Contextual History: A Framework for Re-Placing Women in the History of Psychology

Abstract

The absence of women from published histories of psychology is addressed from a perspective that makes sense of women's place in the history of psychology, including their participation, their exclusion, and their invisibility. This approach is based on principles of social constructionism and on a contextual approach to history that seeks to understand women's place in psychology as a product of socially constructed notions of gender, psychology, and history. The article suggests that an awareness of the context created by these constructions explains women's role in psychology to date and holds promise for their meaningful inclusion in the future.