History of Psychology

By David B. Baker and Heather Sperry

University of Akron, The University of Akron

This module provides an introduction and overview of the historical

development of the science and practice of psychology in America. Ever-increasing
specialization within the field often makes it difficult to discern the common roots
from which the field of psychology has evolved. By exploring this shared past,
students will be better able to understand how psychology has developed into the
discipline we know today.
Tags:
BehaviorismCognitive psychologyEmpiricismEugenicsFunctionalismGestalt
psychologyHistory of psychologyIntrospectionPsychophysicsRealismStructuralism

Learning Objectives

• Describe the precursors to the establishment of the science of

psychology.
• Identify key individuals and events in the history of American
psychology.
• Describe the rise of professional psychology in America.
• Develop a basic understanding of the processes of scientific
development and change.
• Recognize the role of women and people of color in the history of
American psychology.
Introduction

It is always a difficult question to ask, where to begin to tell the story of the
history of psychology. Some would start with ancient Greece; others would look to a
demarcation in the late 19th century when the science of psychology was formally
proposed and instituted. These two perspectives, and all that is in between, are
appropriate for describing a history of psychology. The interested student will have
no trouble finding an abundance of resources on all of these time frames and
perspectives (Goodwin, 2011; Leahey, 2012; Schultz & Schultz, 2007). For the
purposes of this module, we will examine the development of psychology in
America and use the mid-19th century as our starting point. For the sake of
convenience, we refer to this as a history of modern psychology.
Psychology is an exciting field and the history of psychology offers the
opportunity to make sense of how it has grown and developed. The history of
psychology also provides perspective. Rather than a dry collection of names and
dates, the history of psychology tells us about the important intersection of time and
place that defines who we are. Consider what happens when you meet someone for
the first time. The conversation usually begins with a series of questions such as,
“Where did you grow up?” “How long have you lived here?” “Where did you go to
school?” The importance of history in defining who we are cannot be overstated.
Whether you are seeing a physician, talking with a counselor, or applying for a job,
everything begins with a history. The same is true for studying the history of
psychology; getting a history of the field helps to make sense of where we are and
how we got here.

A Prehistory of Psychology

Precursors to American psychology can be found in philosophy and

physiology. Philosophers such as John Locke (1632–1704) and Thomas Reid
(1710–1796) promoted empiricism, the idea that all knowledge comes from
experience. The work of Locke, Reid, and others emphasized the role of the human
observer and the primacy of the senses in defining how the mind comes to
acquire knowledge. In American colleges and universities in the early 1800s, these
principles were taught as courses on mental and moral philosophy. Most often these
courses taught about the mind based on the faculties of intellect, will, and the senses
(Fuchs, 2000).
Physiology and Psychophysics

Philosophical questions about the nature of mind and knowledge were matched
in the 19th century by physiological investigations of the sensory systems of the
human observer. German physiologist Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–1894)
measured the speed of the neural impulse and explored the physiology of hearing
and vision. His work indicated that our senses can deceive us and are not a mirror
of the external world. Such work showed that even though the human senses were
fallible, the mind could be measured using the methods of science. In all, it suggested
that a science of psychology was feasible.

An important implication of Helmholtz’s work was that there is a

psychological reality and a physical reality and that the two are not identical.
This was not a new idea; philosophers like John Locke had written extensively on the
topic, and in the 19th century, philosophical speculation about the nature of mind
became subject to the rigors of science.

The question of the relationship between the mental (experiences of the

senses) and the material (external reality) was investigated by a number of German
researchers including Ernst Weber and Gustav Fechner. Their work was
called psychophysics, and it introduced methods for measuring the relationship
between physical stimuli and human perception that would serve as the basis for
the new science of psychology (Fancher & Rutherford, 2011).

The formal development of modern psychology is usually credited to the

work of German physician, physiologist, and philosopher Wilhelm Wundt (1832–
1920). Wundt helped to establish the field of experimental psychology by serving as
a strong promoter of the idea that psychology could be an experimental field and by
providing classes, textbooks, and a laboratory for training students. In 1875, he joined
the faculty at the University of Leipzig and quickly began to make plans for the
creation of a program of experimental psychology. In 1879, he complemented his
lectures on experimental psychology with a laboratory experience: an event that has
served as the popular date for the establishment of the science of psychology.

