Department of Psychology

About Dr. Ferguson

Eva Dreikurs Ferguson is Professor and full-time psychology faculty member. She obtained her Ph.D. from Northwestern University. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Divisions 1 and 8, and is a founding member and Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. She is a life member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the Psychonomic Society and of Sigma  Xi. She has been Visiting Professor at the University of Vermont, Northwestern University, and University of California Berkeley. She is author of Motivation (Oxford University Press, 2000) and Adlerian theory: An introduction (Adler School, 2006) and co-author, along with Rudolf Dreikurs and Pearl Cassel, of Discipline without tears (Wiley, 2004). She has published articles in areas of motivation, word processing, learning, memory, and Adlerian psychology.

Dr. Ferguson's current research interests center on cognitive processes, cultural variables, and family background. She is exploring the way culture and parental values interact and influence cognitive processes. In addition, she is Chairperson of the International Committee of Adlerian Summer Schools and Institutes (ICASSI), which meets in a different country each year. Her book on Adlerian psychology has been translated into many languages. 

Dr. Ferguson teaches courses in motivation, learning and memory, history and systems of psychology, foundations of psychology, and Adlerian psychology.

Representative Publications

• Ferguson, E. D. (2006). Adlerian psychology applied to workplace problems. In P. Prina, A. Miller, C. Shelley, & K. John (Eds.), UK Adlerian Year Book 2006. Cambridge, England: Adlerian Society (of the United Kingdom) and the Institute for Individual Psychology.
• Ferguson E. D. (2006). Work relations that enhance well-being of organizations and individuals. Journal of Individual Psychology, 62, 80-84.
• Ferguson, E. D., Hagaman, J., Grice, J. W., & Peng, K. (2006). From leadership to parenthood: The applicability of leadership styles to parenting styles. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice,10, 43-56.
• Ferguson, E. D. (2006). A long-awaited book on Adlerian psychotherapy for the modern reader. Psyc Critiques, Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books (eJournal), February 22, Vol 51(8), Article 1. A review of Adlerian therapy: Theory and practice by J. Carlson, R. E. Watts, & M. Maniacci.
• Ferguson, E. D. (2005). The life task of work. In P. Prina, A. Miller, C. Shelley, & K. John (Eds.), UK Adlerian Year Book 2005 (pp. 175-182). Cambridge, England: Adlerian Society (of the United Kingdom) and the Institute for Individual Psychology.
• Dreikurs, R., Cassel, P., Ferguson, E. D. (2004). Discipline without tears. Toronto: Wiley (The original book by Dreikurs and Cassel was re-written with Senior responsibility by Ferguson.)
• Ferguson, E. D. (2000). Motivation: A biosocial and cognitive integration of motivation and emotion. New York: Oxford University Press.