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Accident Proneness (Unfallneigung): A Classic Case of Simultaneous Discovery/Construction in Psychology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2008

John C. Burnham
John C. Burnham*
Affiliation:
Ohio State University
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Argument

Using a striking example from the history of applied psychology, the concept of accident proneness, this paper suggests that historians of science may still find viable the idea of simultaneous discovery or construction of a scientific idea. Accident proneness (Unfallneigung) was discovered independently in Germany and in Britain during the period of World War I. Later on, in 1926, the idea was independently formulated and named in both countries. The evidence shows not only striking simultaneity but true novelty and commensurateness of the two formulations that crystallized at the same time in parallel, but distinctly separate, settings.

Type
Research Article
Information
Science in Context , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , March 2008 , pp. 99 - 118
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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