VD

History of Psychology

Learning Objectives

  • Understand the early ideas that led to psychology.

  • Learn about key people and events in American psychology.

  • See how professional psychology grew in America.

  • Grasp how science develops and changes.

  • Recognize the contributions of women and people of color in American psychology.

Introduction

This module tells the story of psychology, aiming to meet the goals listed above. Psychology's history can start at different times:

  • Ancient Greece.

  • The late 1800s, when it became a formal science.
    Both starting points help us understand how science grows and changes. (Goodwin, 2011; Leahey, 2012; Schultz & Schultz, 2007 provide more resources for students).
    This module focuses on modern psychology in America, starting in the mid-1800s. This helps us identify key people and events and describe how professional psychology grew.

Historical Context

The first recorded psychology experiment was by Pharaoh Psamtik I of Egypt in the 7th Century B.C. This helps us understand psychology's early beginnings. The field shows how knowledge grows and changes over time, reflecting how science develops.

Significance of History in Psychology

Knowing psychology's history helps us see how science develops and who the important people and events were. It gives us perspective, showing how time and place shape our understanding of the field. It's important for:

  • Working in professional roles (like a doctor or counselor).

  • Understanding how we got to today's ideas and practices in psychology.

Prehistory of Psychology

Philosophical Foundations

Early psychology is built on philosophy and physiology. Key philosophers include:

  • John Locke (1632–1704): Believed in empiricism, meaning knowledge comes from experience.

  • Thomas Reid (1710–1796): Stressed the importance of human sensory experience.
    In the early 1800s, American universities taught ideas about mental and moral philosophy, focusing on intellect, will, and senses (Fuchs, 2000).

Physiological Investigations

In the 1800s, scientists started studying sensory systems:

  • Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–1894): Measured nerve impulse speed and studied hearing and vision. He showed that senses can be tricked and that the mind could be studied scientifically, separating mental and physical realities. This helped us understand scientific development.
    Other important researchers were:

  • Ernst Weber: Known for his work on how we tell the difference between sensations.

  • Gustav Fechner: Created psychophysics, which looks at the link between physical stimuli and our sensory experience (Fancher & Rutherford, 2011).

The Birth of Modern Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt

Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920) is seen as a founder of modern psychology. His work is key to identifying important people and describing psychology's growth.

  • He made experimental psychology a separate field. He taught introspection, which is looking inward at one's own thoughts and feelings.

  • In 1875, Wundt started teaching experimental psychology at the University of Leipzig.

  • In 1879, he opened his lab for psychological experiments, formally starting psychology as a science. Wundt trained students to report detailed reactions to stimuli, studying sensations, perceptions, and reaction times.

Introduction to Psychology in the U.S.

Wundt's methods spread worldwide. His student, Edward Titchener (1867–1927), brought experimental psychology to America with a framework called “structuralism.”

  • Structuralism looked at the basic parts of thought. It did not include people with mental challenges, children, or animals (Evans, 1972; Titchener, 1909).
    By 1900, there were over 40 psychology labs in the U.S. and Canada (Benjamin, 2000), showing how professional psychology was rising. The American Psychological Association (APA) was formed in 1892 to organize the field. Titchener felt the APA wasn't focused enough on experimental psychology, so he created the Society of Experimental Psychologists in 1904, which did not allow women.

Pioneering Women in Psychology

This section highlights the role of women and people of color in American psychology.

  • Margaret Floy Washburn (1871–1939): Titchener's first doctoral student; she was the first woman to get a Ph.D. in psychology in the U.S. (1894) and the second woman president of the APA (1921).

  • Mary Whiton Calkins (1863–1930): Studied at Harvard under James but was denied a degree because she was a woman. She became the first female president of the APA in 1905.

The Evolution of Psychological Schools of Thought

To understand scientific development and identify key events, we look at major schools of thought.

Functionalism

William James (1842–1910), an important figure, wrote Principles of Psychology (1890).

  • He took a functionalist view, unlike Titchener's structuralism. Functionalism looked at how our consciousness helps us adapt to the world, showing scientific development.

  • He believed consciousness flows continuously and can't be broken down into simple pieces.

  • His teachings focused on individual adaptation and personal responsibility.

G. Stanley Hall

G. Stanley Hall (1844–1924), another key person, started the first psychology lab in America at Johns Hopkins University (1883) and founded the American Journal of Psychology (1887).

  • He hosted Freud during Freud's only visit to America in 1909 and greatly helped child development research. He also mentored Francis Cecil Sumner (1895–1954), who became the first African American to get a Ph.D. in psychology (1920). This helps us recognize the role of people of color.

James McKeen Cattell

James McKeen Cattell (1860–1944), important for identifying key individuals, was influenced by Galton. Cattell studied individual differences in mental abilities. He also supported eugenics (a now discredited movement focused on improving the human race through selective breeding). He built a famous psychology department at Columbia University and pushed for psychology in scientific publishing, helping the rise of professional psychology.

