Important Women in the History of Psychology
Claudia Barrows University of the Incarnate Word
History of Psychology PSYC 4331 cmfuente@stduent.uiwtx.edu Roxanne Mayorga
Summer I 2016
Abstract
When we study the history of psychology one might assume there were minimal female contributors, but that is a big misconception. Women in the past struggled with discrimination and many hurdles to gain recognition for their work. Women psychologists have gone largely unrecognized, unappreciated, and almost unseen to historical accounts. The lack of acknowledgement for women psychologists in today’s study takes away from the comprehensive study to our generation. It is exceedingly important that we receive a well-rounded education of all the great psychologists in history and not only the male founders. The following women I will discuss mention only a few who have made an influence in psychology. Keywords: women, psychologist, discrimination, unrecognition, history
Important Women in the History of Psychology The study of psychology today seems to have unrecognized women psychologist in history. In the field of psychology women in the past were the minority most definitely. During that time women faced countless hardships to be equally educated as a male. This has led to unrecognition and a deficit of appreciation for the significant women psychologist of our history. Excluding women contributors to our studies minimizes our knowledge as
person both in her own time and in psychology’s history” (Goodman, 1980, pg. 5, para.
Anna Freud, born in 1895, was the daughter of Sigmund Freud, the well-known founder of psychology and the psychoanalytic theory. Anna Freud’s work with her father and his friends and associates as well as her own personal studies, curiosities, and analyses lead her to cofound psychoanalytic child psychology. An appealing woman who did not have much of a formal education, Anna Freud, had an extensive background in psychology, an interesting theoretical perspective, and many contributions to the field.
Ludy, B. (1986). Why don't they understand us? A history of psychology's public image. American Psychologists, 41, 941-946.
In this essay I am looking at where Psychology as a discipline has come from and what affects these early ideas have had on psychology today, Psychology as a whole has stemmed from a number of different areas of study from Physics to Biology,
The history of psychology is in infancy at the present time. Many philosophers can be credited to the development of this science. Starting in the early 18th and 19th centuries philosophers such as Rene’ Descartes and John Locke opened the world of what we know as psychology today. The British empiricists also contributed to psychology. Some of these men include David Hume and David Hartley.
Throughout the early days of psychology, opportunities for women where limited and it was an extremely difficult time for women to become apparent in the field of psychology. Women struggled for equality in the field of psychology and this began with our pioneers, Mary Whiton Calkins, who sat her PhD but was never awarded it, Margaret Washburn, being the first women to be awarded a PhD and Christine Ladd Franklin.
26) Which early American psychologist taught philosophy at Harvard, studied medicine, had strong interests in literature and religion, and wrote one of the most important psychology texts ever, The Principles of Psychology, in 1890?
In many parts of the world people were working in the area of psychology but hadn’t realized that it was something different. Until 1879, people thought of psychology
Firstly an American psychologist namely Harry Harlow who almost by accident started the most influential work in
One name that jumps out at the mention of psychology, or the study there of, is the name of Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud is also known as the “Father of Psychoanalysis.” Freud was also known for having the tendency to trace nearly all psychological problems back to sexual issues. Although only parts of his theory of psychosexual development are still accepted by mainstream psychologists, Freud's theory of the Oedipal Complex has become a cultural icon (Freud, Sigmund, 2012).
There were contextual forces as well as work in America to foster the growth of applied psychology. The number of people with a Ph. D. in psychology rose and there were not enough academic positions to employ them, and when one attained a teaching job many administrations did not value (or fund) psychology programs. As psychology was a newest science when compared to physics and chemistry…received smallest financial support, so need to proof that psychology is useful in solving social, educational and industrial problem in order to improve budgets. An emerging societal problem was a dramatic increase in public school enrollment, which opened doors for some psychologists. Thus, the focus of psychology shifted towards the application in solving real-world problem.
History and Systems of Psychology is a course requirement offered to Psychology majors and minors. This course is used to provide majors and minors with the foundation and the evolution of the field of psychology. Within this class, many scholars of discussed. Two scholars that stood out to me in this course would be John Watson and Max Wertheimer. These two particular scholars are responsible for two of the most influential and famous schools of thought, behaviorism and Gestalt psychology. These two schools of thought are responsible for changing the field of psychology and introducing the field to new theories and ways of thinking. Although the two schools of thought are similar in being influential but they are different in many ways. The two schools of thought are even said to be contradictory of one another and one is even said to be the cause of the fading out of the other.
Wade E. Pickren’s article, Internationalizing the History of Psychology Course in the USA is an advocacy piece for diversity in the field of psychology; specifically in the teaching of the history and systems of psychology course in US colleges and universities. Pickren first outlines the development of historical psychological texts (dubbed textbook histories REFERENCE), the subsequent influence of said texts on the development of the course of history and systems, criticisms of then current textbook histories and the events that led to “The New History of Psychology” (REFERENCE). The present standing of the history of psychology course in the USA is examined followed by a review of how the USA dominated the field of psychology after World
over time, due to psychologists coming to light in the modern world. This essay will also
It feels as though most of the time when thinking about psychology and the great contributions that have been made to it, that most of them have been from men, but along the way there have been several influential women that have contributed to the field of psychology as well. Just like men, there were several women who were pioneers, theorists, and counselors; many of these women have contributed to the field of psychology in their own special between the years of 1850 and 1950. Of all these amazing women who are pioneers, theorists, and counselors, the one who stands out the most is Anna Freud. This paper will go on to explain Anna Freud’s