Featured Psychologists

Francis Cecil Sumner

Grew up in Arkansas and got a B.A. in philosophy and English. Then G. Stanley hall wanted him to pursue a degree in psychology but he got drafted for WW 1. Afterward he got his PhD in psychology which was the first it’s kind to be awarded to an African American. He went on to be a founder of the psychology department at Howard University and studies the psychology of religion, refuting racist psychology research and promoted education of African Americans in psychology

Brenda Milner (Langford)

Born in Manchester England. Once she got her B.A. in psychology the lab she worked in was asked to contribute to the war efforts for WW2. She helped invent perceptual tests for selecting bomber/ fighter pilots. She married one of the pilots that came through. She then moved to Canada and earned her masters and PhD in psychology. She took a position as a professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill university. Here is where she conducted groundbreaking research of the brain. She memory and damage to the temporal lobes, mapped the function of areas of the temporal lobe, determined lateralization of function in the hemispheres, demonstrated plasticity after damage, studied of the damage of the hippocampus affected memory, considered the founder of clinical neuropsychology

Christine Ladd-Franklin

Was a woman’s rights activist and was discriminated against continually during her education and professional career. She published many articles about the eye including binocular vision and color vision. She first got her B.A. in mathematics then she became a teacher and realized she did not like it. Therefore, she went back to school at John Hopkins they admitted her until she realized she was a woman and after another professor got on her side they told her she could only go to his classes. After proving how smart she was she was allowed to attend other professors classes, but after completing all the requirements to get a PhD they wouldn’t let her receive it because she was a woman. After this her research expanded from math and logic to psychology. She published her first article about psychology on binocular vision and the she was awarded her honorary doctorate. She continued to do research and publish on color vision. She couldn’t get faculty position because she was a woman. She began teaching one class a semester without pay at two different colleges. Finally after 44 years after she completed the requirements John

Carl L. Hart

Got his PhD in psychology and neuroscience after his rough childhood where is parents divorced his young mother raised him and they were very poor. His main research was the effect of psychoactive drugs on people and creating treatments for those addicted. Started teaching at Columbia university and became the first African American professor of science at an ivy league to receive tenure. He has written numerous articles and published several books. He has testified before the U.S. congress and has served as an expert witness in both state federal courts.

Martha E. Bernal

Women in her program were denied research opportunities and frequently sexually harassed by male faculty. Several professors encouraged her to stick with it and she did she became the first Latina in the U.S. to graduate with their PhD in psychology. She was unable to find a faculty position likely because of her gender so she conducted research. She won a grant from NIMH to create a laboratory to study orienting responses and classical conditioning in children with autism. She then took a different position and focused on research related to minorities. She helped establish the National Hispanic Psychology Association