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Plato suggested that the brain is the mechanism of mental processes.
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Aristotle suggested that the heart is the mechanism of mental processes.
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Franz Mesmer detailed his cure for some mental illness, originally called mesmerism and now known as hypnosis.
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Philippe Pinel released the first mental patients from confinement in the first massive movement for more humane treatment of the mentally ill.
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Franz Gall wrote about phrenology (the idea that a person’s skull shape and placement of bumps on the head can reveal personality traits.
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Ernst Heinrich Weber published his perception theory of ‘Just Noticeable DIfference,’ now known as Weber’s Law.
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Phineas Gage suffered brain damage when an iron pole pierces his brain. His personality was changed but his intellect remained intact suggesting that an area of the brain plays a role in personality.
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French physician Paul Broca discovered an area in the left frontal lobe that plays a key role in language development.
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Sir Francis Galton, Influenced by Charles Darwin’s ‘Origin of the Species,’ publishes ‘Hereditary Genius,’ and argues that intellectual abilities are biological in nature.
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Carl Wernicke published his work on the frontal lobe, detailing that damage to a specific area damages the ability to understand or produce language
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G. Stanley Hall received the first American Ph.D. in psychology. He later founded the American Psychological Association.
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Wilhelm Wundt founded the first formal laboratory of Psychology at the University of Leipzig, marking the formal beginning of the study of human emotions, behaviors, and cognitions.
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The first laboratory of psychology in America is established at Johns Hopkins University.
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Herman Ebbinghaus introduced the nonsense syllable as a means to study memory processes.
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Sigmund Freud began performing therapy in Vienna, marking the beginning of personality theory.
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The term “Mental Tests” was coined by James Cattell, beginning the specialization in psychology now known as psychological assessment.
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William James published ‘Principles of Psychology,’ that later became the foundation for functionalism.
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Foundation of the American Psychological Association (APA) headed by G. Stanley Hall, with an initial membership of 42.
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Alfred Binet founded the first laboratory of psychodiagnosis.
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Writings by John Dewey began the school of thought known as functionalism.
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The first psychological clinic was developed at the University of Pennsylvania marking the birth of clinical psychology.
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Edward Thorndike developed the ‘Law of Effect,’ arguing that “a stimulus-response chain is strengthened if the outcome of that chain is positive.”
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Sigmund Freud published ‘Interpretation of Dreams’ marking the beginning of Psychoanalytic Thought.
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The British Psychological Society was founded.
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Alfred Binet’s Intelligence Test was published in France.
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Ivan Pavlov published the first studies on Classical Conditioning.
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Edward Thorndike published first article on animal intelligence leading to the theory of Operant Conditioning.
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William Stern developed the original formula for the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) after studying the scores on Binet’s intelligence test.
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Max Wertheimer published research on the perception of movement, marking the beginnings of Gestalt Psychology.
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John E. Watson published ‘Psychology as a Behaviorist Views It’ marking the beginnings of Behavioral Psychology.
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Carl G. Jung departed from Freudian views and developed his own theories citing Freud’s inability to acknowledge religion and spirituality. His new school of thought became known as Analytical Psychology.
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Stanford-Binet intelligence test was published in the United States.
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Robert Yerkes developed the Army Alpha and Beta Tests to measure intelligence in a group format. The tests were adopted for use with all new recruits in the U.S. military a year later.
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John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner published the Little Albert experiments, demonstrating that fear could be classically conditioned.
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not only commercializing psychological testing, but allowing testing to take place at offices and clinics rather than only at universities and research facilities
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Jean Piaget published ‘The Moral Judgment of Children’ beginning his popularity as the leading theorist in cognitive development.
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Walter B. Cannon coined the term homeostasis and began research on the fight or flight phenomenon
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Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) was published by Henry Murray.
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Electroshock therapy was first used on a human patient.
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Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Test was published which eventually became the most widely used intellectual assessment.
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Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was developed and fast became the most widely researched and widely accepted psychological assessment device.
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The Journal of Clinical Psychology was founded.
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Erik Erikson published ‘Childhood and Society,’ where he expands Freud’s Theory to include social aspects of personality development.
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The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) was published by The American Psychiatric Association.
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B.F. Skinner outlined behavioral therapy, lending support for behavioral psychology via research in the literature.
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Code of Ethics for Psychologists was developed by the American Psychological Association.
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Abraham Maslow helped to found Humanistic Psychology and later developed his famous Hierarchy of Needs.
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First Psychologists prescribe medication through the U.S. military’s psychopharmacology program.
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Leon Festinger proposed his theory of ‘Cognitive Dissonance’ and later became an influence figure in Social Psychology.
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Alfred Bandura introduced the idea of Observational Learning on the development of personality.
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DSM II was published by the American Psychiatric Association.
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First Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) professional degree program in Clinical Psychology was established in the Department of Psychology at The University of Illinois – Urbana/Champaign.
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APA endorsed the Psy.D. degree for professional practice in psychology
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DSM III published by the American Psychiatric Association.
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Howard Gardner (professor at Harvard University) introduced his theory of multiple intelligence, arguing that intelligence is something to be used to improve lives not to measure and quantify human beings.
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DSM IV published by the American Psychiatric Association.
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Psychology advances to the technological age with the emergence of e-therapy.
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New Mexico becomes the first state to pass legislation allowing licensed psychologists to prescribe psychotropic medication.
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'The Essential Difference: Men, Women and the Extreme Male Brain' proposes that autism may be an "extreme form of maleness".
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