Hollingworth, Leta Stetter, 1886-1939

Leta Stetter Hollingworth

Leta Stetter was born on May 25, 1886 in Nebraska. She started school at the University of Nebraska and enjoyed a successful academic career there. In 1906 Stetter received her Bachelor of Arts degree and state teaching certificate. After completing her Master's degree, she began work administering Binet intelligence tests in a mental health hospital. Returning to school at Columbia, she earned her Ph.D. in 1916 and was offered a position teaching psychology at Columbia Teachers College. Stetter continued teaching at Columbia until her retirement. Besides teaching, Stetter was very interested in work with exceptional students. She had a notable study regarding a child who tested above 180 on an IQ test. This led her to find 11 other students over the next 23 years who had comparable scores. She conducted a study on these children to find similarities between them. Stetter worked to lay a foundation for studying gifted children. Throughout her life she published many books, including The psychology of subnormal children; Special talents and defects: their significance for education; Gifted Children: Their Nature and Nurture; The Psychology of the Adolescent; and Children Above 180 IQ Stanford-Binet: Origin and Development.

Harry L. Hollingworth

Harry L. Hollingworth was born in DeWitt, Nebraska in 1880. He gained his A.B. at the University of Nebraska, after which he taught high school and also served as high school principal in Nebraska. Hollingworth left his career in high school education and went on to Columbia University in 1907 to become an assistant in psychology with an offer from James McKeen Cattell. In 1909 he received his doctorate from Columbia University. Following his graduation, Hollingworth took an instructor's position at Barnard College, teaching psychology and logic. In addition to teaching during this time, Hollingworth proctored exams and delivered a series of lectures to the New York Men's Advertising League on the psychology of advertising. During World War I, Hollingworth was asked by the Surgeon General's Office to administer psychological services to shell-shocked soldiers who returned from the war. From his observations of these men, Hollingworth developed a theory of functional neurosis which he published in 1920 in one of the first books on clinical psychology, The psychology of functional neurosis. Hollingworth was a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), The American Association for the Advancement of Science, and The New York Academy of Sciences. He became president of the APA in 1927. In 1954 the Hollingworth Psychological Laboratories were opened at Bernard in honor of Hollingworth's efforts in guiding the growth of Barnard's psychology department. Throughout his career Hollingworth authored several books including, Psychology: Its Facts and Principles; Mental Growth and Decline; and The Psychology of Thought.

From the guide to the Leta Stetter and Harry L. Hollingworth papers, 1936-1987, (Center for the History of Psychology)