25 Alberta Banner Turner

*Note: There are 2 versions of this chapter, written by 2 different groups of students.

Group 1: Abigail Colledge, Claire Coutts, and Lindsey Reighley

General Biography

Alberta Banner Turner was born on March 17, 1909, and died on January 31, 2008. She was born in Chicago, IL, to her parents, James L. and Mabel Banner, prior to their move to Columbus, OH (Guthrie, 1976). After graduating from East High School at 16 in 1925, Dr. Turner began her foray into higher education at Ohio State University, earning her bachelor’s degree in Home Economics. Then, she earned her Master’s in Education (American Psychology Association, 2015). She continued to pursue higher education and earned her Doctorate in Psychology from Ohio State University in 1935. Dr. Turner was among the first African American women in history to earn a Ph.D. (Vaughn, 2013).

After completing her education, Dr. Turner spent many years moving around and working at different home economics departments at varying institutions as a professor and in leadership positions. In 1944, Dr. Turner was offered a full-time position as a clinician at the Ohio Bureau of Juvenile Research. (Guthrie, 1976). After accepting this position, she stayed at the same Bureau for 27 years, working her way to becoming the director of research prior to her retirement (Guthrie, 1976). After she retired, she accepted a position as the administrative assistant for Weight Watchers of Central Ohio to study the psychology of obesity (Guthrie, 1976).

Outside of her work and academic accomplishments, Dr. Turner fought against discriminatory practices that involved not allowing people of color into certain establishments based on the color of their skin. She began fighting injustice when she was just 16 years old and continued to fight racism throughout the rest of her life (Vaughn, 2013). Turner stated that she would rather have been known for her activism and devotion to equality for the Black community than for her academic achievements (Vaughn, 2013).

Important Achievements

Dr. Turner was very influential during her lifetime. For example, she was the first woman ever to receive her doctorate from Ohio State University. Further, she was among the first African American women to receive a doctorate in psychology. (Guthrie, 1976). In her professional career, she published two research papers prior to 1976. In addition, she attained diplomate status in clinical psychology (Guthrie, 1976). Dr. Turner’s success in her professional life is evident through her research and the promotions she received in the academic world.

Other achievements of hers not directly related to her professional life include advancing equal rights for African Americans. Her most noteworthy accolade in this realm occurred in 1938, when she and a group of her friends attempted to enter a “whites only” theater. After being denied entry, she and another woman filed a lawsuit against the manager of the theater and won (Vaughn, 2013). This was a massive win, not only for Dr. Turner, but for the African American community as a whole. Such an advancement also paved the way for further progress against discrimination. It is not a stretch to argue that such a lawsuit may have empowered others to take similar actions against other establishments that were also discriminating against people of color.

Historical Context

Alberta Banner Turner lived in a volatile and dynamic time in U.S. history and, as a result, faced a variety of challenges as a woman of color. Dr. Turner was witness to numerous societal changes, such as an unstable U.S. economy, great civil unrest leading to the breakdown of segregation, and the subsequent change to many laws and the legal status of marginalized populations.

One factor that distinguishes Dr. Turner is the academic achievements she made given the context in which she lived in the United States during the 1930’s. While the U.S. economy declined, Dr. Turner progressed up the academic ladder. She earned various degrees and achieved a high academic standing in the midst of the Great Depression. Dr. Turner published two papers. Her work, focused on perception and memorization, was heavily influenced by Dr. Samuel Renshaw (Banner, 1935). Renshaw was an experimental psychologist at Ohio State University who developed experimental and therapeutic programs directed towards vision and the other sensory modalities (John, 2021). Renshaw’s work on expanding memory and ability to process stimuli heavily influenced Dr. Turner’s work on perception and memorization.

While there is some knowledge on the psychologists who influenced Dr. Turner, her influence on other psychologists is not effectively documented. Dr. Turner’s priorities were centered more around her contributions to the Black community, and her academic achievements were less of a concentration for her. This could explain why she did not have a great perceived influence on psychology as a whole. It was clear to Dr. Turner that there was a great need for change. In the 1950’s, the civil rights movement started and came as a result of years of civil unrest, inequality, and cruelty towards people of color, especially the Black community. Dr. Turner witnessed many historical events that took place in the fight for equality for African Americans. Dr. Turner’s devotion to taking action against inequality is again exemplified through the movie theater lawsuit mentioned earlier in this paper. (Vaughn, 2013).

