An historical review of the contributions of Erika Bourguignon to cross-cultural psychology.

摘要

This dissertation examines the life and writings of cultural anthropologist Erika Bourguignon relating to altered states of consciousness and possession trance states. Her unique body of work on this topic is widely quoted in the psychological literature in reference to dissociational states.;The evolution of the study of history in psychology and the unfolding of interest in cross cultural issues are addressed to provide the historical and cultural context within which this study is placed. At present, there is renewed interest in the dissociative disorders and we are indebted to psychological anthropology for much of the current understanding of altered states of consciousness. This debt is acknowledged.;Erika Bourguignon is a well renowned psychological anthropologist and educator. She was born in Vienna, Austria as Erika Eichorn, and came to the United States at the time of the Anschluss. She was educated at Queens College in New York and received her Ph.D. at Northwestern University. Fieldwork took her to Haiti in the 1940s under the direction of M. J. Herskovits. Her observations of possession and trance states during her stay there led to the obtaining of a National Institute of Mental Health Grant. The result was a cross cultural, global study of the occurrence of Dissociational States. It is to this landmark project, and it's aftermath that we are indebted.;A brief review of the literature on altered states of consciousness prior to Bourguignon's work establishes the conceptual framework that existed when she began her task. Following this, a review of her writings relating to possession, trance, altered states and dissociative phenomena is undertaken.;Primary sources used for this study included Bourguignon's books and articles published from 1954 until the present. The other primary source of information was Dr. Bourguignon herself who graciously communicated with me over a period of several months. Secondary sources of information regarding Vienna at the time of the Anschluss were obtained from general reading on that topic. Supplementary reading on Austrian history, the holocaust and the Jewish exile experience served to enhance the backdrop to Bourguignon's life. Additional secondary sources were obtained from the archives at Ohio State University and provided a chronicle of Dr. Bourguignon's career at that institution from Instructor in 1947 to Professor Emeritus in the Department of Anthropology in 1999. "We do not suffer from illusions of grandeur thinking that history begins with us." Vygotsky, 1982..