Psychology Blog

Victor Horsley: Today in the History of Psychology (13th August 1886)

Sir Victor Horsley gave a landmark address to the British Medical Association on 'Advances in the Surgery of the Central Nervous System' in which he described how he had successfully inferred the seizure localization of three epilepsy surgery patients; most notably 'James B.' who suffered from post-traumatic epilepsy as a result of a depressed skull fracture following a traffic accident. Drawing on both the pioneering work of John Hughlings Jackson and his own experimental findings, Horsley was confident that James B's seizure onset occurred in the contralateral sensorimotor strip. Horsley operated to remove the cortical scar and James B. became seizure-free.

Horsley's groundbreaking surgical procedures and research on seizure localization in epilepsy patients was instrumental in shaping the development of modern neuropsychology.

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Martin Seligman: Today in the History of Psychology (12th August 1942)

Martin Seligman was born. A world renowned psychologist, Dr. Seligman has conducted pioneering research within a variety of fields, most notably; positive psychology, resilience, learned helplessness, depression, optimism/pessimism and well-being. A leading academic, he is the director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania where he has produced a prolific body of work consisting of over 250 scholarly publications and more than 20 books.

Among his many professional accolades, Dr. Seligman received the American Psychological Association (APA) Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions and was the recipient of both the American Psychological Society's William James Fellow Award (for contribution to basic science) and the James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award (for the application of psychological knowledge).

Still trailing a blaze within the discipline, Dr. Seligman is currently conducting foundational research into Prospective Psychology, exploring such things as mental and emotional representations of potential future events and how people are drawn to the future rather than being driven by the past.

See following link for quality positive psychology information and resources.

Positive Psychology

Edward Jones: Today in the History of Psychology (11th August 1926)

Edward Ellsworth Jones was born. A pioneering social psychologist, Jones conducted influential research within the field of interpersonal impression formation and management. Most notably, Jones developed the theory of correspondent inferences (the process by which we interpret behavior in relation to a particular disposition or personality characteristic) a body of work which was instrumental in establishing the attributional approach within mainstream social psychology.

In 1977 Jones received the American Psychological Association (APA) Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions and in 1990 was the was the recipient of the Association for Psychological Science (APS) William James Fellow Award.

See following link for quality social psychology information and resources.

Social Psychology

Only Great Psychology Books Make It On To This Page

Welcome to The All About Psychology Book of The Month page. Only the best, fascinating and most compelling psychology books will be featured here.

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Angus Campbell: Today in the History of Psychology (10th August 1910)

Angus Campbell was born. Renowned for his pioneering research into ideological voting behavior and intentions, Campbell co-authored the classic book 'The American Voter' published in 1960 in collaboration with Philip E. Converse, Warren E. Miller, and Donald E. Stokes; a seminal text which had a profound influence within the field of political science.

Angus Campbell received the American Psychological Association (APA) Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award in 1974.

Jean Piaget: Today in the History of Psychology (9th August 1896)

Jean Piaget was born. Renowned throughout the world for his pioneering theories of child development and learning, Piaget is widely considered one of the twentieth century's most influential psychologists. Drawing on genetic epistemology to explore the growth of knowledge within the cognitive world of the child, Piaget introduced a number of groundbreaking concepts within the field of developmental psychology, including mental structures, assimilation, accommodation and equilibration.

Acclaimed throughout his career, Piaget collected honorary doctorates from Harvard, The Sorbonne and Cambridge University and received the American Psychological Association (APA) Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions in 1969.

See following link to learn all about developmental psychology.

Developmental Psychology

Congress for Experimental and Therapeutic Hypnotism: Today in the History of Psychology (8th August 1889)

The first International Congress for Experimental and Therapeutic Hypnotism was held in Paris, France. Among the eminent figures in attendance were William James, Jean-Martin Charcot, Hippolyte Bernheim, Alfred Binet and Sigmund Freud.

See following link to read 'What is Hypnosis?' A classic article originally published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology in 1906.

What is Hypnosis?

Hans-Lukas Teuber: Today in the History of Psychology (7th August 1916)

Hans-Lukas Teuber was born. A leading figure within physiological psychology, Teuber received his Ph.D from Harvard University in 1947 under the supervision of Gordon Allport and served as head of the department of psychology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1961 until his death in 1977. Renowned for his contribution to the study of the relationship between brain anatomy, brain pathology and measurable behavior, Teuber is widely considered one of the preeminent pioneers of research into human neuropsychology.

