Find a Union Writer – Irvin Schonfeld

Irvin Schonfeld is a professor of psychology at City College and the CUNY Graduate Center. He has published extensively in scientific journals, has written or cowritten 13 book chapters and two books, and has published two short stories.

Irvin Schonfeld

“To love and to work” was Sigmund Freud’s curt response when asked what a “normal person should be able to do well” (Erikson, 1963, pp. 264-265). This book is not about erotic love, the love to which Freud referred. Rather, the book is about the psychosocial aspects of work and how they bear on mental and physical health. Extensive research supports the view that the impact of working in a psychologically unrewarding job extends beyond work hours, and affects the individual’s life situation and health (Gardell, 1976).

From a forthcoming book to be published by Springer

Upon learning of her grade, Jacqueline, who expected to graduate at the end of May, protested to Chairman Adler. She was vocal about her disappointment, vigorously shaking her fist, frightening poor old Adler. When Jacqueline left the office, Adler decided that he had a “personnel matter” to deal with. Adler, who rarely tackled unpleasant personnel matters alone, told his deputy about Jacqueline’s protest. Adler and Bentley called me to a meeting in the chairman’s office. Bentley began, “Why didn’t you supervise Jacqueline’s proposal?”

From my short story, "It Is Troubling to Me That You Are an Ineffective Instructor"

Theory development and hypothesis generation. Qualitative methods have long been associated with Glaser and Strauss’s (1967) grounded theory. Glaser and Strauss emphasized the idea that researchers need to allow theoretically interesting categories and hypotheses to emerge from qualitative data, while approaching the data without preconceived ideas regarding what should emerge. Qualitative research can pave the way to a new theory or hypothesis (that may later be tested with quantitative methods) or can help to further elaborate an existing theory. Schonfeld and Farrell (2010) advanced the view that certain uncontrolled, qualitative observations have played an important role in the history of science. For example, before Jenner discovered a vaccine for smallpox, ordinary people observed that inoculating individuals with small amounts of discharge from the pustules of infected individuals provided immunity from the disease (Hopkins, 1983). These early observations contributed to progress toward a theory of contagion, and helped challenge rival humoral theories of the disease (Miller, 1957).

Excerpted from a book chapter by Schonfeld and Mazzola (2012)

Literature, Science

Academic Writing and Editing, Magazine Writing, Newspaper Writing, Op-Ed Writing