William McDougall: Biography Of This Controversial Psychologist And Researcher
William McDougall (1891-1938) was an American psychologist recognized as one of the founders of social psychology. In addition, he contributed significantly to the study of psychopathology after war experiences, paranormal psychology, and instinct theories.
In this article we will see a biography of William McDougall and some of his main contributions to the development of psychology.
William McDougall: biography of a pioneer in psychology
William McDougall was born on June 22, 1891 in Lancashire, England. He was the son of Shimwell McDougall and Rebekah Smalley, a couple of upper-class industrialists originally from Scotland. From a young age, McDougall had the opportunity to attend private schools, both in England and Germany. He trained in different areas, not only psychology but also the natural sciences, and presided over different psychology associations.
He also served as a professor at the most prestigious North American universities, where he was recognized as an important psychologist, although at the same time he generated intense debates about the study of the mind and eugenics. In the same context published numerous important works and died in Durham, North Carolina, in 1938, but not without having stopped working as a professor at Duke University.
Academic and professional training
William McDougall was initially interested in the natural sciences , despite the fact that his father motivated him to study law. His mother, on the other hand, supported him to begin university studies in science from a very young age, an issue that he soon began at the University of Manchester, specifically in the areas of biology and geology.
Finally, in 1894, obtained a degree in natural sciences from the University of Cambridge At the same university, McDougall became strongly interested in the study of human behavior. But, to specialize in it, at that time it was necessary to first train in medicine. By 1989, McDougall had already obtained a medical degree with a specialty in psychology and neurology.
During this period he became especially interested in the work of one of the most renowned scientists of the time, William James.
Motivated by his work, McDougall ended up focusing specifically on psychology. Thus, in the year 1898, and in the context of the University of Cambridge, McDougall began to investigate one of the problems that have been most present throughout the development of psychology: the mind-body relationship
Two years later he carried out some work related to the anthropology of the time, specifically on the Asian island of Borneo, and a year later he moved to Germany, where he specialized in experimental psychology under the guidance of another of the great scientists of the time, GE Muller.
Theoretical contributions
William McDougall developed extensively in psychology. In the North American context where this last discipline was consolidated, McDougall contributed different knowledge about experimental psychology, paranormal psychology, psychopathology and social psychology in relation to instincts.
In addition He maintained different arguments in favor of eugenics , and others against behaviorist currents, which generated certain rejection from the North American scientific community. We will see below some of the theoretical proposals of this psychologist.
Experimental psychology applied to the study of the psyche
After his return to England, this psychologist worked as a teacher and researcher. In fact, McDougall He is recognized as the founder of experimental psychology at Oxford
In the same context he founded the British Psychological Society and the British Journal of Psychology, and worked together with the doctor and anthropologist Francis Galton and the psychologist specializing in intelligence and statistics, Charles Spearman. These collaborations allowed him to develop work on very diverse topics, ranging from eugenics to the development of intelligence tests.
In the year 1911, and given the development of different approaches to behavior and the human psyche, McDougall worked together with Carl Jung , and became interested in studying abnormal psychology from an experimental method. In fact, McDougall defended the scientific existence of the soul.
For him, the human being is composed of both soul and body, and one of the tasks of science is to explain the relationship between the two. Among other things this led him to the study of telepathy and near-death experiences.
Studies in psychopathology and debates about his thinking
The Second World War opened the way for William McDougall to develop new interests and research.
After working with members of the British Army who had survived the war, McDougall became interested in psychopathology and He ended up chairing the Psychiatry Section of the Royal Society of Medicine in 1918. He also presided over the British Society for Psychical Research in 1920.
The above, coupled with his closeness to William James, paved the way for him to work as a professor at Harvard University in the 1920s. However, McDougall’s work did not cease to be controversial in the American context where psychology was consolidated.
Behaviorism was increasingly gaining recognition, and McDougall not only did not subscribe to this trend but also remained quite critical of it. He defended the study of psychic phenomena, since, for McDougall, psychology had to be holistic, that is, it had to take into consideration different factors beyond the material to understand human behavior.
On the other hand, McDougall was significantly criticized for his arguments in defense of eugenics. Specifically argued that heredity played a fundamental role in human behavior , and furthermore, said inheritance was different according to the different races of the human species. For this reason, one of the means to enhance the abilities of said species was eugenics, or “selective breeding” that allowed the most valued genes to be enhanced.
Faithful to his training in natural sciences, he believed in the scientific method applied to psychology, and defended the theory of instincts. He maintained that the latter was the one that could best explain all types of human behavior.
He understood instincts as innate psychophysical dispositions For McDougall, it is instincts that allow us to develop the cognitive component of behavior, the emotional component and the volitional component. For example, they allow us to attend to different objects, after attending to them, experience emotions, and finally act towards them in a certain way.
Thus, behavior is not a response to something external that triggers it, but rather behavior is the result of internal motivation due to human instincts. This is why he himself called his approach “intensional psychology.” The behavior is, furthermore, an always goal-oriented response : It is useful and pursues a purpose. However, this purpose may remain hidden and may not be consciously understood by the same person who carries out the behavior.
Outstanding works
Some of William McDougall’s most influential works are Introduction to Social Psychology, from 1908, where he developed his theory of instincts. This work, in fact, is considered one of the classic texts of psychology, as well as one of the first focused on the relationship between the individual and society. In the same way It is considered one of the founding texts of social psychology
His work is also recognized Body and Mind, from 1911, where he defended the scientific existence of the soul; and Outline of Abnormal Psychologyfrom 1926, where his research on psychopathology is reflected.
