Psychology Blog
It will also document a significant person, event or landmark in the history of psychology every day of the year.
Karl Groos: Today in the History of Psychology (10th December 1861)
Karl Groos was born. A professor of philosophy at the University of Basel in Switzerland, Groos developed an evolutionary theory of play that was years ahead of its time. In a number of landmark publications of the topic, most notably 'The Play of Animals' (1898) and 'The Play of Man' (1901), Groos argued that play provides an adaptive context in which children are able to acquire and develop the skills needed to prepare them for the tasks of life.
Writing about the biological significance of play, Groos famously stated that 'The very existence of youth is due in part to the necessity for play; the animal does not play because he is young, he has a period of youth because he must play.'
Géza Révész: Today in the History of Psychology (9th December 1878)
Géza Révész was born. A pioneer of European psychology, Révész founded the journal 'Acta Psychologica,' along with David Katz in 1935. A prolific researcher, Révész produced an incredibly varied body of work exploring a range of topics including, the psychology of music, pedagogical psychology, language and thought, industrial psychology, psychological optics and medical psychology.
The author of twenty books and over a hundred articles, 'Psychology of a Musical Prodigy' (1925) and 'The Psychology and Art of the Blind' (1950) rank among his best known publications.
See following link to learn all about the fascinating history of psychology.
History of Psychology
Ulric Neisser: Today in the History of Psychology (8th December 1928)
Ulric Neisser was born. A profoundly influential figure in the field of cognitive psychology, Neisser's classic book on the subject 'Cognitive Psychology' was instrumental in establishing cognitive psychology as a major psychological discipline and bestowed on Neisser the title 'father of cognitive psychology.'
A passionate proponent of ecologically driven 'real world' cognitive psychology, in 1983 Neisser founded the internationally renowned Emory University Cognition Project which remains an important forum for theoretical and empirical investigations of major topics in the field.
See following link for quality cognitive psychology information and resources.
Cognitive Psychology
Francis Cecil Sumner: Today in the History of Psychology (7th December 1895)
Francis Cecil Sumner was born. A truly inspirational figure, Sumner became the first African American to earn a PhD in psychology in the United States. A highly respected academic, Sumner was an abstractor for Psychological Bulletin and the Journal of Social Psychology and conducted pioneering research in the field of racial bias and educational justice.
See following link to learn all about the fascinating history of psychology.
History of Psychology
Florence Mateer: Today in the History of Psychology (6th December 1887)
Florence Mateer was born. A pioneer in the field of experimental and clinical psychology, Mateer is best known for influential work on classical conditioning, intelligence testing and child psychopathology.
An inspirational trailblazer for women in the history of psychology, Mateer was part of a very select group of private practice clinical psychologists who held a doctoral degree at that time.
See following link to learn about some of the most eminent women in the history of psychology.
Eminent Women in Psychology
The Psychoanalytic Review: Today in the History of Psychology (5th December 1913)
Volume 1 of The Psychoanalytic Review was published. Edited by William A. White and Smith Ely Jelliffe it was the first English-language journal dedicated to psychoanalysis. The very first article to appear in the journal, titled: The Theory of Psychoanalysis, was written by Carl Jung.
Still going strong today, The Psychoanalytic Review celebrated its centenary in 2013.
See following link for psychoanalysis information and resources.
Psychoanalysis
Albert Bandura: Today in the History of Psychology (4th December 1925)
Albert Bandura was born. A truly eminent psychologist, the world renowned Stanford University Professor's groundbreaking work includes his landmark article 'Transmission of Aggression Through Imitation of Aggressive Models' published in 1961 and his classic book 'Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory' published in 1986. Albert Bandura's many professional awards include the American Psychological Foundation Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Lifetime Contribution to Psychological Science, which he received in 2006 along with the following citation.
