George E. Partridge
George Everett Partridge (31 May 1870, Worcester, Massachusetts – November 1953, Baltimore) was an American psychologist credited with popularizing the term sociopath in 1930 that Karl Brinbaum had suggested in 1909. He worked with the influential G. Stanley Hall at Clark University. One year after his death, the George Everett Partridge Memorial Foundation was incorporated in 1954 by the Partridge family to memorialize his life's work in the study and treatment of mental and personality disorders. The Foundation focused on developing programs to promote treatment centers for mentally disabled children, often referred to as the "forgotten children." Partridge schools were established. The first of which was in Herndon, Virginia, for older boys with moderate mental retardation resulting from brain damage. However, the foundation was forfeited in 1991.
Early work
Partridge's
He published a short book in 1910 concerning the philosophical and scientific issue of
He began writing a book during the final months of World War I, published in 1919, in which he had analyzed motives for war "in the light of the general principles of the development of society", and addressed the likely effects of the war on countries and the 'world-consciousness'.[5]
Psychopathy studies
Starting in 1928 he published a series of studies conducted at
Sociopathy concept
In a 1930 review from the Research Service of the Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital, Partridge identifies confusion in the definition and application of the diagnosis of psychopathy, as at the time the term could cover almost any kind of personality deviation acutely or chronically, or only certain more specific conditions, or act virtually as a holder for any otherwise unclassified mental disorder. He also argues that the practice, then common, of calling psychopathy "constitutional" was speculative (in fact very little being known about its causes); and that bisecting personality into the "normal" and "abnormal" is simplistic for something complex, finely nuanced, and individual.
However, he concludes that a consistent factor linking most cases is persistent social maladjustment with a motivation towards behavior with adverse effects on others, and he suggests that sociopathy would therefore be a more accurate and appropriate term. Partridge suggests that the term psychopathy no longer be used at all, having no usefulness in application to the antisocial group more accurately described as "sociopathic," nor much use for the various remaining conditions not inherently chronically antisocial, and certainly not to cover both groups at once.[8][9][10][11]
The Oxford English Dictionary (2011) definition of sociopath quotes from his 1930 article: "We may use the term ‘sociopathy’ to mean anything deviated or pathological in social relations" and "We may exclude from the class of essential sociopaths those whose inadequacy is primarily related to physical weakness, fear, hypersensitiveness, shyness and self-blame."
In fact, however, the first part of the quotation in full is: "If we may use the term ‘sociopathy’ to mean anything deviated or pathological in social relations, whether of individuals with one another, or within or towards groups, and also in the relations of groups to one another, we have a fairly communicable meaning, and a term which may apply descriptively to a great number of persons." The phrase essential sociopath was Partridge's attempt to describe the type with the most deep-rooted chronic antisocial motivations.[12]
The
In 1976 psychiatrist
Select bibliography
- An Outline of Individual Study. New York: Sturgis & Walton, 1910.
- The Nervous Life. New York: Sturgis & Walton, 1911.
- Studies in the Psychology of Intemperance. New York: Sturgis & Walton, 1912.
- A Reading Book in Modern Philosophy. New York: Sturgis & Walton, 1913.
- The Psychology of Nations: A Contribution to the Philosophy of History. New York: Macmillan, 1919.
- Story-Telling in School and Home: A Study in Educational Aesthetics, Revised Edition. New York: Macmillan, 1920 (with Emelyn Newcomb Partridge).
- Genetic Philosophy of Education. New York: Macmillan, 1925.
See also
References
- ^ Studies in the Psychology of Alcohol George E. Partridge, Pgs 318-376, The American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 11, No. 3, Apr., 1900 (Free Full PDF)
- ^ An outline of individual study (1910) Partridge, G. E. (George Everett), New York, Sturgis and Walton company
- ^ Book Review The American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 23, No. 1, Jan., 1912
- ^ Genetic Philosophy of Education: An Epitome of the Published Writings of G. Stanley Hall G. E. Partridge, Granville Stanley Hall, Sturgis & Walton Company, 1912
- ^ The Psychology of Nations: A Contribution to the Philosophy of History G.E. Partridge, New York, The Macmillan Company, 1919
- ^ 1928: A Study Of 50 Cases Of Psychopathic Personality; Psychopathic Personalities Among Boys In A Training School For Delinquents; Psychotic Reaction In The Psychopath. 1931: Sociopathic Behavior in Women: A Study of Nine Cases
- ^ Psychopathic Personality and Personality Investigation George E. Partridge, The American Journal of Psychiatry. 1929 May; 6(85):1053-1055
- ^ Current Conceptions of Psychopathic Personality G. E. Partridge, The American Journal of Psychiatry. 1930 July; 1(87):53-99
- ^ International Handbook on Psychopathic Disorders and the Law, Volume 1, Alan Felthous, Henning Sass, 15 Apr 2008
- ^ Psychopathy in the Treatment of Forensic Psychiatric Patients: Assessment, Prevalence, Predictive Validity, and Clinical Implications Martin Hildebrand, Rozenberg Publishers, 16 Jun 2005
- ^ Epitome of Current Literature: Current Conceptions of Psychopathic Disorder by Partridge, G.E., M. Hamblin Smith, The British Journal of Psychiatry (1930) 76: 838
- ^ Psychopathy, a History of the Concepts Henry Werlinder, Uppsala Universitet/Acta Universitatis Uppsaliensis, 1978
- ^ Was "Sociopathy" Ever a Diagnosis? Richard L. Jenkins, Am J Psychiatry 1976;133:456-457.