Finding aid for the Magda B. Arnold papers

Biography of Magda B. Arnold

Magda B. Arnold was born on December 22, 1903 in central Europe to traveling performers. Due to her gender and impoverished beginnings, Arnold was not able to begin schooling until she was in her mid-30s with a husband and three small daughters. She graduated with her B.A. in 1939, her M.A. in 1940, and her Ph.D. in 1942, all from the University of Toronto. After her graduation, she joined the faculty at the University of Toronto for 4 years. In 1946, she became Director of Research and Training in Psychological Services at the Canadian Veteran's Affairs Department. She moved to the United States in 1947 and subsequently taught at several institutions, including Wellesley, Harvard, Bryn Mawr, and Barat College. She spent the majority of her career teaching at Loyola University in Chicago from 1952 until 1972. Arnold retired from academia in 1975, but continued to write, publish, and present papers at conferences.

Arnold was influential in contemporary emotional theory, first to develop the appraisal theory of emotions. She wrote numerous books on her studies of emotion. She was well-versed in using the Rorschach and created a new method of scoring for the Thematic Apperception Test called story sequence analysis. Arnold received the Helen Putnam Advanced Research Fellowship at Radcliffe in 1951 and a Fulbright Fellowship in 1962.

Magda Arnold died on October 2, 2002 in Tucson, Arizona at the age of 98.

Scope and Content

This collection contains the papers of Magda Arnold, a psychologist influential in contemporary emotional theory. Her papers include mostly written works and notes regarding research and speaking engagements that she was involved in. There is also correspondence from colleagues, publishers and granting agencies regarding Arnold's professional activities.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Restrictions on Access

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

Three Certificates are located in oversized map case 2, drawer 8: Certificate of Appreciation from the President of Spring Hill College, 1975; Resolution of Commendation from the City of Mobile, Alabama, undated; Apointment of Honorary Lieutenant Colonel Aide-de-Camp of the Alabama State Militia, 1975.

Subject Headings

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

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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