Graphology in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s
Amateurs, Psychologists, and the Police on the Scientific Nature of Graphology
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21392424 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Laurens Schlicht (0000-0003-3113-6069, Saarland University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 149-179 |
| Publication date | 2020-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | NTM Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Wissenschaften Technik und Medizin (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0036-6978 • E-ISSN: 1420-9144 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s00048-020-00246-8 |
| PMID | 32333033 |
| OpenAlex | W3018668374 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 27 |
In this article I examine how psychologists, amateurs and actors in the police and in juridical fields positioned themselves in the 1920s and 1930s on the scientific nature of graphology. Graphology, the study of the character from handwriting, was linked with the hope of providing reliable methods for the investigation of psychological states and dispositions. The essay argues that on an epistemic level two different models have been represented to support the scientific nature of graphology: for one thing resorting to the special individual skill, the “genius” of a graphologist; or rather depersonalized techniques predominantly based on statistics. Amateur graphologists used both of these forms. On a methodological level, I argue that in order to historicize the human sciences in general, and psychology in particular, it is useful to examine the translation processes that turn everyday interpretative practices (of facial expressions, dreams, handwriting) into scientific legitimate investigative procedures. In order to investigate precisely this translation process, it is useful to look at what Thomas Gieryn calls “boundary work” at the border between scientific and non-scientific interpretation practices, for which graphology is used here as an example. It is particularly illuminating to examine how representatives of the official sciences distinguish themselves from presumed “charlatans”, which is why the article focuses on court cases and the demarcation strategies used by the police against fraudulent amateur graphologists
Amateur · Character (mathematics) · Epistemology · Genius · Handwriting · Interpretation (philosophy) · Linguistics · Political science · Sociology · Toolbox · Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology · Computer Science · Historical and Scientific Studies · Law · Philosophy · Psychology
Sozialgeschichte der Psychologie
The Professionalization of Psychology in Nazi Germany
Science as Cultural Practice
The Post-Revolutionary Self
Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact
Graphology in German psychiatry (1870–1930)
Reconstructing Individualism
God save us from psychologists as expert witnesses”
Recent Trends in German Psychology
First Post-War Meeting of the Professional Association of German Psychologists (Berufsverband Deutscher Psychologen)
The authority of human nature
Boundary-Work and the Demarcation of Science from Non-Science
How Did Fear Become a Scientific Object and What Kind of Object Is It
The specificity of the scientific field and the social conditions of the progress of reason
The Making and Molding of Child Abuse
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,2 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2021 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |