The 10 Essential Women In The History Of Psychology
Throughout history there have been many psychologists who have influenced the development of the science of the mind and human behavior. It is common to talk about Watson, Skinner, Bandura, Freud, among others, the vast majority of them men. Unfortunately, women’s voices have been silenced for many years and their contributions were minimized or excluded from scientific circles.
But as Ann Johnson of St. Thomas University states, this changed starting in the 1960s and 1970s, and in recent years, The new generations of female psychologists have begun to receive more recognition
Nowadays it seems impossible to think that psychology was a profession exclusively for men, because today it is a career that more women study than men. The truth is that psychology was considered a male field, and women who wanted to carve out a professional future as psychologists had to make a place for themselves in a discipline that only accepted men.
Luckily, hehe social and economic changes of this last century have allowed the growth of “feminine psychology” As in other fields, women have fought to obtain the same rights as men. In the United States, data show that the number of female psychologists has been increasing over the years: in 1901 only 20 women earned their doctorates in psychology, in 1974 22% of psychology doctorates went to women, and in 1983 they received doctorates. 56% of psychologists.
The 10 most influential women in Psychology
It may seem normal now, but many of these women had to face discrimination, obstacles and difficulties that they faced for a long time. In today’s article, and in honor of all these women, We have compiled a list of psychologists who have made important and innovative contributions to the field of psychology
These women deserve to be recognized for their pioneering work and for being leaders in the fight for equality. Despite all the difficulties, they left us a very valuable legacy that we will detail today.
1. Brenda Milner
The neuropsychologist Brenda Milner (1918), born in Manchester (United Kingdom), is considered the founder of neuropsychology and is one of the most important figures in the study of memory. For 60 years she has contributed to the knowledge of how the brain works. Today she continues to teach and direct research at the Montreal Neurological Institute (Canada) and is also a professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University.
Brenda Milner is famous for her study of the case of patient HM. This was a young man who had suffered from very severe epileptic seizures since he was 10 years old. In desperation, he consulted with Dr. Scoville and agreed to undergo an experimental surgery in which his medial temporal lobes on both sides were removed. His epileptic seizures were considerably reduced, but he was left affected with anterograde amnesia, the inability to store new events in long-term memory. Brenda Milner began working with HM, conducting a series of experiments designed to test her memory and learning ability. What she observed eventually led to a revolutionary discovery: she found that HM consistently improved from day to day on tests, despite the fact that he had no memory of having done those things before. In other words, the patient was learning new skills effectively despite having no memory of having done so before
This indicated that the brain is not governed by a solitary memory system and caused a change in the direction of memory research from that moment on. In addition to this monumental finding, Milner identified the role played by the hippocampus and the medial temporal lobe in explicit memory and provided the first data on implicit memory storage.
2. Virginia Satir
Virginia Satir (1916 – 1988) is known for her work as an exceptional therapist, and is one of the most important people in Systemic Family Therapy. Virginia Satir thought that people are equipped with the capacity for growth, transformation, and continuous education. Not only did her methodology combine the interactive and intrapsychic elements of modern therapy, but she strove to create an improved quality of communication and relationships within the family structure.
Satir Transformational Systemic Therapy works to address a client’s actions, emotions, and perceptions that relate to their dynamics in the family unit. As a highly trained and qualified therapist, she worked with patients to enable them to find their sense of harmony and unity, and hold them accountable for addressing and accepting traumas and wounds that ultimately lead to an inner sense of peace and joy.
3. Mary Ainsworth
Mary Ainsworth (1913) was born in Ohio, United States and developed an extensive and fruitful career. She was a pioneer in developmental psychology and is possibly best known for her research on infant behavior in the “strange situation” and her contribution to Attachment Theory.
