"The Approved Bureaucratic Torpor": Goodwin Watson, Critical Psychology, and the Dilemmas of Expertise, 1930–1945

The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) played an important role in expanding the mandate and influence of American psychology. This article examines the nature of that role through a consideration of the early career of SPSSI's first president, Goodwin Watson. During the Depression, Watson encouraged psychologists to abandon value neutrality and political disinterestedness in favor of politically committed activist science. Government service and political persecution during World War II prompted Watson to conclude that his Depression-era views had neglected the problematic interface between psychological expertise and policy formation. Responding to these concerns, Watson adopted a professional model that emphasized psychology's neutrality and objectivity. The article also considers the implications of his experience for contemporary debates on psychology's professional orientation.