Feminist psychology developed as a reaction to historical psychological thought initiated by men who controlled the theory and research of the field. By holding all of society to norms based in male behavior, this so-called masculine psychology effectively assigned women lower societal status than men and had disturbing effects on women's health and self-esteem.
Feminist Psychology focuses on gender differences, social structure, and the values and principles of women's rights within the world's individual, social, and political spheres. Contrary to popular notion, feminist psychology does not involve man-hating, but instead focuses on loving the concept that women have equal potential to set and achieve goals and to contribute to society. In this volume, psychologist Vera Maass explains the history, theory, research, and current state of this growing field, which is becoming increasingly popular as colleges offer majors or concentrations in feminist psychology, and argues that women are both different from and equal to men.
About the Author: Vera Sonja Maass, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, marriage and family therapist, and mental health counselor in private practice in Indiana. She has assisted in a number of studies for the World Health Organization.
