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Franz Gall introduces the basic principles of phrenooogy
Franz Gall was a doctor in Vienna, Austria. Phrenology is the study of contours of the head in an attempt to draw conclusions about the functions of the different regions of the brain. For example, phrenologists claimed that a person's skull shape and the placement of bumps on the head can reveal personality traits. Phrenology was popular in the early nineteenth century, but has since been discredited. -
Marc Dax proposes the link between left hemisphere damage and speech impediment
Marc Dax was a little-known French doctor, working in a village near the town of Montpellier. In 1836, Dax presented a paper at a conference attended by doctors working in southern France in which he argued that language is controlled by an area of the brain located in the left hemisphere. Twenty-four years later, Pierre Paul Broca made the same claim and took credit for the discovery. -
Phineas Cage suffers brain damage in an explosion
Phineas Gage (1823–1860) was a construction worker (rail). In 1848, he had an accident where an explosion propelled an iron bar through his skull and through the front part of his brain. Gage suffered extensive brain damage, but survived, and recovered. Surprisingly, the only symptoms he appeared to suffer were changes to his personality. This led to the realization that the effects of brain damage depend on where they happen and that some personal. is located in the front. -
Charles Darwin publishes On the Origins of Species
Charles Darwin (1809–1882) published On the Origin of Species: his groundbreaking book detailing his view of evolution and expanding on the theory of natural selection and the ‘survival of the fittest’. -
Birth of experimental psychology
Gustav Fechner (1801–1887), a German philosopher and pioneer of experimental psychology, published his book Elements of Psychophysics. This event is widely seen as marking the beginning of experimental psychology. Fechner applied the experimental methods used in the natural sciences, like physics or chemistry, to the study of human psychology. -
Pierre Paul Broca begins work on the link between the language and the brain
Pierre Paul Broca (1824–1880) was a French doctor. In 1861, Broca began his work with an autopsy of the brain of one of his patients, Mr Leborgne , who, understood speech but could not talk. Broca discovered damage to the left side of the brain, which he argued was responsible for language production. This area soon became known as ‘Broca’s area’ which revolutionised the understanding of language processing, speech production, and comprehension, including damage to this part. -
Carl Wernicke publishes work on brain damage and speech comprehension
Carl Wernicke (1848–1905) was a German doctor and anatomist who discovered the area of the brain involved in speech comprehension. Known as ‘Wernicke’s area’, it is located in the left side of the brain, next to Broca’s area. Damage to Wernicke’s area leads to the inability to understand speech or produce meaningful sentences, known as ‘Wernicke’s aphasia’. In 1874, Wernicke published a book outlining his findings. -
William James establishes experimental psychology laboratory in Harvard
William James (1842–1910) was an American psychologist widely regarded as one of the fathers of modern psychology. In 1875, he founded one of the world’s first experimental psychology laboratories at Harvard University. There, he helped to establish psychology as a laboratory science based on the experimental method. -
Jean-Martin Charcot opens first neurological clinic in Europe
Jean-Martin Charcot (1825–1893) is considered to be the founder of modern neurology: the scientific study of the brain and the nervous system. In 1882, Charcot established the first neurology clinic in Europe, at the Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris. Alfred Binet and Sigmund Freud both studied under him. -
Franzis Galton establishes 'anthropometric laboratory' in London
F. G. (1822–1911) was a British scientist who developed a controversial, and today discredited, method for measuring human intelligence. He charged visitors for the privilege of having their intelligence tested in his ‘anthropometric laboratory’ by physical attributes, such as eyesight, strength of grip, hearing, etc.. Galton also introduced the idea of normal distribution, and was one of the founders of the eugenics movement. -
American Psychological Association founded
The American Psychological Association (APA), the body representing American psychologists, was founded at Clark University in Massachusetts, USA. The APA had an initial membership of 42; today it has more than 130,000 members. -
Sigmund Freud publishes Studies on Hysteria
