41 Facts About Gardner Murphy

Gardner Murphy was an American psychologist who specialized in social and personality psychology and parapsychology.

Gardner Murphy was the son of Edgar Gardner Murphy, an Episcopal minister and activist.

Gardner Murphy succeeded Troland as holder of the Hodgson Fellowship in Psychical Research at Harvard University.

Gardner Murphy later married Lois Barclay and had two children, Al and Margaret.

Gardner Murphy was recognized for being generous and kind, such as by offering assistance or loans if a student or colleague was in trouble.

Gardner Murphy spoke out against racial conflicts and advocated for peaceful relations.

Gardner Murphy was inspired by the work of psychologists and scientists such as Herbert Spencer, Sigmund Freud, William James, and Charles Darwin.

Gardner Murphy was a strong admirer of Freud, often drawing from his psychoanalytic theories.

Gardner Murphy considered Freud a true artistic genius while remaining capable of taking a critical view.

Gardner Murphy was especially interested in Freud's perspective of the self, including regression and needs.

The world was skeptical of Freud at the time, yet Gardner Murphy still embraced his ideas, even when encountering ridicule.

Gardner Murphy admired how James easily defined the boundaries between man, the world, and consciousness.

Gardner Murphy became particularly focused on the theory of behavioral adaption in organisms, which posits that animals adapt to their environments for their own survival.

Gardner Murphy studied the medium Leonora Piper and collaborated with French chemist Rene Warcollier on a transatlantic telepathy experiment.

From 1925 to 1929, Gardner Murphy was an instructor and assistant professor at Columbia.

Gardner Murphy became the Hodgson Fellow at Harvard in 1937 and served as professor and chairman of psychology at City College, New York, from 1940 to 1942.

Gardner Murphy was elected to the presidency of the American Psychological Association in 1944.

Gardner Murphy subsequently served as the President of the British Society for Psychical Research in 1949 and was Director of the Parapsychology Foundation in 1951.

Gardner Murphy authored several texts in psychology, including, Historical Introduction to Modern Psychology, Personality, and Human Potentialities.

Gardner Murphy was a contributor to personality, social and clinical psychology and an early exponent of humanistic psychology.

Gardner Murphy supported experimental studies by J G Pratt at Columbia ; authoring an introductory review to the field, The Challenge of Psychical Research, as well as William James and Psychical Research, and a 20-page article on parapsychology for the Encyclopedia of Psychology ; editing an English-language publication of Warcollier's reports and writing forewords for several parapsychological monographs.

Gardner Murphy proposed the biosocial personality theory, in which personality is understood as both biological and social in nature.

Autism, as Gardner Murphy depicts it, is actions designed by the satisfaction of needs while placing special emphasis on the self.

Gardner Murphy studied parapsychology, which at the time was not taken seriously.

Gardner Murphy believed that it is the scientist's job to expand the known science and push beyond the set boundaries.

Gardner Murphy produced numerous studies on the paranormal, specifically about telekinesis, psychokinesis, and despite constant ridicule.

However, much of Gardner Murphy's writings were an early component of the movement and really set the stage for its beginnings.

Generally, Gardner Murphy believed in the good of humanity, often producing works on the problems and solutions of societies, human nature, and individualism.

In general, Gardner Murphy rejected the idea of human nature being predetermined and unable to change.

Gardner Murphy concludes that there is no limit to the number of new potentialities that can be created.

Gardner Murphy published papers focusing on the boundaries between the individual, society, and world order.

Gardner Murphy identified what he believed to be the source of conflict: individualism.

Gardner Murphy believed too much emphasis was placed on the definition of individualism; so much so that the true definition has been replaced by the idea of competition.

Gardner Murphy wrote Science and World Order in an effort to address societal problems.

Gardner Murphy proposed ten ideas that he considered beneficial, despite their radical nature.

In recommendations three, four, and five, Gardner Murphy suggested using different research methods to study the paths, decisions, and predictions that lead to war.

Gardner Murphy suggested updating the educational system to fully include a firm understanding of the world and what is at stake; while promoting more communication techniques to better understand adversaries.

Gardner Murphy had many prominent theories and ideas throughout his lifetime.

Gardner Murphy believed that perception is learned the same way as behaviors, through reward and punishment.

Gardner Murphy believed that perception fulfills multiple roles beyond relaying the sensory information to the brain.

However, Ralph H Turner wrote Murphy maintained an "exceptional order of objectivity through most of his presentation" and described it as "a very useful text".