Prior to 1955, most action taken to advance equality for African Americans was accomplished through the legal system (Conklin, 2007). On December 1st, 1955, however, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a White person and was arrested, which in turn changed the political landscape. This resulted in another civil rights leader, Jo Ann Robinson, starting a boycott for African American people to not ride the bus and was intended to last for a day, but the boycott lasted for a year (Conklin, 2007). This event represented a shift in the way people were fighting for the rights of African Americans. That is to say, lay people were empowered to fight for their own rights, rather than waiting for change to occur through legal means. Later, the March on Washington took place in 1963. During this march, 25,000 people came together for a peaceful protest in Washington D.C. (Conklin, 2007). This was significant because African Americans and Whites stood together in peace publicly for one of the first times (Conklin, 2007). These are just a few of the remarkable events that Dr. Turner witnessed. Additionally, she engaged in a significant amount of activism. These events moved her to put more of an emphasis on her activism work than her work in psychology. Dr. Turner thrived in her academics, personal and professional life, and was a strong activist in one of the most critical historical periods of American history.

Historical Impact

Dr. Turner unfortunately did not have an extremely notable influence on the field of psychology directly due to racism and sexism in America at the time that she was conducting research and going to school. While it is stated in the literature that Dr. Turner had an impact in juvenile rehabilitation and treatment research, it is difficult to find exactly what this impact was (Guthrie, 1976). This is presumably due to the lack of representation in the relevant sources that are accessible as a result of racism and sexism. However, she did represent a strong voice against segregation and was an effective activist for the Black community, specifically regarding segregation practices (Vaughn, 2013). It can thus be inferred that Dr. Turner’s influence on the juvenile justice system may have had to do with structural inequalities related to race and gender. Because of the political landscape during this time period, Dr. Turner’s legacy of activism tends to overshadow her direct contributions to psychology. That being said, her contributions in the political and social justice realm can be argued to have had a lasting impact on the psychological well-being of marginalized people and it is unfortunate that many of her contributions have been largely forgotten over time.

References

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Featured psychologist: Alberta Banner Turner, Ph.D. American Psychological Association. Retrieved September 25, 2022, from https://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/ethnicity-health/psychologists/turner

Banner, A. E. (1935). The effect of practice on the perception and memorization of digits presented in single exposures [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1291136705

Conklin. (2007). The Civil Rights Movement. Teacher Created Materials Publishing.

Guthrie, R. V. (1976). Alberta Banner Turner. In Even the rat was white: A historical view of psychology. essay, Harper & Row.

Johns. (2021). Watching Readers Reading. Textual Practice, 35(9), 1429–1452. https://doi.org/10.1080/0950236X.2021.1964750

Psychology’s Feminist Voices. Alberta Banner Turner. Feminist Voices. (n.d.). Retrieved September 25, 2022, from https://feministvoices.com/profiles/alberta-banner-turner

Vaughn, K. (2013). Alberta Banner Turner. https://www.apadivisions.org. Retrieved October 18, 2022, from https://www.apadivisions.org/division-35/about/heritage/alberta-turner-biography

Group 2: Anonymous Contributor, Grace Falconer, and Alaina Rivera

General Biography

Alberta Banner Turner was an African American woman who was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 17th, 1909. Shortly after her family’s move to Ohio, she was enrolled and educated in public schools. Turner successfully completed high school as well as a noteworthy personal achievement. She was the first member of her family to earn a high school diploma (Fastzkie, 2023). College was her next step; she attended Ohio State University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in home economics in 1929, a master’s degree in education in 1931, and a doctoral degree in psychology in 1935 (Fastzkie, 2023). Because she was a woman during this time period, especially a Black woman, receiving higher education was a particular challenge, and getting a Ph.D. was an even greater challenge. With this being said, Turner was the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. from Ohio State University and the third to earn a doctoral degree in psychology in the United States (Fastzkie, 2023).

