Thelma Alper

Last updated

Thelma Gorfinkle Alper (July 24, 1908 - July 30, 1988) [1] was an American clinical psychologist, [2] known for creating a study measure for women's achievement motivation. She was also the first Jewish woman to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard, [3] having careers at multiple institutions as she conducted studies primarily on memory of tasks, with an interest in its relation to women.

Contents

Personal life

Alper grew up in Chelsea, Massachusetts to a Jewish family that Alper described as an "achievement oriented, but not at all a college-oriented, Jewish family". [4] She had a sister that was ten years older, named Bertha, who has been described as the most influential role model in Alper's life, yet someone who she could never dream to surpass or even match in her own achievements. [4] Bertha was valedictorian and graduated at sixteen with the intention to attempt a career in business; she was more outgoing than her sister. [4] It was Bertha who persuaded Alper to follow the college prep track in high school. [4]

Alper was a professor's assistant in college, and was later promoted to the position of general assistant for Wellesley's psychology department. [4] She also worked for the Judge Baker Guidance Center in Boston for free before getting her B.A. and M.A. later on. [4] She married Abraham T. Alper, who was involved in law, in 1932. [4] She was subject to much gender discrimination throughout her career, especially during her time at Harvard. [4] She was subjected to a grueling three hour interview where she was informed of the low female acceptance and survival rate. [4] She would not receive a position at a university that guaranteed a tenure for female faculty until 1952 at her alma mater. [4] Despite this, she was able to make her mark and see the changing times later on as more women were accepted onto faculty positions. [4] She would retire from her position as a faculty member at her alma mater in 1973 and from Judge Baker in 1979 but continued to run a small practice to help out adult patients until her death. [5]

Thelma Alper died on July 30, 1988 [1] at Sherrill House in Boston due to a stroke. [5] She was 80 years old.

Education

As Alper's record in school was excellent, she was informed by her principal she would not have to take the College Entrance Examination, and was eligible to be admitted into Radcliffe College as a student right away. [4] Despite this, Alper struggled with her choice of college. While Alper favored Radcliffe, her sister and father wanted Wellesley, while her mother picked out Simmons College. [4] Although nervous at the lack of familiar social connections at Wellesley, Alper went with her sister's choice and took the College Boards in June 1925, before officially starting college in September of the same year, at the age of seventeen. [4]

Alper did not take well to Wellesley at first and was even thinking of pulling out. [4] She initially considered a profession as a kindergarten teacher, for which Wellesley did not possess a promising program offering a chance for growth for at the time. [4] However, she chose to stay for the full year at her sister's request, and ended up feeling better about the choice later on as she took more German classes that piqued her interest - leading her to major in the language. [4] Her sophomore year was when she was introduced to the topic of psychology through a required introductory course. [4] She initially disliked the subject and found it quite dry, even when taking more advanced classes in the field. [4] Despite this, she accepted a role as the introductory psychology professor's assistant in May 1929. [4] This allowed her to take care of her sister's young son (since her sister had died in December 1928), and to continue her education at Wellesley for free, even as a graduate student. [4] She chose this position over several jobs that were related to her German major, including a teaching position at Wheaton College, a translator position for a publishing firm, and a position in one of Yale's foreign departments. [4]

She was later promoted to be an assistant for the department, allowing her the experience of teaching small discussions and participating in some research. [4] She received her B.A. in 1929, with General Honors. [4] A brief six-week stint between her junior and senior year of college for Judge Baker Guidance Center allowed her to work in a more clinical position. [4] She later received her M.A. in 1933. [4] Unfortunately, her professor died that summer, which meant that she no longer had good support within the psychology department to advance any further without a Ph.D. [4] It was around this time she hit a wall in her career, being both financially unsure and unable to move forward with her work at Wellesley. [4] She chose to take classes at the Harvard Graduate School of Education a few years later in order to be eligible to help in the English department, where she took on the role of a "director of remedial reading." [4] However, Alper wanted a new challenge and was thus driven to apply for a spot in a Ph.D. program in Harvard's College of Liberal Arts psychology department. [4] This happened despite the current chairman, Dr. Edwin G. Boring, warning her that their acceptance of females was sparse and the environment for them harsh. [4] She was accepted and began class in 1939. [4]

Career

Her first publication came during her time with the remedial reading program, which appeared in "The Wellesley Magazine" and was titled "If Only I Could Read Faster." [4] She would later become a co-editor for her collaboration with Dr. Boring for two books, "Psychology for the Fighting Man" and "Psychology for the Returning Veteran". [4]