'Professor Bandura is an extraordinarily innovative scholar whose pioneering work in social cognitive theory has served as a rich resource for academics, practitioners, and policy makers alike across disciplinary lines. His illustrative career includes groundbreaking work across a broad range of areas. His seminal research on social modeling expanded our view of human learning and the growing primacy of this mode of learning in this electronic era. His later research on self-regulatory mechanisms laid the theoretical foundation for his theory of human agency. These diverse programs of research blend his theoretical interests with an abiding concern for the use of our knowledge for human enlightenment and betterment.'
See following link for completely free access to an outstanding collection of the most influential journal articles ever published in the history of psychology; including 'Transmission of Aggression Through Imitation of Aggressive Models' by Albert Bandura.
The Psychology eBook and Article Collection
Anna Freud: Today in the History of Psychology (3rd December 1895)
Anna Freud was born. The youngest of Sigmund Freud's six children and a renowned psychoanalyst in her own right, Anna Freud is widely considered one of the most influential founders of psychoanalytic child psychology. Among her best known work was 'Beating Fantasies and Daydreams,' a paper she presented to the Vienna Psychoanalytical Society in 1922 and her landmark books, 'The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense' first published in 1936 and 'Normality and Pathology in Childhood' published in 1965.
Arguably Anna Freud's most enduring legacy concerned the difficulties experienced by emotionally deprived and disadvantaged children. An article about the impact of her work for the BBC noted that she 'revolutionised how we treat children in many walks of life, such as in hospital - with longer visiting hours when children are having treatment - and in the judicial system, where screens and video cameras are used when children have to give evidence.'
See following link for psychoanalysis information and resources.
Psychoanalysis
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Marian Bailey: Today in the History of Psychology (2nd December 1920)
Marian Breland Bailey was born. A renowned behaviorist, Bailey was one of B.F. Skinner's first graduate students at the University of Minnesota and one of the first applied animal psychologists to utilize operant conditioning.
Among Bailey's best known academic contributions was the classic article 'The Misbehavior of Organisms,' first published in American Psychologist in 1961 which she wrote along with her husband Keller Breland. The article caused a storm among the behaviorist community when the authors stated that: 'After 14 years of continuous conditioning and observation of thousands of animals, it is our reluctant conclusion that the behavior of any species cannot be adequately understood, predicted, or controlled without knowledge of its instinctive patterns, evolutionary history, and ecological niche.'
See following link to learn all about the life and work of psychology legend B.F. Skinner.
B.F. Skinner
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Mary Ainsworth: Today in the History of Psychology (1st December 1913)
Mary Ainsworth was born. A hugely influential developmental psychologist, Ainsworth is best known for her career-long research partnership with John Bowlby and her pioneering work on child developmental psychopathology. Among her many professional honors, Ainsworth received the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions in 1989 and the American Psychological Foundation Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Science of Psychology in 1998, the official citation for which read:
'Mary Ainsworth stands out as one of the major figures of the twentieth century in the study of the relations between young children and their care-givers. Her work on the nature and development of human security, her exquisite naturalistic observations of attachment—care-giving interactions, her conceptual analyses of attachment, exploration and self-reliance, and her contributions to methodology of infant assessment are cornerstones of modern attachment theory and research. The patterns of attachment that she identified have proven robust in research across diverse cultures and across the human lifespan. Her contributions to developmental psychology, developmental psychopathology, and ultimately to clinical psychology, as well as her teaching, colleagueship, and grace, are the secure base from which future generations of students can explore.'
See following link to learn all about developmental psychology.
Developmental Psychology
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Max Wertheimer: Today in the History of Psychology (30th November 1904)
Max Wertheimer, a founder of the Gestalt psychology movement, submitted his Ph.D., dissertation titled 'Experimental Investigations of Tatbestandsdiagnostik' (Diagnosis of the facts of a case) at the Royal Bavarian University of Würzburg in Germany.
Wertheimer's doctorate was officially conferred summa cum laude (with the highest distinction) on the 21st of December, 1904.
See following link to read 'Gestalt Theory' by Max Wertheimer in full for free! A classic text in the history of Gestalt Psychology.