Turner started her career after completing her undergraduate degree with a position as head of the Department of Home Economics at Wilberforce University in Xenia, Ohio (Fastzkie, 2023). During her employment at Wilberforce University, Turner also completed her master’s degree by participating in summer courses at Ohio State University (Fastzkie, 2023). The work she conducted at Ohio State University during her master’s degree, as well as her doctoral studies, was supervised by an experimental psychologist, Samuel Renshaw (Fastzkie, 2023). Not only was Turner the first Black woman to obtain a Ph.D. from Ohio State University, she was also the first Black woman to receive such a distinguished fellowship as well.

The first step Turner took in her career was serving as head of the Department of Home Economics at Winston-Salem College in North Carolina. Following her employment at this university, she was the head of the Home Economics Department and taught as a Professor of Psychology at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After her time in Baton Rouge, she moved back to North Carolina, where she ran the Bennett College for Women’s Home Economics Department. Shortly after, Turner received a fellowship at Stephens College Institute of Consumer Education in Missouri (Fastzkie, 2023).

Turner then slightly shifted gears in her career after marrying and returning to the state of Ohio. She was a clinician for the Ohio Bureau of Juvenile Research at the Marysville Reformatory for Women, where she supported and advocated for young women. Turner continued to excel in this field and was promoted to Supervising Psychologist and then to Chief Psychologist. Nearing the end of her successful career, Turner remained active in her research, lectured on psychopathology at Ohio State, worked for the Ohio Youth Foundation, and served as the Director of Research at the Ohio Youth Commission until her retirement after a long and fulfilling career. Not only was Turner extremely successful in the field of psychology, but she was also an active civil rights leader, activist, and innovator at the state, local, and national levels (Fastzkie, 2023). After an impressive career, Turner passed away in her home in Hawaii on January 31st, 2008 (Young, 2012).

Throughout Turner’s life, she experienced and actively challenged many instances of racial discrimination. These various experiences shaped her into the strong and influential woman that she is remembered as today. For example, in 1925, Turner and her high school friends challenged the White-only prom being held at their school (Young, 2012). Although they were unsuccessful in their efforts and were not allowed to enter, this clearly shows the tenacity deep within Turner and her peers. Turner continued to challenge opposition by fighting to join various groups that were unavailable to people of color. It has been stated that Turner wished to be remembered for her battle for equal civil rights (Young, 2012).

Important Achievements

During Turner’s time in graduate school, she completed her dissertation as well as studying the field of psychology. Turner researched how practice and repetition can affect the perception of digits presented in single exposures (Fastzkie, 2023). This research was conducted to explore students’ visual perception and memorization. Turner’s findings shaped how psychologists and educators conceptualize peoples’ learning and memorization skills. The results of this study showed that 10,982 errors were made out of 44,886 digits that were presented to the five participants involved in her study. Turner concluded that the errors tended to increase from the first to the last item in a moderately even progression. The final serial position showed a small decrease in the frequency of errors (Banner, 1935).

A significant finding Turner discussed in her dissertation was that major improvements were seen in the participants following three months of training (Banner, 1935). In addition, Turner found large individual differences in the participant’s performance before and after the training. The individual’s improvements took place suddenly and were not made over time. Implications of this study may include that the seemingly impossible achievement can be completed successfully by one’s determination and consistent practice. The improvements of this study were due to the repetition of the participants’ methods that they created themselves and followed through with. Although only some participants reached the same high-performance level as their fellow participants, it is possible if they were trained with better psychological methods (Banner, 1935).

