History of the statutes and articles of the German Society for Psychology (DGPs)

Abstract

While the files of the German Society for Psychology (DGPs), a registered association, have been kept and been accessible only for the second half of its 100 years of existence, we possess an almost uninterrupted documentation of the statutes and articles and their revisions. The evaluations of these documents are divided up into the following three time periods: the establishment of the DGPs in 1904 until its disbandment in 1945; the reestablishment of the Association in 1947 until the scientific reorganization in 1962; the dividing of roles with the Professional Institution of German Psychologists (BDP, a registered association) and the new differentiations in 1962 to the present in 2003. This analysis of the documents has led to the insight that agonizing over the methods of a scientific psychology as well as asking about the capabilities and professionalism of the members have resulted in significant changes of the Association. Using National Socialism as an example, one can see the influence of the conviction of political ideology that had partly bound the Association in the past.