Ethel Puffer Howes
description
Transcript of Ethel Puffer Howes
Ethel Puffer HowesSara HardinJoe TomlinsBen Schwartz AKA: The Naughty Nuns
Childhood and Family Life• Born October 10, 1872• Eldest of four sisters• Father, George
▫ Respected railroad station agent
• Mother, Ella▫ Received college
education, as did younger sister
▫ Taught high school until marriage
• Family history of higher education for women
(Scarborough & Furumoto, 1987)
Age 3
Education• 1891 – graduated from Smith College at age 18• Taught mathematics at Smith for 3 years
▫ Became interested in study of Psychology• Fall 1895 – moved to Germany to study psychology at
University of Berlin▫ Faced many struggles as female student▫ Interview with Hugo Münsterberg
University of Berlin (Scarborough & Furumoto, 1987)
Education• 1896 – Attended University
of Freiburg ▫ Studied under
Münsterberg Supervised her research Allowed use of his private
laboratory at his home Encouraged Puffer to
earn doctorate• 1897 – Followed
Münsterberg to Harvard▫ Denied Ph.D., appealed to
Radcliffe College▫ Result: 4 women granted
Ph.D.s, Puffer one of 2 who accepted
Hugo Münsterberg
(Scarborough & Furumoto, 1987)
Aesthetics
• Beauty - pleasure in the senses; discriminatory
• Aesthetics - all that can be aesthetically contemplated; inclusive of the ugly
(Howes, 1914)
The Psychology of Beauty - 1905
• General principles of Beauty:▫ Excellence▫ Standard▫ Value
• Religious, domestic, and commercial influences
• Synthesis of theory and objective tests via:▫ Music▫ Literature▫ Pictures
(Puffer, 1905)
Defining Beauty: Methodology• Methodology (physiological responses &
introspection):▫ Select a salient characteristic of the mental state
during exposure to beauty (e.g. art)▫ Use introspection to analyze the transformation of
the physiological response of beauty translates into the mental state
▫ Relation of senses to the colors, lines, compositions, and other elements
• Zeitgeist - Structuralism & Elementism
(Puffer, 1905)
Conclusions•Nature of beauty:
▫Auditory, motor, visual, and other physiological responses.
• Beauty is not perfection:▫Perfect moments (i.e. positive affect).
•Union of stimulation (senses) and repose (emotion):▫Aesthetic experience
(Howes, 1914; Puffer, 1905)
Howes’ Research: Strengths and Weaknesses• Methodological Weaknesses:
▫ Large population ▫ Definition of an aesthetic feeling ▫ Subjective and implicit value judgments ▫ Exposure to many types of beauty
• Strengths:▫ Attempt at using empirical methods of
psychology to define concept of beauty Historically, beauty part of abstract
philosophical theory
• Beauty provides a sense of unity and totality - self-completeness - creating an aesthetic experience (a reflection of the infinite)
(Howes, 1905)
The Role of the Zeitgeist: Career vs. Family
“Suppose every man had to cheese between marrying the woman of his choice and instantly becoming a janitor for life, or remaining a bachelor and following the work he loved best” – Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 1906
•Zeitgeist of Early 20th Century:▫Gender roles:
1. Woman as mother, domestic, “socialite”2. Man as provider, works outside home
▫Married women not considered for academic positions
(Scarborough & Furumoto, 1987)
Career vs. Family• 1908 – Married Benjamin
Howes• Extreme difficulty managing
academic career and a home▫ 1910 Letter to Mother
• Gave birth to daughter (1915) and son (1917)
• Early 1920s – Women had the vote, WWI over, children reached school age▫ Published works reflect
experience of “the intolerable choice”
(Scarborough, 1991)
Accepting the Universe - 1922• Women’s role in
the universe - childbirth the only contribution?
• Psychological Disability - inconsecutiveness of the mind
• Mental conflicts - Attention for child vs. work
(Howes, 1922)
Continuity for Women - 1922•Women cannot balance marriage and a
career simultaneously•Rejected idea that women make full use of
abilities as a domestic•Discontinuity: educated woman who
marries abandons career•Solution: structure flexible work schedule
around role as wife and mother
(Howes, 1922b)
Later Theory•Previous solutions aimed at resolving “the
intolerable choice” involved centering career around role as wife and mother▫Mutually exclusive, sacrifice within career
•The meaning of progress in the woman movement (1929) ▫Solution: create new definition of marriage
and motherhood
(Howes, 1929)
References• Howes, E. (1922). Accepting the universe. Atlantic Monthly 129, 444-
53. • Howes, E. (1914). Æsthetics. Psychological Bulletin, 11(7), 256-262.
doi:10.1037/h0075342 • Howes, E. Puffer (1922b). Continuity for women. Atlantic Monthly,
130, 731-39.• Howes, E. Puffer (1929). The meaning of progress in the women
movement. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 143, 14-20.
• Puffer, E. D. (1905). The psychology of beauty. Boston, MA US:Houghton Mifflin and Company. doi:10.1037/10836000
• Scarborough, E., & Furumoto, L. 1987. Untold Lives: The FirstGeneration of American Women Psychologists. New York: Columbia University Press
• Scarborough, E. 1991. Continuity for women: Ethel Puffer's struggle. In G. A. Kimble, M. Wertheimer & C. White Eds., Portraits of Pioneers in Psychology pp. 105-120. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.