This theory, first developed by John Bowlby, is essential in any introductory developmental psychology book. Ainsworth identified three attachment styles that children have with their parents and caregivers. In a ranking that was prepared in 2002 of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century, Ainsworth was ranked 97th most frequently cited psychologist
Elizabeth Loftus (1944) is one of the most influential and at the same time controversial psychologists. She is famous for her research into the reliability of repressed memories and she is a fundamental figure in cognitive psychology. With her work she has made an enormous contribution to psychology and opened debate on a controversial aspect of psychology and memory. During the 70s, Loftus published a collection of influential studies on the fallibility of witness testimony in the judicial field At first his contributions did not have much impact, but currently his work is beginning to leave its mark.
The controversial side of his investigations is based on the role he has played in cases of accusations of sexual abuse in childhood based on the recovery of memories, which made him the subject of lawsuits and death threats. His research into using false memories to modify behavior is considered by some to be highly unethical.
5. Laura Perls
Laura Posner (1905 – 1990), better known as Laura Perls, is one of the most influential psychologists of this century. She, along with her husband Fritz Perls and Paul Goodman, developed Gestalt Therapy in the 1940s, a humanist-existentialist therapeutic model that was originally designed as an alternative to conventional psychoanalysis. Gestalt therapy experts use experiential and creative techniques to enhance the patient’s self-awareness, freedom, and self-direction.
6. Leda Cosmides
Leda Cosmides (1957) is best known for her pioneering work in the field of evolutionary psychology. She developed her interest in this field while studying biology at Harvard University, and in 1985 she earned her doctorate in cognitive psychology. Cosmides was a member of the Center for Advanced Studies in Behavioral Sciencesbefore moving to the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he has been on the faculty since 1991.
In 1988 he won the Behavioral Sciences Research Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Scienceand in 1993 he was awarded the Distinguished Scientist Award of the American Psychological Association. In 1992 he published his well-known book called “The Adapted Mind” together with JH Barkow and J. Tooby. This text It is recognized as one of the most important of the moment in its field both for establishing the theoretical and methodological principles that serve as the basis of evolutionary psychology, and for its importance in the application field.
7. Anna Freud
Anna Freud (1895 – 1982) was born in Vienna at the end of the 19th century. She is the daughter of Sigmund Freud but, far from remaining in the shadows, she was also important in the theory that her father originated, since She was a pioneer in the field of child psychoanalysis and extended the concept of defense mechanisms that are put in place to adjust the drives of the id to the demands of the superego.
He was especially interested in communication problems between therapists. His contributions were eminently practical, the result of his experience. Hampstead Children’s Therapy Clinic in London. He carried out many scientific works and helped found the annual publication of the Psychoanalytic Study of the Child in 1945. His main work is “The Ego and the Defense Mechanisms” (1936), which has become a classic of psychoanalysis.
8. Mary Whiton Calkins
Mary Whiton Calkins (1863 – 1930) was an American psychologist who became the first woman president of the American Psychological Associations (APA). Despite graduating in philosophy, she became an influential figure in the development of early psychology, especially ego psychology, and she trained many students through her teaching position at Wellesley College.
In her time, women could not study psychology, and although she was invited to a seminar at Harvard University, the center refused to grant her the degree because she was a woman.
9. Melanie Klein
Melanie Klein (1882 – 1960) was born in Vienna and was an Austrian psychologist known for creating a therapeutic technique called “Play Therapy”. Her initial intention was to attend medical school, but She became a well-known psychoanalyst
He met Sigmund Freud for the first time in 1918 at the International Psychoanalytic Congress in Budapest (Hungary), and inspired him to write his first article on psychoanalysis called “The Development of a Child.” This experience was a motivation to continue linked to this current of psychology and he began to dedicate himself to psychological therapy. The Kleinian school It is one of the most famous in the school of psychoanalysis.
10. Margaret Floyd Washburn
Margaret Floy Washburn (1871 – 1939) was a pioneer in her time because she will always be remembered for being the first woman to earn a doctorate in psychology
He received his doctorate in 1984 and his contributions to psychology were many. This psychologist spent many years of her life conducting research with animals. It should be noted that Washburn was the second woman to chair the American Psychological Association (APA) after Mary Whiton Calkins.
