LGBTQ+ and Psychology

Evelyn Hooker (1907–1996)

Evelyn Hooker was an experimental and clinical psychologist whose pioneering research was highly influential in the depathologizing of homosexuality in the United States.

Growing up, Hooker experienced isolation and rejection from her community and peers due to her family’s financial situation and her above-average height (Boxer & Carrier, 1998). Nevertheless, Hooker was a motivated and bright student, enrolling on a scholarship at the University of Colorado in 1924. Upon completing her bachelor’s degree in psychology, she was offered an instructorship at the university, which allowed her the financial flexibility to continue to her Master’s degree. In her attempt to pursue her doctoral degree at Yale University, she sought the recommendation of her chairman, a Yale alumnus, but he refused to recommend her due to her being a woman. Thus, Hooker attended John Hopkins University instead, earning her Ph.D. in experimental psychology in 1932. She promptly began teaching at the Maryland College for Women but fell ill with tuberculosis in 1934 and spent two years in recovery before returning to teaching part-time at Whittier College. The following year, she received a study fellowship in Europe. Hooker lived with a Jewish family while attending the Berlin Institute of Psychotherapy from 1937 to 1938. After returning to the US, Hooker applied for a position in the faculty of psychology at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). However, she was unable to acquire such a position given that there were already “too many” female professors in the faculty. Instead, she was offered a teaching position in the continuing education division and assumed this role along with a position as a psychology research associate. A few years later, Hooker became acquainted with Sam From, a gay male student in her introductory psychology class. After she was no longer From’s instructor, their academic relationship transitioned into friendship, and From introduced her to his circle of friends.  From called upon Hooker to study people like him: well-adjusted homosexual men. All prior research on homosexuality took place strictly in correctional or clinical settings. Given Hooker’s personal experiences with social isolation and rejection, and her exposure to the devastating effects of political persecution, she was inclined to serve the homosexual community through her research efforts.

Her initial research consisted of life-history interviews and a personality questionnaire with 74 homosexual men. Based on this questionnaire, Hooker found that the sample displayed a variety of different personality patterns, rather than reflecting a fixed personality type (Minton, 2001). In 1953, Hooker received a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to move forward with her comparison of homosexual and heterosexual men. Her sample consisted of 30 homosexual men and 30 heterosexual men matched for age, intelligence, and education. Participants completed three projective personality tests and were rated by three blinded assessors on their overall adjustment. Moreover, the raters reported on which participants they believed to be homosexual or heterosexual between the 30 matched pairs. The results showed no significant differences between the two groups, proving that homosexual men were not “disturbed” or different from heterosexual men (Minton, 2001, p.15). The findings from these studies were presented at the annual meeting of the APA in 1956, and were published in two separate papers in 1956 and 1957.

In the first paper, Hooker examined the relationship between the participants’ personality patterns and the sociocultural influence of identifying as a minority group (Minton, 2001). For example, she asserted that an obsessive concern about being attacked due to their sexual orientation does not reflect the diagnostic criteria of an obsessive-compulsive disorder and should not be interpreted as such. In the second article, Hooker presented her data from the comparative analysis of homosexual and heterosexual men, publishing the first empirical study of non-clinical homosexuals. Unsurprisingly, Hooker’s research received extensive criticism from many in the field of clinical psychology. Despite this expected resistance, Hooker’s work inspired several medical and mental health professionals to conduct their own research on this topic, leading to the replication and increasing acceptance of Hooker’s conclusions. She was awarded a Research Career award in 1961 and held this honour for the remainder of her research career. In 1967, Hooker was appointed to lead a task force for the NIMH to provide suggestions for research and policies regarding homosexuality. The resulting report included several recommendations, such as the removal of homosexuality from the DSM and the decriminalization of consensual homosexual acts. Although the report was completed in 1969, its publication was delayed until 1972. Nevertheless, the APA approved the motion to remove homosexuality from the DSM in 1973. Hooker retired from research in 1970 and opened a private clinical practice. She received the APA’s Distinguished Award for Psychology in the Public Interest in 1992. Hooker’s application of experimental psychology to overcome social injustice demonstrates her strength as both a researcher and an advocate. Her work and her spirit will forever be revered within the homosexual and psychological communities.

References

Boxer, A. M., & Carrier, J. M. (1998). Evelyn Hooker. Journal of Homosexuality, 36, 1–17. doi:10.1300/j082v36n01_01

Minton, H. L. (2001). Evelyn Hooker, Frank Kameny, and Depathologizing Homosexuality, 1957–73. In Departing from Deviance (pp. 219–264). University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/9780226304458-009

Contributors

• Kalyan Krishnareddygari
• Peter Liu
• Hannah Ross

Bonnie R. Strickland (1936-)

Bonnie R. Strickland greatly contributed to the field of psychology through her as a leader

Strickland was born in Louisville, Kentucky during the Great Depression (O’Connell & Russo, 1990). She had a difficult childhood, which she spent supporting her single mother by working and doing house chores. Strickland was an excellent student in high school and wanted to pursue education at a college level, which was uncommon for women at the time. She enrolled in the Alabama College for Women, where she developed an interest in psychology. In 1958, Strickland was accepted into the University of Ohio as a graduate student in clinical psychology. Her professor, Julian Monter, gave Strickland a solid foundation of clinical research and application, as well as a passion for combating social issues. After completing her Ph.D. in 1962, Strickland began working as a psychology professor at Emory University, where she eventually became Dean of Women. Strickland later joined the psychology faculty at the University of Massachusets Amhurst, where she later became chair of the department in 1976.

Strickland’s early research and graduate thesis focused on the locus of control, which measures the degree to which individuals believe that they have control over their lives (internal control) vs external sources (external control) (O’Connell & Russo, 1990). Strickland found that social activists have a higher degree of internal control.* Later, Strickland expanded her work to create scales for the locus of control throughout the lifespan, called the Nowicki-Strickland locus of control scales, which have been used in countless psychological studies. Throughout her career, Strickland covered a variety of research topics, many of which focused on social justice, including research on conformity, prejudice and the mental health of homosexual individuals. Strickland believed in the importance of such work, identifying as a lesbian herself.

In her life and work, Strickland has cemented herself as a leader and reformer. When Strickland taught at the University of Massachusets Amhurst, she often invited speakers to her classes, which ranged from community leaders to social activists (O’Connell & Russo, 1990). Strickland was also highly involved in minority and women’s issues, being chosen as chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Policy Committee for the Clinical Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association (APA). She was later elected the first woman in the Division of Clinical Psychology in the APA, and the seventh woman president of the APA. During her presidency, task forces focusing on AIDS and depressed women were formed. These are just a few of many of Stricklands’ achievements which capture her strive to bring awareness to the issues of women, members of the LGBTQ+ and minorities.

Bonnie R. Strickland is an inspiring figure in the field of psychology and is the very depiction of progress and leadership.

References

Women and Psychology

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Liberation Psychology

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