Normalizing the Ideal: Psychology, Schooling, and the Family in Postwar Canada (Studies in Gender and History)

Homemaker mother, breadwinning father who played hockey with his son on the weekends, two children, ideally a boy and a girl -this was normal Canadian life in the fifties, right? Well, not quite, and author Mona Gleason argues that Canadian psychologists were in part responsible for this fiction of normalcy. Postwar insecurity about the stability of family life became a platform on which to elevate the role of psychologists in society. Moving outside the universities with radio shows and child-rearing manuals, these figures of authority changed the tenor of parental and familial concern from physical to mental health. Influential psychologists such as Samuel Laycock and William Blatz spread their own vision of life as the healthy goal for which society should strive. Their ideal of 'normal' reflected and helped to entrench the dominant white, Anglo-Celtic, patriarchal vision of life. Those who did not fit the model because of skin colour, class, or ethnicity were marginalized or silenced, and, as Gleason's innovative feminist approach emphasizes, whether male or female, simply trying to fit within the prescribed gender roles inevitably led to alienation. In this history of psychology and its effects, new and necessary questions are asked about the role of the social sciences in shaping the private experiences of ordinary Canadians.

Homemaker mom, breadwinning dad who played hockey with his son on the weekends, one brother or sister, this was normal Canadian life in the fifties, right? Well, not quite, but author Mona Gleason argues that Canadian psychologists were in part responsible for this fiction of normalcy.

Postwar insecurity about the stability of family life became a platform on which to elevate the role of psychologists in society. Moving outside the universities with radio shows and child-rearing manuals, these figures of authority changed the tenor of parental and familial concern from physical to mental health. Influential psychologists like Samuel Laycock and William Blatz spread their own vision of life as the healthy goal for which society should strive. Their ideal of 'normal' reflected and helped entrench the dominant white, Anglo-Celtic, patriarchal vision of life. Those who did not fit the model due to skin colour, class, or ethnicity were marginalized or silenced, and, as Gleason's innovative feminist approach emphasizes, whether male or female, simply trying to fit within the prescribed gender roles inevitably led to alienation.

This history of psychology and its effects asks new and necessary questions about the role of the social sciences in shaping the private experiences of ordinary Canadians.

Annotation Homemaker mom, breadwinning dad who played hockey with his son on the weekends, one brother or sister, this was normal Canadian life in the fifties, right? Well, not quite, but author Mona Gleason argues that Canadian psychologists were in part responsible for this fiction of normalcy. Postwar insecurity about the stability of family life became a platform on which to elevate the role of psychologists in society. Moving outside the universities with radio shows and child-rearing manuals, these figures of authority changed the tenor of parental and familial concern from physical to mental health. Influential psychologists like Samuel Laycock and William Blatz spread their own vision of life as the healthy goal for which society should strive. Their ideal of 'normal' reflected and helped entrench the dominant white, Anglo-Celtic, patriarchal vision of life. Those who did not fit the model due to skin colour, class, or ethnicity were marginalized or silenced, and, as Gleason's innovative feminist approach emphasizes, whether male or female, simply trying to fit within the prescribed gender roles inevitably led to alienation. This history of psychology and its effects asks new and necessary questions about the role of the social sciences in shaping the private experiences of ordinary Canadians Prelude To The Postwar Agenda: Psychology In Early Twentieth-century Canada -- William Blatz And Samuel Laycock: 'men Of Good Counsel' -- Gendering The Normal Parent And Child -- Safeguarding The Family: Psychology And The Construction Of Normalcy -- Internalizing The Ideal: The Goals Of Good Parenting -- Constructing Normal Citizens? Psychology In Postwar Schools. Mona Gleason. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Postwar insecurity about the stability of family life became a platfrorm to elevate the role of psychologists in society, Their ideal of 'normal' as the healthy goal for society, marginalizing and silencing those who did not fit the model.