative research, Columbia functionalism, and clinical psychology. Guthrie's first step into psychology was in collaboration with Smith on Chapters in General Psychology (S. Smith & E.R. Guthrie, 1921). To synthesize their own unique position on learning from the contemporary theory and research, they used the principle of association. This articles focuses on Guthrie's origin and his development into a learning theorist.
Clark
David O
DO
York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008433:Mathematics / Q000266:history; D010684:Philosophy / Q000266:history; D011584:Psychology / Q000266:history*; D014481:United States