Despite the harsher treatment of women at Harvard at the time and the smaller graduating class compared to men, Alper passed the Qualifying Preliminary Examinations in 1941 and got her Psychology Ph.D. in 1943. [4] After resigning from Wellesley, she became a Psychology tutor at Radcliffe in 1942, and soon a Psychology instructor for Harvard in 1943. [4] The position at Harvard would lead to many hardships on Alper's part, as much of Harvard's curriculum was based around separating male and female. [4] Despite much initial opposition from the male faculty, it was found that the male students were much more accepting of the idea of a female instructor, and enrollment stayed the same. [4] She would be the only female in the department until 1946, with the arrival of Eugenia Hanfmann in the social relations department. [4]

The gender discrimination would continue as both wom [4] en would eventually leave due to the lack of tenure opportunity from Harvard. Alper would find similar results at Tufts and Boston, where both offered spots without the possibility of tenure. [4] She would later accept a position for Clark University's psychology department, where she was, again, the only female on staff. [4] Despite a more accepting and open-minded environment there, she left to take an offer back at Wellesley in 1952 due to her husband's poor health. [4] The position included a role as an associate professor, where she could be promoted into a full professor within two years and tenure was finally an option. [4] Furthermore, the Nursery School at Wellesley would remain as long as it was useful to her research. [4] She would remain there until she retired in 1973. [4] She was also the chairwomen of the psychology department there for some unknown time. [5]

In 1959, Alper would return to the place where she was first given clinical experience - Judge Baker Guidance Center. [4] Her visit was agreed upon with the president of Wellesley, in coordination with her acceptance of her position at the university. [4] At Judge Baker, she would spend her time in clinical research and training in therapy. [4] At some point, she was a consultant for a Head Start set-up in Charlestown, MA, with Dr. Bessie Sperry, which lasted for five-years. [4] She would retire from Judge Baker in June 1979. [4]

Research

Alper's research mainly focused on completed and uncompleted tasks, meshing clinical and social psychology, the latter of which was influenced by Professor Kurt Lewin's class. [3] This interest was further pursued via her Ph.D., and later led to her creation of a role-orientation measure, termed the Wellesley Role-Orientation Scale (WROS) in 1974. [4] Women who receive a high score using this measure typically prefer the role that are assigned to them via the culture - the traditionalists. [4] Those who don't receive a high score are more likely to either be neutral when it comes to taking on more traditional male careers, or feel that the world is unjust due to the heavy discrimination on women who desire to make a career in male-oriented fields. [4]

Legacy, awards, and achievements

During her time taking courses at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, she developed The Wellesley Spelling Scale with another colleague, which was later published and marketed by the California Test Bureau. [4] After passing her examinations at the Harvard College of Liberal Arts, she became the eleventh woman to gain a Ph.D. from Harvard in psychology. [4] She was also the first Jewish woman to receive such a distinction from Harvard. [3] She served as President of the Massachusetts Psychological Association and two chapters of Phi Beta Kappa. [2] Furthermore, Alper created a measure to study achievement motivation in women, named the Wellesley Role Orientation Scale (WROS). [4] She received a Career Contribution Award in 1975 from the MPA. [6]

Related Research Articles

The Seven Sisters are a group of seven liberal arts colleges in the Northeastern United States that are historically women's colleges. Barnard College, Bryn Mawr College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and Wellesley College are still women's colleges. Vassar College became coeducational in 1969, and Radcliffe College was absorbed in 1999 by Harvard College and now offers programs in advanced study.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Whiton Calkins</span> American philosopher and psychologist

Mary Whiton Calkins was an American philosopher and psychologist, whose work informed theory and research of memory, dreams and the self. In 1903, Calkins was the twelfth in a listing of fifty psychologists with the most merit, chosen by her peers. Calkins was refused a Ph.D. by Harvard University because of her gender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mildred H. McAfee</span> American academic and naval officer

Mildred Helen McAfee Horton was an American academic, educator, naval officer, and religious leader. She served during World War II as first director of the WAVES in the United States Navy. She was the first woman commissioned in the U.S. Navy Reserve and the first woman to receive the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendy Liebman</span> American stand-up comedian (born 1961)

Wendy Liebman is an American stand-up comedian. Her standup style involves the use of gently paced, subtle wordplay.

Martha Kent McClintock is an American psychologist best known for her research on human pheromones and her theory of menstrual synchrony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janet Morgan Riggs</span>

Janet Morgan Riggs is an American psychologist and academic administrator. She served as the 14th President of Gettysburg College from 2009 to 2019. Riggs, a member of the Gettysburg College class of 1977, has held several positions at the college, including professor of psychology, interim provost, provost, executive assistant to the president, and interim president.

Relational-cultural theory, and by extension, relational-cultural therapy (RCT) stems from the work of Jean Baker Miller, M.D. Often, relational-cultural theory is aligned with the feminist and or multicultural movements in psychology. In fact, RCT embraces many social justice aspects from these movements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethel Dench Puffer Howes</span> American psychologist

Ethel Dench Puffer Howes was an American psychologist, suffragist, and college professor. She taught at Wellesley College, Smith College, and Simmons College. She was Executive Secretary of the National College Equal Suffrage League, and founder of the Institute for the Coordination of Women's Interests at Smith College.

