Doris Twitchell Allen ( Doris Frances Twitchell; October 8, 1901 – March 7, 2002) was a noted

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

and the founder of Children's International Summer Villages (now CISV International
CISV
. She specialized in development and

psychodrama Psychodrama is an action method, often used as a psychotherapy, in which clients use spontaneous Adaptation (arts), dramatization, role playing, and dramatic self-presentation to investigate and gain insight into their lives. Developed by Jaco ...

Education

After receiving degrees in

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

( AB in 1923) and

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

( MA in 1926) at the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...

, where she was a member of the national honorary society

Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to the area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of educa ...

, she earned a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

in 1930 at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, and completed her post-graduate study at the Psychological Institute,

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

, in 1932.

Career

Her career as a psychologist began as Director of the Field Laboratory at the Child Education Foundation in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

(1932–1935). From 1962 until her retirement, she was Professor of Psychology at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

and Professor of Psychology (Psychodrama) at the University of Maine. She developed several valued tools in the fields of psychology and education, including ''Social Learning in the Schools Through Psychodrama'' project and the ''Twitchell-Allen Three-dimensional Personality Test'' for use in CISV research and clinical practice to portray personality dynamics, irrespective of age or culture. In addition to founding CISV in 1951, Doris Allen served as International President (1951–1956), Trustee (1956–1965), Research Chairman (1951–1967), and Honorary Counsellor (1965–2002), and simultaneously served as President (1956–1965), Research Chair / Co-chair (1956–1969) and Life Trustee (1970–2002) of CISV USA. From its inception in 1988, Doris Allen had also served as Trustee / Honorary Trustee of the CISV International Peace Fund Trust.

Awards and legacy

In 1979, Doris was also nominated for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

for her work with CISV. The Doris Twitchell Allen Village (DTAV) student accommodation blocks at the University of Maine were named after her.

Personal life

In 1935, she married Erastus S. Allen, an attorney.

Education

Career

Awards and legacy

Personal life

References

See also