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Plato suggested that the brain is the mechanism of mental process.
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Aristotle suggested that the heart is the mechanism to mental process.
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Franz Mesmer detailed his cure for some mental illness, originally called mesmerism, now called hypnosis.
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Philippe Pinel released the first mental patients from confinement in the first massive movement for the humane treatment of the mentally ill.
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Franz Gal wrote about phrenology which was the idea that a persons skull shape and placement of bumps on the head can reveal personality traits.
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Phineas Gage suffers 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 lays a role in personality.
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Charles Darwin publishes 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 behavior, emotions and cognition's.
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The first laboratory in America is established at John 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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The British Psychological Society was founded.
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The Journal of Abnormal Psychology was founded by Morton Prince.