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387 BC Plato suggested that the brain is the mechanism of mental processes.
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BC 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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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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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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Charles Darwin published the On the Origin of Species, detailing his view of evolution and expanding on the theory of ‘Survival of the fittest.’
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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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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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Sigmund Freud began performing therapy in Vienna, marking the beginning of personality theory.
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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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The term “Mental Tests” was coined by James Cattell, beginning the specialization in psychology now known as psychological assessment.
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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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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.