The response to the new science was immediate and global. Wundt attracted students
from around the world to study the new experimental psychology and work in his lab.
Students were trained to offer detailed self-reports of their reactions to various
stimuli, a procedure known as introspection. The goal was to identify the elements
of consciousness. In addition to the study of sensation and perception, research was
done on mental chronometry, more commonly known as reaction time. The work of
Wundt and his students demonstrated that the mind could be measured and the nature
of consciousness could be revealed through scientific means. It was an exciting
proposition, and one that found great interest in America. After the opening of
Wundt’s lab in 1879, it took just four years for the first psychology laboratory to open
in the United States (Benjamin, 2007).

Scientific Psychology Comes to the

United States

Wundt’s version of psychology arrived in America most visibly through the

work of Edward Bradford Titchener (1867–1927). A student of Wundt’s,
Titchener brought to America a brand of experimental psychology referred to as
“structuralism.” Structuralists were interested in the contents of the mind—what
the mind is. For Titchener, the general adult mind was the proper focus for the new
psychology, and he excluded from study those with mental deficiencies, children, and
animals (Evans, 1972; Titchener, 1909).

Experimental psychology spread rather rapidly throughout North America. By

1900, there were more than 40 laboratories in the United States and Canada
(Benjamin, 2000). Psychology in America also organized early with the establishment
of the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1892. Titchener felt that this
new organization did not adequately represent the interests of experimental
psychology, so, in 1904, he organized a group of colleagues to create what is now
known as the Society of Experimental Psychologists (Goodwin, 1985). The group
met annually to discuss research in experimental psychology. Reflecting the times,
women researchers were not invited (or welcome). It is interesting to note that
Titchener’s first doctoral student was a woman, Margaret Floy Washburn (1871–
1939). Despite many barriers, in 1894, Washburn became the first woman in
America to earn a Ph.D. in psychology and, in 1921, only the second woman to
be elected president of the American Psychological Association (Scarborough &
Furumoto, 1987).
Striking a balance between the science and practice of psychology continues to this
day. In 1988, the American Psychological Society (now known as the Association
for Psychological Science) was founded with the central mission of advancing
psychological science.

Toward a Functional Psychology

While Titchener and his followers adhered to a structural psychology, others in

America were pursuing different approaches. William James, G. Stanley Hall, and
James McKeen Cattell were among a group that became identified with
“functionalism.” Influenced by Darwin’s evolutionary theory, functionalists were
interested in the activities of the mind—what the mind does. An interest in
functionalism opened the way for the study of a wide range of approaches, including
animal and comparative psychology (Benjamin, 2007).

William James (1842–1910) is regarded as writing perhaps the most influential

and important book in the field of psychology, Principles of Psychology, published in
1890. Opposed to the reductionist ideas of Titchener, James proposed that
consciousness is ongoing and continuous; it cannot be isolated and reduced to
elements. For James, consciousness helped us adapt to our environment in such
ways as allowing us to make choices and have personal responsibility over those
choices.

At Harvard, James occupied a position of authority and respect in psychology

and philosophy. Through his teaching and writing, he influenced psychology for
generations. One of his students, Mary Whiton Calkins (1863–1930), faced many of
the challenges that confronted Margaret Floy Washburn and other women interested
in pursuing graduate education in psychology. With much persistence, Calkins was
able to study with James at Harvard. She eventually completed all the requirements
for the doctoral degree, but Harvard refused to grant her a diploma because she was a
woman. Despite these challenges, Calkins went on to become an accomplished
researcher and the first woman elected president of the American Psychological
Association in 1905 (Scarborough & Furumoto, 1987).