Later in Turner’s career, she researched juvenile delinquency and psychopathology and operated a mobile clinic (Vaughn, 2011). Her research provided significant contributions to the diagnosis and treatment of delinquent behaviors (Fastzkie, 2023). Turner helped develop these treatments for young offenders with the Ohio Bureau of Juvenile Affairs. In 1963, Turner started working for the Ohio Youth Commission and eventually became the research director at this institution. Turner was the only African American female psychologist appointed to Ohio’s Criminal Justice Supervisory Commission (Vaughn, 2013). Due to Turner’s noteworthy achievements, the Ohio Psychological Association awarded her with an achievement award for being a well-regarded  psychologist in the public interest. Turner’s work provided a foundation for future psychologists that examines systems of psychological practices and created influences of social change in our society.

Turner further challenged racial segregation as an advocate and activist starting from the young age of sixteen years old. She was active in several African American social organizations that fought against racial and social injustices. The efforts of these organizations helped abolish “race-based admittance policies at restaurants and theaters” (Fastzkie, 2023, para. 5) in Columbus, Ohio. In addition, Turner improved educational opportunities for African Americans in the state of Ohio by providing consumer education courses for soldiers and their wives on various issues such as Black investment markets, credit unions, and insurance (Vaughn, 2011). Turner also became the president of the National Jack and Jill of America Foundation, an African American social organization that supported children and adults in cultural awareness, education, health, civic, and social support (Vaughn, 2011).

In 1953, Turner founded an international organization called the Columbus Chapter of Links Inc. Turner served as the president of this successful organization, which was committed to leadership, friendship, and service (Vaughn, 2011). Turner was also a key component in establishing a partnership between Ohio State University, Columbus Public Schools, and Links Inc. to assist in the development of the Prelude Scholarship and Recognition Program (Fastzkie, 2023). This scholarship worked to provide improved educational opportunities for minority students.

Historical Context

World War II was a noteworthy event that led up to Turner’s contributions to the field of psychology. The Second World War occurred from September 1939 to September 1945, just a few years after she completed her doctorate. Because of the war’s impact on American soldiers and their families, Turner was able to use her knowledge and skills to provide soldiers’ wives with resources to learn about insurance, credit unions, and investment markets (Vaughn, 2011). Turner’s contributions as a civil rights activist, such as her involvement in the National Jack and Jill of America Foundation and other social organizations, were extremely relevant to the time period.

The Civil Rights Movement began just a year after Turner became the president of the National Jack and Jill of America Foundation. It is also important to note that women’s suffrage had ended prior to Turner’s professional career. However, the Women’s Liberation Movement was just beginning, so her work advocating for women was also related to the events occuring in the United States at the time (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2023). The Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Liberation Movement created a zeitgeist of change and progress during the time period that Turner was a prominent figure.

Turner was just the third woman to earn a doctoral degree in the United States in 1935, after Inez Prosser and Ruther Howard, who were likely influences on Turner. In 2020, of the 76,111 doctoral degrees awarded at universities in the United States, 40,037 were awarded to women. Women have been earning the majority of doctoral degrees every year since 2008 (Perry, 2021). Turner and other women who received higher education at a time when it was very difficult for women to go to college and advocated for their rights to higher education paved the way for women today. While Turner was one of the first women to receive her doctoral degree, she was likely influenced by the women before her who advocated for their rights and pursued various advanced degrees (Benjamin et al., 2005).

In the United States around this time period, more and more women were beginning to advocate their rights for higher education and gender equality. These changes may have influenced and encouraged Turner to research and advocate for women in schools and reformatories for women. Turner was also influenced by her advisor, Samuel Renshaw, whose work was prominent during World War  II when he was teaching sailors to identify enemy aircraft in a split-second using tachistoscopic training. She wrote her dissertation “The Effects of Practice in the Perception and Memorization of Digits Presented in Single Exposure” under his supervision (Larsen, 1983).

Historical Impact

The strength that Turner’s work had in the field of psychology was very prominent. Not only did she affect the field of psychology, but she also impacted the civil rights movement and advocacy for children in a very positive manner. Turner contributed significantly to the field of psychology through her findings on individuals’ learning and memorization skills, diagnosis and treatment of delinquent behaviors, and treatments for young offenders. Concerning the civil rights movement, Turner challenged racial segregation and social injustices and fought to improve educational opportunities for African Americans. Lastly, Turner founded a foundation to support individuals on cultural awareness issues and an organization regarding leadership, friendship, and service (Vaughn, 2011).

