Why Can't Psychology Get a Stamp?

Author: Benjamin Jr. L.T.

Source: Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, Volume 5, Number 4, October 2003 , pp. 443-454(12)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

In the latter half of the 1980s as the centennial of the American Psychological Association approached, the APA organized an effort to persuade the United States Postal Service to issue a stamp recognizing the contributions of psychology to the quality of life in America. That effort failed. The history of psychology and psychologists represented on stamps worldwide is described, as is a recent attempt to create a United States stamp focused on mental health. The failure of psychology to achieve recognition on a U. S. stamp is discussed in the context of the stigma of mental illness and the public image of psychology.

Keywords: history of psychology; public image; postage stamps; Lillian Gilbreth

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Department of Psychology-4235, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX; ltb@psyc.tamu.edu

Publication date: 2003-10-01