Bishop Fulton J. Sheen: America's public critic of psychoanalysis, 1947-1957.

This paper examines the role of Bishop Fulton Sheen in the popularization of Freudian psychoanalysis in the United States during the 1940s and 50s. Social historians argue that Freudian ideas were pervasive in American culture during this period. While their claim speaks mainly to the impact of psychoanalysis on the cultural elite and college educated, they also suggest that Freudian ideas affected ordinary men and women. In the former case, the group impacted is small and not representative of the population as a whole; in the latter, the evidence is sparse and impressionistic. Neglected in their consideration is the influence of Fulton Sheen whose opinions on Freud reached an audience of 30,000,000 during the height of the popularity of his TV show, Life is Worth Living. Sheen's audience was more inclusive and representative of mainstream America. The negative and highly cautionary view of psychoanalysis he presented to many Americans was contrary to that which was promoted to and embraced by many of the college educated and likely shaped both their views of Freud and psychoanalytic therapy.

Press coverage of the new psychology by the New York Times during the progressive era.

Press coverage of psychology by the New York Times was examined for the Progressive Era. Following a period in which psychology was associated with spiritualism, psychoanalysis, and the Emmanuel movement, the Times gave editorial preference to reports about psychology's applications. Reaching an audience that was both affluent and influential, the topics emphasized by the Times included the lie detector, psychological applications in the work place, mental tests, and child psychology. These areas reflected issues of social concern to Progressives, publicized the rise of the psychologist as expert, and aided psychology in its challenge to common sense.

Psychology's public image in "Topics of the Times": commentary from the editorial page of the New York Times between 1904 and 1947.

Between 1904 and 1947, the New York Times published in a section of its editorial page, "Topics of the Times," 196 commentaries on psychology. Prior to World War I, the majority of editorials centered on Hugo Münsterberg; psychological topics most frequently examined after the war were the mental test, child rearing advice, and psychoanalysis. Although the Times was enthusiastic in its support for psychology in the years immediately before and after World War I, editorial opinion soon turned negative. Critical of psychology for promising more than it could deliver, being inconsistent in its assertions over time, and not rising above the level of common sense, Times editorials weighed heavily on the side of undermining, rather than promoting, psychology's credibility from the late 1920s to 1940s.