Turner did incredible work and strongly influenced the field of psychology. Turner’s research on diagnosis and treatments for juvenile delinquents as well as the creation of a mobile clinic, made many significant contributions to the field of psychology. Turner positively impacted the field of psychology. After all, she accomplished things no African American female had ever done because she was among the first African Americans to earn her Ph.D. in Psychology in the United States. Turner paved the way for future female and minority pioneers.

African American participation in psychology has progressed since Turner influenced and advocated for African American equality. Before the 1960s, there were immense barriers for African Americans in psychology. These obstacles and hardships included restricted training opportunities, limited occupational opportunities, and widely held assumptions that African Americans had intellectual and social deficits (Holliday, 2009). These assumptions were challenged during the Civil Rights era of the 1950s to 1970s by people like Turner. Because of the advocacy during the Civil Rights era, colleges and universities began to accept students of color. By the 1970s and 1980s, significantly more African American students were admitted to psychology graduate degrees. After World War II, continuous racial integration in the United States’ social institutions expanded African American psychologists’ occupational and advocacy opportunities (Holliday, 2009). Changes like these were made due to individuals like Turner, who persevered through hardships and advocated for African American equality.

The field of psychology has continuously progressed throughout the years on account of many women psychologists that have advocated for gender equality, equal education, and job opportunities. Each prominent figure has influenced the others. Without the work of one, the work of another may not have happened. For example, Helen Thompson Woolley was among the first of women to receive her Ph.D. in psychology. Because of the nature of her work, she likely influenced many other women in the field of psychology as well. She focused her research on the psychological differences between men and women, and she found that men scored better in most tests of motor skills while women scored better in finer sensory discrimination (Milar, 2010). Her conclusions differ considerably from the accepted theories of the time, which attributed male-female differences based on biological and evolutionary characteristics.

Instead, Woolley pointed out the implausibility of those theories and stated that environmental differences were a logical conclusion to account for the differences between men and women (Milar, 2010). Woolley disputed the accepted theories of the day, and opened the doors for women to continue educating themselves in undergraduate and graduate programs, particularly in the field of psychology. While psychology has progressed immensely since the early 1900s because of influences like Turner and Woolley, gender differences in psychology remain in the field today. The field will continue to progress as new research becomes available and modern-day influences share their knowledge.

References

Banner, A. E. (1935). The effect of practice on the perception and memorization of digits presented in single exposures(Doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University).

Benjamin, L. T., Jr., Henry, K. D., & McMahon, L. R. (2005). Inez Beverly Prosser and the education of African Americans. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 41(1), 43–62. https://doi.org/10.1002/jhbs.20058

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (2023, March 7). American Civil Rights Movement. https://www.britannica.com/event/American-civil-rights-movement

Fastzkie, E. M. (2023). Dr. Alberta Banner Turner: Distinguished black activist and exceptional Ohio psychologist. Early Psychological Research Contributions from Women of Color, Volume 1.

Holliday, B. G. (2009). The history and visions of African American psychology: Multiple pathways to place, space, and authority. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 15(4), 317–337. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016971

Larsen, J. M., Jr. (1983). Obituary: Samuel Renshaw (1892-1981). American Psychologist, 38(2), 226. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.und.edu/10.1037/0003-066X.38.2.226

Milar, K. S. (2010, February). Overcoming ‘sentimental rot’. Monitor on Psychology. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/02/sentimental

Perry, Mark (2021). Women earned the majority of doctoral degrees in 2020 for the 12th straight year and outnumber men in grad school 148 to 100. American Enterprise Institute. https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/women-earned-the-majority-of-doctoral-degrees-in-2020-for-the-12th-straight-year-and-outnumber-men-in-grad-school

Vaughn, K. (2013). Alberta Banner Turner. Society for the Psychology of Women. https://www.apadivisions.org/division-35/about/heritage/alberta-turner-biography

Young, J. L. (2012). Alberta banner Turner. Feminist Voices. https://feministvoices.com/profiles/alberta-banner-turner