S. F. (1856–1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founding father of psychoanalysis (our bhvr & thinking is influenced by unconscious processes). Aspects are the theory about the development of human personality and the importance of childhood experiences. In 1895, Freud "Studies on Hysteria" t/g w/ Josef Brewer. This was the birth of psychoanalysis. As a student, Freud worked with Jean-Martin Charcot in Paris, whose work on hypnosis influenced his thinking about the unconscious. -
Edward Thornike publishes and early account of his research into animal behaviour
E. T. (1874–1949) was an American psychologist and a pioneer in the study of animal behaviour. T. was interested in animal learning and studied the bhvr of cats in ‘puzzle boxes’. The p. b. was a cage that could be opened by operating a latch. T. studied how long it would take the animal to learn to release the catch to access the food (first laboratory study of animal learning). T.’s emphasis on measurement and the quantitative analysis of data, that shaped modern psychology. -
British Psychological Society founded
The British Psychological Society was founded on 24 October 1901 at University College London. Its aim was ‘to advance scientific psychological research, and to further the co-operation of investigators in the various branches of Psychology.’ The ten founders resolved ‘that only those who are recognised teachers in some branch of psychology or who have published work of recognised value be eligible as members’ (BPS, 2014). -
Ivan Pavlov publishes his work on classical conditioning
I. P. (1849–1936) was a Russian scientist who established the principle of classical conditioning (i.e. two stimuli can be paired so that one triggers the response to the other). His most famous experiment involved dogs, showing that it was possible for a dog to ‘learn’ to produce saliva upon hearing a bell, if the bell sound coincided with the presentation of food on a number of occasions. In 1903, Pavlov first publicized the results of his research in Madrid. -
Charles Spearman introduces the idea of "General Intelligence"
Charles Spearman (1863–1945) was a British psychologist specialising in statistical analysis. In the essay entitled ‘General intelligence: Objectively determined and measured’, published in 1904, Spearman introduced the idea of ‘general intelligence’ (or g) as the overall factor that underpins performance on different tests of mental ability (such as numerical processing or verbal reasoning). -
Alfred Binet develops the Binet-Simon intelligence test
A. Binet (1857–1911) was a French psychologist and one of the founders of modern intelligence testing. Together with his colleague Théodore Simon, Binet devised a test to measure individual differences in children’s intelligence, with the aim of identifying which children had special educational needs. The test, called the Binet–Simon test, was first published in 1905. In subsequent years, Binet and Simon revised the test and the final version was published in 1911, shortly before Binet died -
Henry Goddhard translates the Binet-Simon test into English
Henry Goddard (1866–1957) was an American psychologist and proponent of intelligence testing. In 1908, he translated the Binet–Simon intelligence test from the original French into English. He collaborated with Lewis Terman and Robert Yerkes. -
William Stern introduces the concept of IQ
William Stern (1871–1938) was a German psychologist who in 1912 proposed the concept of IQ (intelligence quotient) as a formula for calculating a score for intelligence in children. This formula involved dividing a child’s mental age by their chronological age. The formula was later modified by Lewis Terman, who proposed multiplying the score by 100. Terman’s formula meant that the average IQ was 100, which is a principle that still holds in intelligence testing. -
Howard Knox develops psychological tests for screening immigrants at Elli Island
H. K. (1885–1949) was an American doctor who devised methods for screening immigrants for ‘mental deficiencies’ at Ellis Island in New York. During the period 1892–1924, 12 million immigrants to the USA were processed. In 1913, K. developed a series of psychological tests including for intelligence. Those who failed the tests were considered ‘mentally unfit’ and were denied entry. The testing at Ellis Island is the first example of the mass use of intelligence testing for screening purposes. -
First World War
The First World War was fought primarily in Europe, involving a large number of countries. The principal fighting was between Britain, France and Russia on one side, and Germany and Austria–Hungary on the other. The United States joined the war in 1917. -
Lewis Terman creates the Stanfort-Binet intelligence test
Lewis Terman (1877–1956) was an American psychologist who, in 1916, developed the Stanford–Binet intelligence test, building on the 1905 Binet–Simon test. The Stanford–Binet test is still in use today, with the fifth revised edition published in 2003.Terman also developed the formula for calculating IQ scores in children to allow easy comparison across children of different ages. -
Robert Yerkes begins the army testing program
