Edna Frances Heidbreder

Edna Frances Heidbreder (May 1, 1890 - February 19, 1985) was an American philosopher and psychologist who explored the study of history, and made contributions toward the field of study in psychometrics, systematic psychology, and concept formation. and the experimentation on personality traits and its characteristics. In her third year of study, Heidbreder took mandatory courses in psychology and philosophy. She recounted that reading Berkeley, Hume, and Kant led her to be increasingly skeptical of the validity of human knowledge, which kickstarted her interest in psychology. In 1926, she published a psychological review called Thinking as an Instinct, in which she compared and connected to previous works from John Dewey’s Essays in Logical Theory and How We Think, as well as William James’ The Principles of Psychology to her new functionalist school of thought around the topic of thinking.

Heidbreder stated that the reason the notion of thinking has been disregarded within the field of psychology was because it was brought upon a philosophical manner rather than a testable subject that could be studied within the realm of empirical research. Heidbreder focused on seven theories/schools of thought and their associated theorists: structuralism and Edward Bradford Titchener; the psychology of William James; functionalism and the University of Chicago psychologists (including, Dewey, James Rowland Angell, and Harvey A. Carr); behaviourism and Watson; dynamic psychology and Columbia (including Woodworth); Gestalt psychology; and psychoanalysis and Sigmund Freud.

Heidbreder’s approach was to examine the perspective of each theorist’s viewpoint on psychology through their different schools of thought while discussing the positives and deficiencies of each theory. Heidbreder evaluated the theories based on their ability to progress the scientific approach to psychology rather than on their accuracy. For instance, in regard to Titchener, she discussed how he wanted psychology to be researched through a metaphysical approach while removing intuition-based explanations of the mind—something he viewed as a barrier to advancing the scientific approach to psychology.

Heidbreder acknowledged the limitations of her book, namely that she did not incorporate all of the key influencers at the time, such as Charles Edward Spearman, and that, for the theories she did incorporate, she did not delve into deviations, such as Carl Jung’s influence on psychoanalysis. She also discussed the potential pitfalls of her approach to writing the book, such as the illusion of cohesion within a theory and the oversimplification of concepts. However, in defending her decisions, Heidbreder reiterated that the purpose of the text was for a non-psychologist to gain a brief insight into the main sources of influences on American psychology.

Heidbreder received praise for her objective approach from prominent psychologists. For instance, Kurt Koffka, one of the founders of Gestalt psychology, commented: “Throughout I was struck by the clearness, impartiality and the fairness of your exposition. You have the progress of psychology at heart, and you try to present the different and conflicting systems in such a way that psychology may derive some benefit from your stock-taking."

Women's right to education Edna Heidbreder strongly advocated for women’s rights, particularly women’s rights in learning and education. She was also aware of the discrimination and inequality women had to continuously face in science and research as it was studied predominantly by men at the time. When learning at school, she found it hard being in the field of science and psychology as she was surrounded by men, including the professors that taught her. She was observant of the school’s tolerance of women within education, and how hospitable they were to them. Heidbreder believed that women eventually came to understand that they live in a society that was more favorable to men. This included fields of study such as psychology, the sciences, and other ambitious disciplines. She believed that while women did acknowledge this reality, it did not mean they supported it; it was simply a conformity that people were expected to follow.

The cause of men being favored in most academic fields, Heidbreder believed, was due to the nature of the conditions outside the workplace and disciplines. She suggested that this was because of stereotypes that people associated with gender within society. These stereotypes affected how the opposite sex see each other and how they interact with each other, accordingly. Women in non-stereotypical positions, working in male-dominant fields of science and research, was difficult to become accustomed to for some, even subconsciously, according to Heidbreder.

Committees and awards

Affiliations with the American Psychological Association Edna Heidbreder was involved with the American Psychological Association (APA), and provided services to them for over a decade, until her retirement in 1955. She was an active member of the Board of Directors from 1939 to 1940, and again from 1942 to 1944. In 1944, she was a representative of the APA to the National Research Council until 1947, and she started again from 1952 to 1955. In 1950, she became the president of the Division on General Psychology - now known as the Society for General Psychology. In 1967, Heidbreder was one of thirty-seven senior members honored by the Association as part of its 75th anniversary celebration. Her work on thinking and cognition, and her book Seven Psychologies were specially mentioned.

Other affiliations Heidbreder was president of the Eastern Psychological Association (EPA), from 1943 to 1944. Apart from her, only one other woman had been in this position. She remained in the EPA for three years as a member of their Board of Directors.

In 1940, Heidbreder began work as a secretary for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She was a secretary for seven years until she became vice-president in 1947. She also became the chairperson for the AAAS’ section on psychology, and she remained there as the chairperson until 1948.