Finding aid for the Irwin A. Berg papers


Title:
Irwin A. Berg papers
Repository:
Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology
Phone: 330-972-7285
http://www.uakron.edu/chp
Creator:
Berg, Irwin August, 1913-
Dates:
1955-1978
Quantity:
0.33 linear feet
Abstract:
The bulk of this small collection contains correspondence, reports, memorandums, and reprints regarding Berg's work with the American Psychological Association's Special Committee of the Division of Counseling Psychology.
Identification:
p15960coll10/id/21
Location:
Box M3542
Language:
The records are in English

Biography of Irwin A. Berg

Irwin August Berg was born October 9, 1913 in Chicago, Illinois. He received his BA in psychology from Knox College in 1936 and his doctoral degree in physiological psychology from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1942.

Berg worked for a brief time at the Western Electric Company during high school and returned to the company after finishing his undergraduate degree. He worked as the cost accounting clerk and was later transferred to the personnel research department to work as a counselor. Berg quit his job at Western Electric in order to attend graduate school and upon earning his PhD accepted a position at the State Prison of Southern Michigan. He remained in this position only a short time before accepting his first academic appointment at the University of Illinois (1942-1947). In 1947 Berg accepted a faculty position at Pomona College in Claremont, California but only remained in the position for a year before accepting an appointment at Northwestern University where he stayed for seven years. In 1955 Berg accepted the position of chair of the Department of Psychology at Louisiana State University in order to assist in furthering the development of the clinical psychology graduate program. In 1965 he became the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Louisiana State University and remained in this position until his retirement in 1978.

In 1959 Berg chaired a committee appointed by the American Psychological Association's (APA) Education and Training Board to research the status of counseling psychology. The committee's final report suggested that APA Division 17 (counseling psychology) and APA Division 12 (clinical psychology) should merge as counseling psychology did not warrant its own division and in fact should not be considered a sub-field of psychology. Members of APA Division 17 protested the committee's report and thus it was never published.

Berg was an active leader in psychology serving as president of the Illinois Psychological Association, the Southwestern Psychological Association, and APA Division 17 (1964). He served three terms on APA's Council of Representatives as well serving as chairman of APA's Convention Committee and program chairman of the National Vocational Guidance Association. He served as the book review co-editor for the Journal of Counseling Psychology and editor of Counseling News and Views. Berg died March 1, 2001 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

* Baker, D.B. (2002). Irwin August Berg (1913-2001). The American Psychologist, 57(9), 723. * Berg, I.A. (1972) A venture in autobiography. In T.S. Krawiec (Ed.), The Psychologists (Vol. 1, pp. 39-66). New York: Oxford University Press.

Scope and Content

The bulk of this small collection contains correspondence, reports, memorandums, and reprints regarding Berg's work with the American Psychological Association's Special Committee of the Division of Counseling Psychology. Of particular interest is the correspondence between Berg and other committee members as well as various counseling psychologists regarding what eventually became the committee's final report. Also of interest is material related to Berg's work with the Confederate Psychological Association. Included within this series is correspondence with fellow members, membership lists and cards, programs for meetings and events. Biographical information is very limited and the collection itself lacks information and material regarding other areas of research that Berg was involved in beyond the special committee.

Statement of Arrangement

The Irwin Berg Papers are organized at the file level into 5 folders: 1. Confederate Psychological Association; 2. Raymond Cattell Festschrift; 3. Status of Counseling material; 4. Schoben-Berg Committee on Counseling; 5. Schoben-Berg Committee on Counseling [continued from folder 4].

Restrictions on Use

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply. Photocopy restrictions apply; consult CHP staff for details.

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

Subject Headings

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Counseling psychologists
Counseling psychology
Counseling--Vocational guidance
Vocational guidance

Persons:

Berg, Irwin August, 1913-

Organizations/Corporations:

American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association. Division 12
American Psychological Association. Division 17
Confederate Psychological Association
National Vocational Guidance Association

Material Types:

Manuscripts
Manuscripts, American

Technical Requirements

There are no technical requirements for this collection.


Preferred Citation

Cite as: [identification of item], [folder number, box number], Archives of the History of American Psychology, The Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology - The University of Akron

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Lizette Royer in May 2007.


Detailed Description of The Collection


Box M3542 / Folder 1
Confederate Psychological Association Material, 1956-1960


Scope and Content: Material related to Berg's work with the Confederate Psychological Association. Correspondence, membership lists, membership cards, and meeting programs.


Box M3542 / Folder 2
Raymond Cattell Festschrift Material, 1960-1978


Scope and Content: Material regarding a biographical chapter Berg authored about Catell. Included are rough drafts of Berg's work which are annotated by Cattell as well as lengthy correspondence between the two psychologists regarding the chapter.


Box M3542 / Folder 3
Status of Counseling material, 1959-1962


Scope and Content: Material related to Berg's work on the American Psychological Association's Special Committee of the Division of Counseling Psychology. Included are correspondence, the committee's final report and rough drafts of the report, and various written works by Berg and others regarding the past, present, and future of counseling psychology.


Box M3542 / Folder 4
Schoben-Berg Committee on Counseling, 1955-1960


Scope and Content: Material related to Berg's work on the American Psychological Association's Special Committee of the Division of Counseling Psychology. Included are correspondence, the committee's final report and rough drafts of the report, and various written works by Berg and others regarding the past, present, and future of psychology.


Box M3542 / Folder 5
Schoben-Berg Committee on Counseling, 1960-1978


Scope and Content: Material related to Berg's work on the American Psychological Association's Special Committee of the Division of Counseling Psychology. Included are correspondence, the committee's final report and rough drafts of the report, and various written works by Berg and others regarding the past, present, and future of counseling psychology.