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Wilhelm Wundt opens first experimental laboratory in psychology at the University of Leipzig, Germany. Credited with establishing psychology as an academic discipline, Wundt’s students include Emil Kraepelin, James McKeen Cattell, and G. Stanley Hall. -
First doctorate in psychology:
The first doctorate in psychology is given to Joseph Jastrow, a student of G. Stanley Hall at Johns Hopkins University. Jastrow later becomes professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin and serves as president of the American Psychological Association in 1900. -
IQ tests developed
Using standardized tests, Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon develop a scale of general intelligence on the basis of mental age. Later researchers refine this work into the concept of intelligence quotient; IQ, mental age over physical age. From their beginning, such tests’ accuracy and fairness are challenged. -
Menninger Clinic founded
First Nobel Prize for psychological research -
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is founded by Bob Smith of Akron, Ohio. AA’s group meetings format and 12-step program become the model for many other mutual-support therapeutic groups. -
Electroconvulsive therapy began
Italian psychiatrist and neuropathologist Ugo Cerletti and his associates treat human patients with electrical shocks to alleviate schizophrenia and psychosis. ECT, while controversial, is proven effective in some cases and is still in use in 2001. -
The Psychoanalytic Treatment of Children
Anna Freud publishes The Psychoanalytic Treatment of Children, introducing basic concepts in the theory and practice of child psychoanalysis. -
Cognitive psychology
Inspired by work in mathematics and other disciplines, 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 approach. -
The FDA approves the use of chlordiazepoxide (known as Librium) for treatment of non-psychotic anxiety in 1960. A similar drug, diazepam (Valium), is approved in 1963. -
First National Medal of Science to psychologist
Neal E. Miller receives the National Medal of Science, the highest scientific honor given in the United States, for his studies of motivation and learning. He is the first psychologist to be awarded this honor. -
Homosexuality removed from DSM
After intense debate, the American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The widely used reference manual is revised to state that sexual orientation “does not necessarily constitute a psychiatric disorder.” -
PET scanner tested
A new brain scanning technique, Positron Emission Tomography (PET), is tested. By tracing chemical markers, PET maps brain function in more detail than earlier techniques. -
Standardized IQ tests found discriminatory
The U.S. District Court finds the use of standardized IQ tests in California public schools illegal. The decision in the case, Larry P. v. Wilson Riles, upholds the plaintiff’s position that the tests discriminate against African American students. -
Homeless Assistance Act passed
The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act provides the first federal funds allocated specifically for the homeless population. The act includes provisions for mental health services, and responds, in part, to psychological studies on homelessness and mental disorders. -
Sixteen public research institutions around the world complete a “working draft” mapping of the human genetic code, providing a research basis for a new understanding of human development and disease. A similar, privately funded, project is currently underway.