Of all Teuber's professional accolades perhaps the most poignant was the MIT award for outstanding faculty achievement which he was due to receive on the day that his memorial service took place. Part of the award citation read that Teuber 'displays two high gifts, that of a scientist's perceptual wonder at the mysteries of brain and behavior and that of the artist's compassion for the springs of thought and action in his fellow human beings.'

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Biological Psychology

Florence Goodenough: Today in the History of Psychology (6th August 1886)

Florence Laura Goodenough was born. An eminent figure within the field of child development, Goodenough is best known for her association with Lewis M. Terman's classic studies of gifted children and for creating the 'Draw-a-Man' test; a revolutionary non-verbal measure of intelligence for children.

An innovative researcher, Goodenough also developed and pioneered the use of event sampling in naturalistic settings; most notably in her groundbreaking study, 'Anger in Young Children' in 1931, during the data collection phase of which, she trained mothers to complete detailed observational records of their children's angry behaviors.

See following link to learn about some of the most eminent women in the history of psychology.

Eminent Women in Psychology

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Rensis Likert: Today in the History of Psychology (5th August 1903)

Rensis Likert was born. A renowned organizational psychologist, Likert is best known for developing and giving his name to a new method of scaling the distribution of opinion. The Likert scale (or the Murphy-Likert method as it was originally known) began to raise considerable interest in the 1930's when details of its potential application began to be published in a number of high-profile publications, most notably 'Public Opinion and the Individual' in 1938.

Based on the assumption that opinions are normally distributed, the Likert scale revolutionized social research methods by dispensing with the need for a panel of 'experts' to ascertain the significance of statements. Adopted throughout the world, the Likert scale remains a popular marketing and questionnaire data collection tool.

Tracy Seedman Kendler: Today in the History of Psychology (4th August 1918)

Tracy Seedman Kendler was born. A leading experimental psychologist, Kendler is best known for her influential theory of developmental changes in discrimination shift learning which she first outlined in detail in the classic Psychological Review article 'Vertical and Horizontal Processes in Problem Solving,' published in 1963.

A distinguished and pioneering researcher whose mentors included Abraham Maslow, Solomon Asch, Kenneth Spence, and Kurt Lewin; Kendler was one of the first female members of the Society of Experimental Psychology and was the first woman elected to the governing board of the Psychonomic Society.

See following link to learn about some of the most eminent women in the history of psychology.

Eminent Women in Psychology

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Neal Elgar Miller: Today in the History of Psychology (3rd August 1909)

Neal Elgar Miller was born. A world renowned experimental psychologist, Miller conducted a raft of groundbreaking studies by employing behavioral methodologies and innovative neurophysiological techniques to explore a range of topics including, hunger, thirst, aggression, motivation and social learning. Miller's work on the brain and behavior is also notable for pioneering the use of biofeedback.

Widely regarded as one of the most eminent figures in American psychology, Miller received the National Medal of Science from president Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 and several top awards from the American Psychological Association (APA); including, the APA Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award in 1959 and the APA Citation for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology in 1991.

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John B. Watson: Today in the History of Psychology (2nd August 1925)

The New York Times published a glowing review of the book Behaviorism by John B. Watson, which included the statement that it had transformed psychology by turning it 'from an inward mental groping to an exact science of objective measurement and record.'

Such was the growing interest in Watson's new approach to psychology at this time that just five years later in 1930, The Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences described behaviorism as, 'a major intellectual revolution.'

See following link to read 'Psychology As The Behaviorist Views It' by John B. Watson in full for free.

Psychology As The Behaviorist Views It

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Frances Keesler Graham: Today in the History of Psychology (1st August 1918)

Frances Keesler Graham was born. A pioneering researcher in the field of pediatrics, child psychology and psychophysiology, Graham is best known for her groundbreaking infant studies on reflexive blinking and the orienting reflex.

In recognition of an outstanding body of work, Graham was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1988, received the 1990 American Psychological Association (APA) Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award 'for seminal research on the psychology of attention, and creative use of physiological measurement in the study of cognition and perception;' and was the 1995 recipient of the American Psychological Foundation Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in Psychological Science.

See following link to learn about some of the most eminent women in the history of psychology.

Eminent Women in Psychology

Thomas Kirkbride: Today in the History of Psychology (31st July 1809)

Thomas Story Kirkbride was born. A leading advocate for the compassionate and humane treatment of the mentally-ill, Kirkbride's most influential treatise on the subject 'On The Construction, Organization and General Arrangements Of Hospitals For The Insane,' was first published in 1854.

A true visionary and founding member of the Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane (the forerunner to the American Psychiatric Association), Kirkbride dedicated his life to improving the conditions under which the mentally ill were institutionalized.

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