Name:______________________________ & _____________________ Block:______Date:____________
History of Psychology
Objective: Students will be required to construct a timeline from provided
information, and evaluate the changes in psychology over time.
Essential Questions:
How has psychology changed over time?
How has the rate of change been affected?
How have psychologists influenced one another?
How has technology changed psychology?
How has the view of the mind changed?
How has the treatment of the mentally ill changed?
How was the psychological world influenced by significant events in world history?
Books, Names of Drugs, Theorists & their Theories, Laws, Institutions
1879 – First Psychology Laboratory
The date 1879 is usually said to be the start of psychology as a separate scientific
discipline, since it was when Wilhelm Wundt opened the first experimental
laboratory in psychology at the university of Leipzig, Germany. Credited with
establishing psychology as an independent academic discipline, Wundt’s
students included many of America’s first psychologists. His main tool was
introspection – in which specially trained people carefully observed,
analyzed, and described their own sensations, mental images and emotional
reactions. His views spawn psychologies first major school of thought, called
structuralism.
1879 – Structuralism
Structuralism is the view that all mental experiences can be understood as a
combination of simple elements or events. This approach focuses on the
structure of conscious mind, contrasting with functionalism. Structuralist's
attempted to study ‘the mind’ through by introspection (looking inwards at
one's own mental experience). Introspection’s aim was to analyze conscious
though into its component parts (such as images, sensations and feelings).
One structuralist, Titchener, claimed there were a total of 46,708 basic
sensations that combined to form the structure of the human mind
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883 – First American Psychology Laboratory
G. Stanley Hall, a student of Wilhelm Wundt, establishes first U.S. experimental
psychology laboratory at Johns Hopkins University.
1885 – A Contribution to Experimental Psychology
Herman Ebbinghaus was the first researcher to show that the cognitive
processes of remembering and forgetting can be studied by precise
experimental methods. Ebbinghaus learned lists of meaningless ‘nonsense
syllables’ — such as bok , waf and ged — until he could recall them perfectly.
He then tested his ability to recall the lists over extended time intervals. He
used extremely methodical, detailed techniques to collect his data,
controlling as many aspects of the environment in which he carried out his
research as he possibly could. Ebbinghaus’ contribution to psychology
opened the way for the use of scientific methodology in Psychology.
1886 – First Doctorate in Psychology
The first doctorate is given to Joseph Jastrow, a student of G. Stanley Hall at
Johns Hopkins University. Jastrow later becomes professor of psychology at
the University of Wisconsin and serves as president of the American
Psychological Association in 1900.
1888 – First Professor of Psychology
The academic title “professor of psychology” is given to James McKeen Cattell in
1888, the first use of this designation in the United States. A student of
Wilhelm Wundt’s, Cattell serves as professor of psychology at University of
Pennsylvania and Columbia University.
1890 – Principles of Psychology
William James was one of the most influential and articulate of the early
American psychologists. His book, which took more than 12 years to
complete, entitled Principles of Psychology became one of the most influential
texts in the history of Psychology, and is still in print. Within psychology,
James is best known for coining the phrase ‘stream of consciousness’, the
view that consciousness - our awareness of the environment and of ourselves
- is essentially a continuous stream of thought rather than discrepant bits
that add together. James’ approach, with its emphasis on how the mind
works, came to be known as functionalism.
1890 – Functionalism
An early psychological approach pioneered by William James which emphasizes
the function or purpose of behavior and consciousness, as opposed to the
study of the structure of conscious mind advocated by structuralism.
Influenced by the evolutionary theories of Darwin, James argued that the
various behaviors and thoughts are functional to helped a person survive and
adapt to their environment. According to James, the role of a psychologist is
to figure out the underlying causes and practical implications of behaviors
and mental processes.
1892 – APA Founded
G. Stanley Hall founds the American Psychological Association (APA) and serves
as its first president. He later establishes two key journals in the field:
American Journal of Psychology (1887) and Journal of Applied Psychology
(1917).
1896 – First Psychology Clinic
After heading a laboratory at University of Pennsylvania, Lighter Witmer opens
world’s first psychological clinic to patients, shifting his focus from
experimental work to practical applications of his findings.