G. Stanley Hall (1844–1924) made substantial and lasting contributions to the

establishment of psychology in the United States. At Johns Hopkins University, he
founded the first psychological laboratory in America in 1883. In 1887, he created
the first journal of psychology in America, American Journal of Psychology. In 1892,
he founded the American Psychological Association (APA); in 1909, he invited and
hosted Freud at Clark University (the only time Freud visited America). Influenced
by evolutionary theory, Hall was interested in the process of adaptation and
human development. Using surveys and questionnaires to study children, Hall wrote
extensively on child development and education. While graduate education in
psychology was restricted for women in Hall’s time, it was all but non-existent for
African Americans. In another first, Hall mentored Francis Cecil Sumner (1895–
1954) who, in 1920, became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in psychology
in America (Guthrie, 2003).

James McKeen Cattell (1860–1944) received his Ph.D. with Wundt but quickly
turned his interests to the assessment of individual differences. Influenced by the
work of Darwin’s cousin, Frances Galton, Cattell believed that mental abilities
such as intelligence were inherited and could be measured using mental tests.
Like Galton, he believed society was better served by identifying those with
superior intelligence and supported efforts to encourage them to reproduce.
Such beliefs were associated with eugenics (the promotion of selective breeding) and
fueled early debates about the contributions of heredity and environment in defining
who we are. At Columbia University, Cattell developed a department of psychology
that became world famous also promoting psychological science through advocacy
and as a publisher of scientific journals and reference works (Fancher, 1987; Sokal,
1980).

The Growth of Psychology

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, psychology continued to grow and
flourish in America. It was large enough to accommodate varying points of view on
the nature of mind and behavior. Gestalt psychology is a good example. The Gestalt
movement began in Germany with the work of Max Wertheimer (1880–1943).
Opposed to the reductionist approach of Wundt’s laboratory psychology, Wertheimer
and his colleagues Kurt Koffka (1886–1941), Wolfgang Kohler (1887–1967), and
Kurt Lewin (1890–1947) believed that studying the whole of any experience was
richer than studying individual aspects of that experience. The saying “the whole
is greater than the sum of its parts” is a Gestalt perspective. Consider that a melody
is an additional element beyond the collection of notes that comprise it. The Gestalt
psychologists proposed that the mind often processes information simultaneously
rather than sequentially. For instance, when you look at a photograph, you see a
whole image, not just a collection of pixels of color. Using Gestalt principles,
Wertheimer and his colleagues also explored the nature of learning and thinking.
Most of the German Gestalt psychologists were Jewish and were forced to flee the
Nazi regime due to the threats posed on both academic and personal freedoms. In
America, they were able to introduce a new audience to the Gestalt perspective,
demonstrating how it could be applied to perception and learning (Wertheimer, 1938).
In many ways, the work of the Gestalt psychologists served as a precursor to the rise
of cognitive psychology in America (Benjamin, 2007).

Behaviorism emerged early in the 20th century and became a major force in
American psychology. Championed by psychologists such as John B. Watson (1878–
1958) and B. F. Skinner (1904–1990), behaviorism rejected any reference to mind
and viewed overt and observable behavior as the proper subject matter of
psychology. Through the scientific study of behavior, it was hoped that laws of
learning could be derived that would promote the prediction and control of
behavior. Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936) influenced early
behaviorism in America. His work on conditioned learning, popularly referred to as
classical conditioning, provided support for the notion that learning and behavior
were controlled by events in the environment and could be explained with no
reference to mind or consciousness (Fancher, 1987).

For decades, behaviorism dominated American psychology. By the 1960s,

psychologists began to recognize that behaviorism was unable to fully explain human
behavior because it neglected mental processes. The turn toward a cognitive
psychology was not new. In the 1930s, British psychologist Frederic C. Bartlett
(1886–1969) explored the idea of the constructive mind, recognizing that people
use their past experiences to construct frameworks in which to understand new
experiences. Some of the major pioneers in American cognitive psychology include
Jerome Bruner (1915–), Roger Brown (1925–1997), and George Miller (1920–2012).
In the 1950s, Bruner conducted pioneering studies on cognitive aspects of sensation
and perception. Brown conducted original research on language and memory, coined
the term “flashbulb memory,” and figured out how to study the tip-of-the-tongue
phenomenon (Benjamin, 2007). Miller’s research on working memory is legendary.
His 1956 paper “The Magic Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our
Capacity for Processing Information”is one of the most highly cited papers in
psychology. A popular interpretation of Miller’s research was that the number of
bits of information an average human can hold in working memory is 7 ± 2. Around
the same time, the study of computer science was growing and was used as an
analogy to explore and understand how the mind works. The work of Miller and
others in the 1950s and 1960s has inspired tremendous interest in cognition and
neuroscience, both of which dominate much of contemporary American psychology.

