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First Psychology Laboratory
Wilhelm Wundt opens first experimental laboratory in psychology at the University of Leipzig, Germany. Credited as the "father of psychology." -
Functionalism
Functionalism, an early catagory of psychology, focuses on the acts and functions of the mind rather than its internal contents. Its most prominent American advocates are William James and John Dewey. -
structuralism
Edward B. Titchener is a leading component of structuralism, Structuralism is the view that all mental experience can be understood as a combination of simple elements or events. This view focuses on the contents of the mind, unlike with functionalism. -
Psychoanalysis
The founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, introduces the term in a scholarly paper. Freud's psychoanalytic approach states that people are motivated by powerful, unconscious drives and conflicts. He develops an influential therapy based on this theory, using dream analysis. -
Interpretation of Dreams
Sigmund Freud introduces his theory of psychoanalysis in The Interpretation of Dreams, the first of 24 books he would write exploring such topics as the unconscious, techniques of free association, and sexuality as a driving force in human psychology and development. -
Psychoanalysists visit Clark University
Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung visit the United States for a Psychoanalysis Symposium at Clark University. At the symposium, Freud gives his only speech in the United States. -
Behaviorism
john B. Watson publishes "Psychology as Behavior," starting behaviorism. Behaviorism, in contrast to psychoanalysis, focuses on observable and measurable behavior. -
Nazi Persecution of Psychologists
After the Nazi party gains control in Germany, scholars and researchers in psychology and psychiatry are persecuted. Many, including Freud, whose books are banned and burned in public rallies, and were forced to move to Britain or the United States. -
Gestalt Psychology
Kurt Koffka publishes Principles of Gestalt Psychology in 1935. Gestalt (German for "whole" or "essence") psychology states that psychological phenomena must be viewed not as individual elements but as a whole. -
The Psychoanalytic Treatment of Children
Anna Freud publishes The Psychoanalytic Treatment of Children, introducing basic concepts in the theory and practice of child psychoanalysis. -
Biopsychology
During his studies of epilepsy, neuroscientist Wilder G. Penfield begins to uncover the relationship between chemical activity in the brain and psychological phenomena. His findings set the stage for research on the biological role in psychology. -
Humanist Psychology
After psychoanalysis and behaviorism, humanistic psychology emerges as the "third force" in psychology. Led by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, who published Motivation and Personality in 1954, this approach centers on the conscious mind, free will, human dignity, and the capacity for self-actualization. -
Cognitive Psychology
Inspired by work in mathematics, psychologists begin to focus on cognitive states and processes. George A. Miller's 1956 article "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two" on information processing is an early application of the cognitive theory. -
Homosexuality removed from DSM
After intense debate, the American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The reference manual is revised to say that sexual orientation "does not necessarily constitute a psychiatric disorder." -
Evolutionary Psychology
Richard Dawkins publishes The Selfish Gene, which begins to popularize the idea of evolutionary psychology. This approach applies principles from evolutionary biology to the structure and function of the human brain. It offers new ways of looking at social behaviors such as aggression and sexual behavior. -
Cultural Psychology
In Acts of Meaning, Four Lectures on Mind and Culture, Jerome Bruner helps formulate cultural psychology, an approach drawing on philosophy, linguistics, and anthropology. Expanded by Hazel Markus and other researchers, cultural psychology focuses on the influences and relationship among mind, cultural community and behavior.