1900 – Interpretation of Dreams
Sigmund Freud introduces his theory in The Interpretation of Dreams ,
describing in detail an underlying theory of the human mind and behavior
that has had an enormous (and controversial) impact on psychology,
exploring such topics as the unconscious, techniques of free association, and
sexuality as a driving force in human psychology.. Freud’s proposals were not
an overnight sensation, the first of 24 books, managed to sell only 600 copies
in the eight years following publication. Eventually, however, his ideas
evolved into a theory of personality and a methods of psychotherapy, both of
which became known as psychoanalysis.
1900 – Psychoanalysis
The founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, asserts that people are
motivated by powerful, unconscious drives and conflicts, processes of which
we are not aware. Freud argued that conscious awareness is merely the tip of
the iceberg. Beneath the visible tip, lies the unconscious part of the mind,
containing unrevealed wishes, passions, guilty secrets, unspeakable
yearnings, and conflicts between desires and duty. We are not aware of our
unconscious urges and thoughts as we go about our daily business, yet they
make themselves known – in dreams, slips of the tongue, apparent accidents,
and even jokes.
1904 – First Woman President of the APA
Mary Calkins is elected president of the APA. Calkins, a professor and researcher
at Wellesley College, studied with William James at Harvard University, but
Harvard denied her a Ph.D. because of her gender.
1905 – IQ Tests Developed
The French government – concerned over children whose progress in the new
education system was limited – appointed Alfred Binet to investigate the
problem. Binet developed a standardized test consisting of thirty tasks of
varying difficulty to assess human intellectual ability. Their test, first
published in 1905, was designed to establish the mental age of school
children. The concept of intelligence quotient (IQ) – the ratio of mental age
over physical age – was introduced in 1912 to provide a single measure of
intellectual ability. From their beginning, such tests’ accuracy and fairness
are challenged, however, Binet’s test is still being used a century later.
1908 – A Mind That Found Itself
Clifford Beers publishes A Mind That Found Itself , detailing his experiences as a
patient in 19 th -century mental asylum. Calling for more humane treatment
of patients and better education about mental illness for the general
population, the book inspires the mental hygiene movement in the United
States.
1909 – Psychoanalysts visit Clark University
Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung visit the United States for a Psychoanalysis
Symposium at Clark University organized by G. Stanley Hall. At the
symposium, Freud gives his only speech in the United States.
1913 – Psychology as the Behaviorist Views it
John B. Watson revolutionized psychology and started the behaviorist
movement when he published a ground-breaking article announcing a new
direction for psychology. ‘ Psychology as the behaviorist views it’ is a purely
objective experimental science of observable behavior. Introspection forms
no essential part of its methods as it cannot be directly observed or
measured. Watson is perhaps best known for his work in the classical
conditioning of ‘Little Albert’ in 1920. Watson conditioned a child to fear a
white rat by pairing it repeatedly with a loud, frightening noise. The study
has been much criticized on ethical grounds.
1913 – Learning Perspective
Behaviorists were extremely critical of all the approaches that concerned
themselves with 'minds', and proposed that psychology should only
investigate observable behavior if it wanted to be an objective science.
Drawing on earlier work by Pavlov, behaviorists such as Watson, Thorndike
and Skinner proceeded to develop theories of learning that they attempted to
use to explain virtually all behavior. The behaviorist approach dominated
experimental psychology until the late 1950s, when its assumptions and
methods became increasingly criticized by humanistic and cognitive
psychologists.
1917 – Army Intelligence Tests Implemented
Standardized intelligence and aptitude tests are administered to two million U.S.
soldiers during WWI. Soon after, such tests are used in all U.S. armed forces
branches and in many areas of civilian life, including academic and work
settings.
1920 – First African American Doctorate in Psychology
Francis Cecil Summer earns a Ph.D. in psychology under G. Stanley Hall at Clark
University. Summer later serves as chair of the Howard University
psychology department.