Applied Psychology in America

In America, there has always been an interest in the application of psychology to

everyday life. Mental testing is an important example. Modern intelligence tests
were developed by the French psychologist Alfred Binet (1857–1911). His goal was
to develop a test that would identify schoolchildren in need of educational support.
His test, which included tasks of reasoning and problem solving, was introduced in
the United States by Henry Goddard (1866–1957) and later standardized by Lewis
Terman (1877–1956) at Stanford University. The assessment and meaning of
intelligence has fueled debates in American psychology and society for nearly 100
years. Much of this is captured in the nature-nurture debate that raises questions
about the relative contributions of heredity and environment in determining
intelligence (Fancher, 1987).

Applied psychology was not limited to mental testing. What psychologists

were learning in their laboratories was applied in many settings including the
military, business, industry, and education. The early 20th century was witness to
rapid advances in applied psychology. Hugo Munsterberg (1863–1916) of Harvard
University made contributions to such areas as employee selection, eyewitness
testimony, and psychotherapy. Walter D. Scott (1869–1955) and Harry Hollingworth
(1880–1956) produced original work on the psychology of advertising and marketing.
Lillian Gilbreth (1878–1972) was a pioneer in industrial psychology and engineering
psychology. Working with her husband, Frank, they promoted the use of time and
motion studies to improve efficiency in industry. Lillian also brought the efficiency
movement to the home, designing kitchens and appliances including the pop-up
trashcan and refrigerator door shelving. Their psychology of efficiency also found
plenty of applications at home with their 12 children. The experience served as the
inspiration for the movie Cheaper by the Dozen (Benjamin, 2007).

Clinical psychology was also an early application of experimental psychology in

America. Lightner Witmer (1867–1956) received his Ph.D. in experimental
psychology with Wilhelm Wundt and returned to the University of Pennsylvania,
where he opened a psychological clinic in 1896. Witmer believed that because
psychology dealt with the study of sensation and perception, it should be of value in
treating children with learning and behavioral problems. He is credited as the
founder of both clinical and school psychology (Benjamin & Baker, 2004).

Psychology as a Profession

As the roles of psychologists and the needs of the public continued to change,
it was necessary for psychology to begin to define itself as a profession. Without
standards for training and practice, anyone could use the title psychologist and offer
services to the public. As early as 1917, applied psychologists organized to create
standards for education, training, and licensure. By the 1930s, these efforts led to the
creation of the American Association for Applied Psychology (AAAP). While the
American Psychological Association (APA) represented the interests of academic
psychologists, AAAP served those in education, industry, consulting, and clinical
work.

The advent of WWII changed everything. The psychiatric casualties of war

were staggering, and there were simply not enough mental health professionals to
meet the need. Recognizing the shortage, the federal government urged the AAAP
and APA to work together to meet the mental health needs of the nation. The result
was the merging of the AAAP and the APA and a focus on the training of professional
psychologists. Through the provisions of National Mental Health Act of 1946,
funding was made available that allowed the APA, the Veterans Administration, and
the Public Health Service to work together to develop training programs that would
produce clinical psychologists. These efforts led to the convening of the Boulder
Conference on Graduate Education in Clinical Psychology in 1949 in Boulder,
Colorado. The meeting launched doctoral training in psychology and gave us
the scientist-practitioner model of training. Similar meetings also helped launch
doctoral training programs in counseling and school psychology. Throughout the
second half of the 20th century, alternatives to Boulder have been debated. In 1973,
the Vail Conference on Professional Training in Psychology proposed the scholar-
practitioner model and the Psy.D. degree (Doctor of Psychology). It is a training
model that emphasizes clinical training and practice that has become more common
(Cautin & Baker, in press).
Psychology and Society

