How did the time period in which the psychologist Eleanor Gibson worked influence her contributions?

Eleanor Gibson earned her Ph.D. at Yale University in 1938. After her graduation, Gibson hoped to work with Robert Yerkes, the famous psychologist who helped develop the U.S. Army's intelligence testing during World War One.

However, Gibson was turned away, as Yerkes noted that women didn't work in his labs. At the time, laboratory work was considered a masculine pursuit, so Gibson would have had difficulty persuading any male scientist to include her in...

Eleanor Gibson earned her Ph.D. at Yale University in 1938. After her graduation, Gibson hoped to work with Robert Yerkes, the famous psychologist who helped develop the U.S. Army's intelligence testing during World War One.

However, Gibson was turned away, as Yerkes noted that women didn't work in his labs. At the time, laboratory work was considered a masculine pursuit, so Gibson would have had difficulty persuading any male scientist to include her in his work. Prior to World War Two, most American women were homemakers. In fact, Gibson herself stayed home to raise her two children when her husband, James Gibson, commenced work for the U.S. military during World War Two. 

After the war ended, Gibson decided to work with Clark Hull, a psychologist who was a devout behaviorist. Behaviorists in Hull's time believed that all behavior was conditioned, whether through positive or negative stimuli. Behaviorists stressed the importance of external actions. On the other hand, functionalists like Gibson believed that human behavior could be understood only through the study of the mind. 

Gibson's decision to work with Hull despite their professional differences showed that she had a flexible and pragmatic character. Even though she encountered challenges during her years as a psychologist, Gibson never complained. She chose to make allowances for the time period she lived in and to look for opportunities to further her career interests. Gibson never gave up on her ambition to come into her own one day; she believed that each step she took brought her closer to her goals. As a result of her positive and creative mindset (remember that she was an avid functionalist), Gibson was able to make great strides in her career despite the limitations she encountered. 

Gibson's tenacity and perseverance paid off when Richard Walk agreed to work with her at Cornell. Together, they invented the Visual Cliff experiment in 1960 (an experiment they became famous for), and their findings were reported in the Scientific American and in the national press. In 1966, Cornell University finally made Gibson a full-fledged professor, and she was given her own lab with which to conduct her experiments. So, while the time period in which Gibson lived limited her work in certain areas, it also fueled her determination to succeed. Gibson was able to harness a positive mindset to accomplish her goals.