Growth of Psychology

This section shows different developments, further helping us understand how science changes.

Gestalt Psychology

Max Wertheimer and his colleagues brought Gestalt psychology to America. They disagreed with Wundt's idea of breaking things down into small parts. They believed the 'whole is greater than the sum of its parts' (meaning you can't understand something by just looking at its pieces). This shift reflects a change in scientific development.

  • They looked at how we process information all at once, rather than step-by-step. Many German Gestalt psychologists came to the U.S. to escape Nazi Germany and continue their work.

Behaviorism

This school of thought grew in the early 20th century, led by John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner. It focused on what people do (observable behavior) rather than their inner thoughts, a big scientific development.

  • It introduced classical conditioning, much influenced by Ivan Pavlov's research. Behaviorism was dominant in American psychology for decades but was criticized for ignoring cognitive processes, showing continuous change in scientific development.

Cognitive Psychology

This field started in the 1960s because behaviorism couldn't explain everything, building on earlier work by Frederic C. Bartlett. This marked a new phase in scientific development.

  • Important figures, key for identifying individuals, include:

    • Jerome Bruner (1915–2016): Studied sensation and perception.

    • Roger Brown (1925–1997): Researched language and memory, creating the term “flashbulb memory.”

    • George Miller (1920–2012): Famous for his paper “The Magic Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two,” about how much we can hold in short-term memory.
      The growth of cognitive psychology happened alongside advances in computer science and neuroscience, greatly changing modern psychology and showing processes of scientific development.

Applied Psychology in America

The desire to use psychology in daily life, like Alfred Binet creating mental tests to help with education, shows the rise of professional psychology.

  • Key people in applied psychology, important for identifying individuals:

    • Hugo Munsterberg: Contributed to choosing employees and psychotherapy.

    • Lillian Gilbreth: An industrial and engineering psychologist known for studying time and motion and making homes more efficient.

Clinical Psychology

Lightner Witmer (1867–1956), a key figure, opened the first psychology clinic in 1896 at the University of Pennsylvania. He connected scientific experiments with helping people, greatly contributing to the rise of professional psychology.

Professionalization of Psychology

This section explains how professional psychology grew in America.

  • Early rules for training and licensing appeared in the early 1900s, leading to the creation of the American Association for Applied Psychology (AAAP).

  • World War II increased mental health needs. This led the AAAP and APA to join forces to better train clinical psychologists.

  • The Boulder Conference (1949) set up the 'scientist-practitioner' model for training psychologists (meaning they should be both researchers and therapists).

Social Engagement in Psychology

Psychologists have always worked on social issues and pushed for change, showing psychology's role in scientific development within society.

  • Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI): Formed in 1936 to use psychology to solve social problems. Pioneering women in psychology fought against stereotypes and greatly helped society, helping us recognize the role of women and people of color.

  • Helen Thompson Woolley and Leta S. Hollingworth studied psychological differences between sexes.

  • Mamie and Kenneth Clark's studies helped the Supreme Court rule against school segregation in 1954. This was a crucial event for recognizing the role of people of color and psychology's impact on society.

Summary and Expansion

Psychology is complex and has grown a lot, hints at its evolution throughout the 20th century in various subfields such as social and developmental psychology, connecting back to understanding how science develops. Today, psychology greatly focuses on neuroscience and stays connected to social issues and human diversity, aligning with the goal to recognize the role of women and people of color and continued scientific development.

Timeline of Key Events in Psychology

This timeline helps identify key events and understand how science develops:

  • 1600s: Empiricism begins; focus on human observation.

  • 1850s: Helmholtz's measurements; Weber & Fechner's work in psychophysics.

  • 1859: Darwin's Origin of Species published.

  • 1879: Wundt opens his experimental psychology lab.

  • 1883: First psychology lab in the U.S. established.

  • 1887: American Journal of Psychology published.

  • 1890: James publishes Principles of Psychology.

  • 1892: APA established.

  • 1894: Washburn earns her Ph.D.

  • 1904: Titchener's experimentalists group founded.

  • 1905: Calkins becomes APA president.

  • 1909: Freud visits the U.S.

  • 1920: Sumner becomes first African American to earn a Ph.D. in psychology.

  • 1921: Washburn becomes the second woman president of APA.

  • 1930s: AAAP grows, Gestalt psychology comes to the U.S.

  • 1936: SPSSI founded.

  • 1940s: Behaviorism dominates American psychology.

  • 1949: Boulder Conference on training clinical psychologists.

  • 1950s: Cognitive psychology becomes more popular.

  • 1954: Brown v. Board of Education case.

  • 1957: Hooker publishes important research on homosexuality.

  • 1968: Association of Black Psychologists established.

    • 1973: Psy.D. degree