Historical Selection

This paper discusses a select list of six historical conditions, some long-lasting, some of shorter duration that have influenced the research of many psychologists. The conditions are: (a) the emergence of industrialization and increased numbers of European immigrants to the United States, (b) the historical commitment to a material basis for all natural phenomena, (c) the Cold War and computers, (d) the entry of mothers into the workforce, (e) the reliance on the analysis of variance and regression, and (f) the unique position of physics among the empirical sciences.