Given that psychology deals with the human condition, it is not surprising
that psychologists would involve themselves in social issues. For more than a
century, psychology and psychologists have been agents of social action and change.
Using the methods and tools of science, psychologists have challenged assumptions,
stereotypes, and stigma. Founded in 1936, the Society for the Psychological Study of
Social Issues (SPSSI) has supported research and action on a wide range of social
issues. Individually, there have been many psychologists whose efforts have
promoted social change. Helen Thompson Woolley (1874–1947) and Leta S.
Hollingworth (1886–1939) were pioneers in research on the psychology of sex
differences. Working in the early 20th century, when women’s rights were
marginalized, Thompson examined the assumption that women were
overemotional compared to men and found that emotion did not influence
women’s decisions any more than it did men’s.
Hollingworth found that menstruation did not negatively impact women’s
cognitive or motor abilities. Such work combatted harmful stereotypes and
showed that psychological research could contribute to social change (Scarborough &
Furumoto, 1987).

Among the first generation of African American psychologists, Mamie Phipps

Clark (1917–1983) and her husband Kenneth Clark (1914–2005) studied the
psychology of race and demonstrated the ways in which school segregation
negatively impacted the self-esteem of African American children. Their research
was influential in the 1954 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Brown v. Board of
Education,which ended school segregation (Guthrie, 2003). In psychology, greater
advocacy for issues impacting the African American community were advanced by
the creation of the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) in 1968.

In 1957, psychologist Evelyn Hooker (1907–1996) published the paper “The

Adjustment of the Male Overt Homosexual,” reporting on her research that
showed no significant differences in psychological adjustment between homosexual
and heterosexual men. Her research helped to de-pathologize homosexuality and
contributed to the decision by the American Psychiatric Association to
remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders in 1973 (Garnets & Kimmel, 2003).
Conclusion

Growth and expansion have been a constant in American psychology. In the

latter part of the 20th century, areas such as social, developmental, and personality
psychology made major contributions to our understanding of what it means to be
human. Today neuroscience is enjoying tremendous interest and growth.

As mentioned at the beginning of the module, it is a challenge to cover all the

history of psychology in such a short space. Errors of omission and commission are
likely in such a selective review. The history of psychology helps to set a stage upon
which the story of psychology can be told. This brief summary provides some
glimpse into the depth and rich content offered by the history of psychology. The
learning modules in the Noba psychology collection are all elaborations on the
foundation created by our shared past. It is hoped that you will be able to see these
connections and have a greater understanding and appreciation for both the unity and
diversity of the field of psychology.

Timeline

1600s – Rise of empiricism emphasizing centrality of human observer in

acquiring knowledge

1850s - Helmholz measures neural impulse / Psychophysics studied by

Weber & Fechner

1859 - Publication of Darwin's Origin of Species

1879 - Wundt opens lab for experimental psychology

1883 - First psychology lab opens in the United States

1887 – First American psychology journal is published: American Journal of

Psychology

1890 – James publishes Principles of Psychology

1892 – APA established

1894 – Margaret Floy Washburn is first U.S. woman to earn Ph.D. in

psychology

1904 - Founding of Titchener's experimentalists

1905 - Mary Whiton Calkins is first woman president of APA

1909 – Freud’s only visit to the United States

1913 - John Watson calls for a psychology of behavior

1920 – Francis Cecil Sumner is first African American to earn Ph.D. in

psychology

1921 – Margaret Floy Washburn is second woman president of APA

1930s – Creation and growth of the American Association for Applied

Psychology (AAAP) / Gestalt psychology comes to America

1936- Founding of The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues

1940s – Behaviorism dominates American psychology

1946 – National Mental Health Act

1949 – Boulder Conference on Graduate Education in Clinical Psychology

1950s – Cognitive psychology gains popularity

1954 – Brown v. Board of Education

1957 – Evelyn Hooker publishes The Adjustment of the Male Overt

Homosexual

1968 – Founding of the Association of Black Psychologists

1973 – Psy.D. proposed at the Vail Conference on Professional Training in

Psychology

1988 – Founding of the American Psychological Society (now known as the

Association for Psychological Science)