| Description | Audio cassette sound recording of an interview with Professor Alexander (Zander), A.I. Wedderburn (1935-2017), FBPsS, CPsychol. British Psychological Society President 2003-2004 for the British Psychological Society's Oral History project.
The interview was conducted by Helen Ross in 2007.
The following summary is by way of introduction to the full recording held at the BPS History of Psychology Centre, London.
Performers:
Alexander Wedderburn (AW)
Helen Ross (HR)
Topics:
Side A:
HR asks AW why did he want to become a psychologist
AW speaks of his early education in Scotland and scholarship to Oxford to take classics. AW then talks of his National Service experiences (RN) before returning to Oxford and switching to take psychology.
AW and HR talk of their tutors/ fellow students in Oxford and speak of the Psychology Department at the time.
Names mentioned include: Liam Hudson, Roy Davies, Oldfield, Michael Argyll, Bernard Babbington-Smith, Tony Deutsch, Stuart Sutherland, Anne Triesman, Tim Bergman, Philippa Foot,, Miss Elizabeth Anscombe, Ann Taylor, Ian Oswald.
AW talks of the Gray Wedderburn experiment and its acceptance for publication by QJEP
(Deutsch and Broadbent are mentioned)
AW speaks of life after Oxford and his 4 year employment in a steel factory in Northampton before moving to a research job in Cardiff.
AW talks of his move to Heriot-Watt University (after 5 years at Cardiff) to teach Industrial Psychology and speaks of the Department there (Donald McPherson) and adds his thoughts on the influence of the BPS Division of Occupational Psychology, the importance of chartering psychologists and responds to HR's question concerning the teaching of Occupational Psychology.
AW speaks of his involvement with the BPS, his time as President (2003-2004), the BPS administrative set-up, BPS Council, a proposed BPS Business Psychologist Group, the popularity of psychology, current training in psychology, academic membership and subscriptions and BPS London's move to new offices.
HR asks who are the people, books or literature who had the most influence over your career to which AW answers Ian Oswald's sleep laboratory, Stuart Lewis, Peter A. Smith, and research assistants in general before naming Frank Landy's 'psychology of work behavior' as a great book.
AW speaks of his interest in Scottish history, the origins and appeal of Heriot-Watt University, family matters, work-life balance and evidence training.
Side A ends c 47mins
Side B:
AW talks of evidence training, statistics, perceptions of psychologists, jobs and selection.
AW speaks of an unsustainable boom in psychology, electronic publishing versus paper and more emphasis on Occupational Psychology Doctorates,
AW talks of his regret that he did not move more during his career in order to work with
different people and interests before talking about his involvement with the 'Bulletin for Shift Work Topics' funded by European Foundation for Living and Working Conditions.
In answer to HR's question concerning his main contribution to psychology AW mentions his contribution in the field of Shift-Work.
AW finishes with a round-up of memories concerning BPS meetings, minutes taking and suggests certain people as possible interviewees for the BPS Oral History Project.
Side B ends. c 21 mins
Total Running Time: c 68 mins
Photograph taken by Helen Ross
Summary by Mike Maskill, BPS Archivist. |
| RunTime | On one FE90 cassette, running time c 68 minutes |
| Copyright | Subject to the condition of the original, copies may be supplied for private research use only on receipt of a signed undertaking to comply with current copyright legislation. Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the Head of the History of Psychology Centre and Archives and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. Where possible, assistance will be given in identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material |