The Summer 2017 issue of The American Journal of Psychology is now available and includes two articles that may interest AHP readers. Full titles, authors, and abstracts follow below.

“Margaret F. Washburn in The American Journal of Psychology: A Cognitive Precursor?,” by José T. Boyano. The abstract reads,

In the early 20th century, Margaret F. Washburn (1871–1939) produced numerous studies on perception, affective value of stimulus, memory, emotions, and consciousness. This experimental work was published in The American Journal of Psychology. The purpose of this article is to analyze the temporal evolution of these kinds of experiments and relate them to Washburn’s theoretical production. Contrary to other views, Washburn’s experimental evolution follows a logical sequence and has a strong inner coherence. Among other reasons, the lack of a scientific and social framework to the study of the mind has tended to overshadow large areas of Washburn’s thought. However, both the work published in AJP and the methods used in experiments provide reasons to consider Washburn one of the precursors of contemporary cognitive psychology.

“Edwin G. Boring: The Historian’s Path in the Pages of The American Journal of Psychology,” by Shawn P. Gallagher. The abstract reads,

Although he is best known for his classic textbook, A History of Experimental Psychology, Edwin Garrigues Boring published dozens of articles in The American Journal of Psychology and used its various formats to guide the discipline in the early 20th century. This report reviews a small sample of his publications, including obituaries, notes, and experimental articles, and presents them in historical and biographical context. A central objective is to show how Boring shared the values of his structuralist training with the emerging American schools and how time allowed him to reconsider his approach to history and the legacy of his iconic mentor, Edward Bradford Titchener.