1920 – The Child’s Conception of the World
Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget publishes The Child’s Conception of the World ,
prompting the study of cognition in the developing child. Piaget proposed
that cognitive development occurs as we adapt to the changing world around
us. Piaget argued that a child’s cognitive development moves through a series
of four stages; Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete operational and
Formal operational. Piaget continued refining his theory from1921 until his
death in 1980. During this long career he wrote more than 50 books and
published hundreds of articles on ways in which children (and adults) think.
1921 – Rorschach Test Created
Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach devises a personality test based on
patients’ interpretations of inkblots.
1925 – Menninger Clinic Founded
Charles Fredrick Menninger and his sons Karl Augustus and William Clair found
The Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas. They take a compassionate
approach to the treatment of mental illness, emphasizing both psychological
and psychiatric disciplines.
1927 – First Nobel Prize for Psychological Research
Julius Wagner von Jauregg wins the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his
discovery that psychosis can be lessened is syphilitic patients by infecting
them with malaria.
1929 – Electroencephalogram Invented Psychiatrist
Hans Berger invents the electroencephalogram and tests it on his son. The device
graphs the electrical activity of the brain by means of electrodes attached to
the head.
1933 – Nazi Persecution of Psychologists After the Nazi party gains control of
the government in Germany, scholars and researchers in psychology and
psychiatry are persecuted. Many, including Freud, whose books are banned
and burned in public rallies, move to Britain or the United States.
1935 – Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is founded by Bob Smith of Akron, Ohio. AA’s group
meetings format and 12-step program become the model for many other
mutual-support therapeutic groups.
1935 – Gestalt Psychology
Kurt Koffla, a founder of the movement, publishes Principles of Gestalt
Psychology in 1935. Gestalt (German for ‘whole’ or ‘essence’) psychology
asserts that psychological phenomena must be viewed not as individual
elements but as a coherent whole.
1936 – First Lobotomy in the United States
Walter Freeman performs first frontal lobotomy in the United States at George
Washington University in Washington, D.C. By 1951, more than 18,000 such
operations have been performed. The procedure, intended to relieve severe
and debilitating psychosis, is controversial.
1938 – The Behavior of Organisms
B.F. Skinner publishes The Behavior of Organisms , introducing the concept of
operant conditioning. The work draws widespread attention to behaviorisms
and inspires laboratory research on conditioning.
1938 – Electroconvulsive Therapy Begins
Italian psychiatrist and neuropathologist Ugo Cerletti and his associates treat
human patients with electric shocks to alleviate schizophrenia and psychosis.
ECT, while controversial, is proven effective in some cases and is still in use.
1946 – National Mental Health Act Passed
U.S. President Harry Truman signs the National Mental Health Act, providing
generous funding for psychiatric education and research for the first time in
U.S. history. This act leads to creation in 1949 of the National Institute of
Mental Health (NIMH).
1951 – First Drug to Treat Depression
Studies are published reporting that the drug imipramine may be able to lessen
depression. Eight years later, the FDA approves its use in the United States.
1952 – Thorazine Tested The anti-psychotic drug chlorpromazine (known as
Thorazine) is tested on a patient in Paris military hospital. Approved for its
use in the United States in 1954, it becomes widely prescribed.
1953 – APA Ethical Standards
The American Psychological Association publishes the first edition of Ethical
Standards of Psychologists. The document undergoes continuous review and
is now known as APA’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of
Conduct.
1954 – Epilepsy and the Functional Anatomy of the Human Brain
In Epilepsy and the Functional Anatomy of the Human Brain , neurosurgeon
Wilder G. Penfield publishes results from his study of the neurology of
epilepsy. His mapping of the brain’s cortex sets a precedent for the brainimaging
techniques that become critical to biological perspective.
1954 – The Nature of Prejudice
Social Psychologist Gordon Allport publishes The Nature of Prejudice, which
draws on various approaches in psychology to examine prejudice through
different lenses. It is widely read by the general public and influential in
establishing psychology’s usefulness in understanding social issues.
1955 – Biological Perspective
In his studies of epilepsy, neuroscientist Wilder G. Penfield begins to uncover the
relationship between chemical activity in the brain and its effect on behavior
and mental processes. His findings set the stage for widespread research on
the biological role in psychological phenomena. Also influencing the
biological perspective is the development of psychoactive drugs in the 1950s
and their approval by the FDA. This new form of treatment for mental illness
further highlights the relationship between chemical activity in the brain and
its effect on behavior and mental processes. Among the first drugs to be used
was Doriden – an anti-anxiety medication.