Gestalt Theory
Grace Fernald: Today in the History of Psychology (29th November 1879)
Grace Maxwell Fernald was born. A pioneering researcher who earned her doctoral degree under the supervision of eminent psychologist James Rowland Angell at the University of Chicago, Fernald is best known for developing a multisensory instructional technique used to help children who had failed to learn to read.
The first detailed description of this revolutionary reading method appeared in the Journal of Educational Research in 1921 in an article titled 'The Effect of Kinaesthetic Factors in the Development of Word Recognition in the Case of Non-Readers' which Fernald co-authored with the legendary Helen Keller.
See following link to to read Fernald's pioneering article in full for free!
Fernald Reading Method
Hans Wallach: Today in the History of Psychology (28th November 1904)
Hans Wallach was born. A leading psychologist who spent his entire career at Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania, Wallach is renowned for his pioneering research on perceptual adaptation; particularly in relation to visual and auditory perception and the role of learning in perception.
In recognition of a remarkable career spanning six decades, Hans Wallach received the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions in 1983; which according to the official citation was richly deserved for his 'innovative and sustained experimental research' and the fact 'he touched and changed most perceptual problems.' Among his other professional highlights, Wallach was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1986.
Gardner Lindzey: Today in the History of Psychology (27th November 1920)
Gardner Lindzey was born. A pioneering figure within behavioral genetics and cross-disciplinary psychology, Lindzey was director at The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University from 1975 to 1989.
Lindzey is best known for his editorship of 'The Handbook of Social Psychology,' the first edition of which was published in 1954 and was described by Elliot Aronson as 'an incredible achievement that soon became recognized as the gold standard in social psychology, and a work that set the agenda for an entire field.'
Among his many professional achievements, Gardner Lindzey was elected president of the American Psychological Association in 1967 and received the National Academy of Sciences Award for Scientific Reviewing in 1987; which according to the official citation was in recognition of the fact that: 'For 40 years he has aimed his critical eye at the current work in personality psychology, social psychology, and behavioral genetics, always balancing a talent for synthesis with a seasoned researcher's sense of complexity.'
Dr. Alois Alzheimer: Today in the History of Psychology (26th November 1901)
At a Hospital for the Mentally ill in Frankfurt, Germany, Dr. Alois Alzheimer interviewed and examined Auguste Deter; famously known as patient 'Auguste D' whose symptoms included, paranoia, aphasia and severe memory and psychosocial impairment. Keen to study the neuropathological features of her illness, Dr. Alzheimer maintained a close interest in the case of Auguste D up until her death on the 8th April 1906.
On the 4th November 1906, at the 37th annual conference of South West German psychiatrists, in Tübingen, Germany, Alzheimer gave a lecture titled 'Über eine eigenartige Erkrankung der Hirnrinde' (About a Peculiar Disease of the Cerebral Cortex) in which he outlined his clinical observations in the case of Auguste D. This was the first time that this particular form of dementia (which at the behest of Emil Kraepelin became known as Alzheimer’s disease) had been identified and described.
Recent Articles
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Karl Groos: Today in the History of Psychology (10th December 1861)
Dec 10, 18 10:00 AM
Karl Groos was born. A professor of philosophy at the University of Basel in Switzerland, Groos developed an evolutionary theory of play that was years ahead of its time. In a number of landmark publi… -
Géza Révész: Today in the History of Psychology (9th December 1878)
Dec 09, 18 10:00 AM
Géza Révész was born. A pioneer of European psychology, Révész founded the journal 'Acta Psychologica,' along with David Katz in 1935. A prolific researcher, Révész produced an incredibly varied body… -
Ulric Neisser: Today in the History of Psychology (8th December 1928)
Dec 08, 18 10:00 AM
Ulric Neisser was born. A profoundly influential figure in the field of cognitive psychology, Neisser's classic book on the subject 'Cognitive Psychology' was instrumental in establishing cognitive ps…
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