Judith V. Jordan is the co-director and a founding scholar of the Jean Baker Miller Institute and co-director of the institute's Working Connections Project. She is an attending psychologist at McLean Hospital and assistant professor of psychology at the Harvard Medical School. She works as a psychotherapist, supervisor, teacher and consultant. Jordan's development of relational-cultural therapy has served as a foundation for other scholars who have used this theory to explore the workplace, education. leadership and entrepreneurship.

Jean Baker Miller (1927–2006) was a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, social activist, feminist, and author. She wrote Toward a New Psychology of Women, which brings psychological thought together with relational-cultural theory.

Janet Allison Taylor Spence was an American psychologist who worked in the field of the psychology of anxiety and in gender studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleanor Gamble</span> Psychologist

Eleanor Acheson McCulloch Gamble was an influential American psychologist from the late 19th century through the early 20th century. Gamble published most of her work on audition and memory influenced by Georg Elias Müller, Edward B. Titchener, Mary Whiton Calkins, and Ernst Heinrich Weber. Despite her chronic eye conditions she was successful in editing volumes of textbooks, her own papers, and directing many master's degree students. She earned her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College in 1889. She went on to obtain her doctorate from Cornell University in 1898. She held several teaching positions over the course of her career and was a member of several influential organizations including the American Psychological Association (APA). Gamble was a distinguished and well-liked professor at Wellesley College for more than two decades, and by 1930 she was the head of the Department of Philosophy and Psychology following the death of Mary Whiton Calkins. At the time of her death she was professor of psychology and director of the psychological laboratory at Wellesley College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florence Denmark</span> American psychologist

Florence Harriet Levin Denmark is an American psychologist and a past president of the American Psychological Association (APA) (1980-1981). She is a pioneering female psychologist who has influenced the psychological sciences through her scholarly and academic accomplishments in both psychology and feminist movements. She has contributed to psychology in several ways, specifically in the field of psychology of women and human rights, both nationally and internationally.

Dorothy Christina Adkins was an American psychologist. Adkins is best known for her work in psychometrics and education testing, particularly in achievement testing. She was the first female president of the Psychometric Society and served in several roles in the American Psychological Association.

Paula Adina Johnson is an American cardiologist and the current president of Wellesley College. She is the first Black woman to serve in this role. The first Black graduate of Wellesley College came in the year 1887, and 129 years later President Johnson became the first Black leader. Prior to her role as president of Wellesley, Johnson founded and served as the inaugural executive director of the Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women's Health & Gender Biology, as well as Chief of the Division of Women's Health at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Johnson was the Grace A. Young Family Professor of Medicine in the field of women's health, an endowed professorship named in honor of her mother, at Harvard Medical School. She was also Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and has been featured as a national leader in medicine by the National Library of Medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joyce Brothers</span> American psychologist and columnist (1927–2013)

Joyce Diane Brothers was an American psychologist, television personality, advice columnist, and writer.

Martha Tamara Shuch Mednick was a feminist psychologist known for her work on women, gender, race and social class. She was a professor of psychology at Howard University from 1968 until her retirement in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thelma Hunt</span> American psychologist

Thelma Hunt was an American expert in psychological testing. Chair of the George Washington University Psychology Department for twenty-five years, she was an innovator in test construction and measurement for what is now known as industrial and organizational psychology. Hunt and her frequent collaborator Fred A. Moss developed several tests still in use, including the first version of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT).

Eugenia Hanfmann was an American psychologist and educator who was born in Russia. Early in her career, Hanfmann was associated with Kurt Koffka and the Gestalt movement of psychology. Later she conducted research and published on schizophrenia and personality assessment. Hanfmann established a counseling service at Brandeis University and helped form its psychology department with Abraham Maslow. Hanfmann is considered to be one of the early pioneers of women in psychology.

References

  1. 1 2 Alper, Thelma G. "United States Social Security Death Index". FamilySearch. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  2. 1 2 Ogilvie, Marilyn; Harvey, Joy, eds. (2000). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science . New York: Routledge. pp.  26–27. ISBN   0415920388.
  3. 1 2 3 "Psychology in the United States | Jewish Women's Archive". jwa.org. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 Models of achievement : reflections of eminent women in psychology. O'Connell, Agnes N., Russo, Nancy Felipe, 1943-. Columbia University Press. 1983. ISBN   0231053126.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. 1 2 3 Gul, Pelin. "Thelma G. Alper - Psychology's Feminist Voices". www.feministvoices.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-03. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
  6. ↑ "MPA Awards - Massachusetts Psychological Association, Inc". www.masspsych.org. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.