1955 – Humanistic Perspective
Led by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, who publishes Motivation and
Personality in 1954, the humanistic perspective focuses on people’s unique
capacity for choice, responsibility and growth. This approach centers on the
conscious mind, free will, human dignity, and the capacity for selfactualization.
The humanistic perspective has had less of an impact on
psychology, since it has deliberately adopted a less scientific view of the
human mind by arguing that psychology should focus on each individual's
conscious experience and aims in life
1955 – Cognitive Perspective
Inspired by work in mathematics and other disciplines, psychologists begin to
focus on cognitive states and processes. George A. Miller’s 1956 article ‘The
Magical Number Seven’, Plus or Minus Two’ was a shift back to renewed
interest in internal mental processes.
The cognitive perspective aimed to investigate the mind by using computer
information processing ideas to arrive at testable models of how the brain
works, and then applying scientific methods to confirm these models.
1960 – FDA Approves Librium
The FDA approves the use of chlordiazepoxide (known as Librium) for
treatment of non-psychotic anxiety in 1960. A similar drug, diazepam
(Valium), is approved in 1963.
1963 – Community Mental Health Centers Act Passed
U.S. President John F. Kennedy calls for and later signs the Community Mental
Health Centers Act, which mandates the construction of community facilities
instead of large, regional mental hospitals. Congress ends support for the
program in 1981, reducing overall funds and folding them into a mental
health block-grant program.
1964 – First National Medal of Science to Psychologist
Neal E. Miller receives the National Medal of Science, the highest scientific honor
given in the United States, for his studies of motivation and learning. He is the
first psychologist to be awarded this honor.
1970 – FDA Approves Lithium
The FDA approves lithium carbonate to treat patients with bipolar mood
disorders. It is marketed under the trade names Eskalith, Lithonate, and
Lithane.
1973 – Homosexuality Removed from DSM
After intense debate, the American Psychological Association removes
homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM). The widely used reference manual is revised to state that
sexual orientation “does not necessarily constitute a psychiatric disorder.”
1974 – PET Scanner Tested
A new brain scanning technique, Positron Emission Tomography (PET), is tested.
By tracing chemical markers, PET maps brain function in more detail than
earlier techniques.
1976 – The Selfish Gene
Richard Dawkins publishes The Selfish Gene, a work which shifts focus from the
individual animal as the unit of evolution to individual genes themselves. The
text popularizes the field of evolutionary psychology, in which language and
principles from evolutionary biology are applied in research on human brain
structure.
1976 – Evolutionary Psychology
Richard Dawkins publishes The Selfish Gene, which begins to popularize the idea
of evolutionary psychology. This approach applies principals from
evolutionary biology to the structure and function of the human brain. It
offers new ways of looking at social phenomena such as aggression and
sexual behavior.
1979 – Standardized IQ Tests Found Discriminatory
The U.S. District Court finds the use of standardized IQ tests in California public
schools illegal. The decision in the case, Larry P vs. Wilson Riles , upholds the
plaintiff’s position that the tests discriminate against African American
students.
1984 – Insanity Defense Reform Act Passed
U.S. Congress revises federal law on the insanity defense, partly in response to
the acquittal of John Hinckley, Jr. of charges of attempted assassination after
he had shot President Ronald Reagan. The act places burden of proof for the
insanity defense on the defendant.
1987 – Homeless Assistance Act Passed
The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act provides the first federal
funds allocated specifically for the homeless population. The act includes
provisions for mental health services, and responds, in part, to psychological
studies on homelessness and mental disorders.
1987 – Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft made Available
The FDA approves the new anti-depressant medication fluoxetine, (Prozac). The
drug, and other similar medications, acts on neurotransmitters, specifically,
serotonin. It is widely prescribed and attracts attention and debate.
2000 – Sequencing of the Human Genome
Sixteen public research institutions around the world complete a “working
draft” mapping of the human genetic code, providing a research basis for a
new understanding of human development and disease. A similar, privately
funded, project is currently underway.