R. Y. (1876–1956) was an American psychologist and president of the APA. In 1917, when the USA entered WW 1, Y led a team of psychologists appointed to conduct mass intelligence testing of US army recruits. Yerkes’ study is one of the most controversial studies in the history of intelligence research. His conclusions are considered to be a prime example of scientific racism, and his study brought the field of intelligence testing into disrepute. Yerkes worked with Henry Goddard and Lewis Terman. -
Tavistock clinic is founded in Longdon
Dr. Hugh Crichton-Miller set up the Tavistock Clinic, London, in response to a need for psychological help for people affected by the First World War. Since then, the clinic has aimed to combine research into the causes of mental ill-health with the development of effective treatments. It was influential in shaping the ideas of John Bowlby, Anna Freud and Mary Ainsworth. -
John B. Watson (1878–1958) conducts the ‘Little Albert’ study
J. B. W. (regarded as the father of the behaviourist movement). W. and other behaviourists argued that psychology should concern itself only with observable bhvr and how it is influenced by conditioning, and should avoid reference to inner mental processes, motivation, feelings, etc. In 1920, W. conducted the Little Albert study: he used classical conditioning to induce fear of a tame rat in a young child. Rat paired w/ loud noise created anxious bhvr in Albert t/s the rat even w/o the noise. -
First public television broadcast
In 1926, the first TV pictures were transmitted electronically in London by the Scottish scientist J.L. Baird. The demonstration was witnessed by members of the Royal Institution and a journalist from The Times newspaper. -
Anna Freud publishes An Introduction to the Technique of Child Analysis
Anna Freud (1895–1982), was a famous child psychoanalyst and the youngest daughter of Sigmund Freud. Her greatest contribution to psychology is her work on how psychoanalytic principles can be used in the treatment of children. In 1927, she published her first book on the topic, An Introduction to the Technique of Child Analysis. During the Second World War, she worked with child refugees and developed the techniques of observation still used in child psychoanalysis. -
Sir Frederic Bartlett publishes the book Remembering
Frederic Bartlett (1886–1969) was a British psychologist and one of the leading figures in the history of experimental psychology in the UK. In 1932, Bartlett published his most famous book, Remembering, in which he explored various aspects of human memory, including its reconstructive nature and the role that culture plays in remembering stories. -
First psychosurgery/ lobotomy carried out by the Portuguese surgeon António Egas Moniz
In 1935 Psychosurgery involved removing or separating parts of brain tissue, trying to eliminate symptoms of psychiatric disorders. A particularly common, form of psychosurgery was lobotomy, (cutting through the brain and separate frontal lobe from the rest). It was used on patients suffering from mental illnesses like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The popularity rose until the 1950s, then medication proofed to be more effective. -
Konrad Lorenz (1903–1989) discovers imprinting in animals
K. L. (Austrian zoologist, father of ethology: the study of animal behaviour under natural conditions). T/g with his colleague Niko Tinbergen, Lorenz studied innate bhvr, namely that which was present from birth. In 1935 he revealed the tendency of goslings to form an attachment to a specific individual or object that they have been exposed to immediately after birth. Lorenz called this process ‘imprinting’. This influenced John Bolwby. -
John C. Raven develops the Raven’s Progressive Matrices test
The first edition of the Raven’s Progressive Matrices test was released in 1938. Raven’s Progressive Matrices is a series of intelligence tests developed by British psychologist John C. Raven, designed with the aim of being free from cultural bias and independent of language skills. The tests are composed of sets of shapes or patterns which form a ‘design’ that has one piece missing. -
David Wechsler releases the Wechsler–Bellevue Intelligence Scale in the USA
David Wechsler (1896–1981) was the author of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, probably the best-known intelligence test in the world today. The first version of the test, released in 1939, was called the Wechsler–Bellevue Intelligence Scale, after the hospital in New York where Wechsler worked. The revised version, renamed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, was released in 1955. In his youth, Wechsler was involved in administering the army testing programme run by Robert Yerkes. -
Second World War
This was a global war fought mainly between Germany, Italy and Japan on one side and the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union on the other. During the Second World War, Nazi Germany, aided by collaborators across Europe, perpetrated the Holocaust: the systematic murder of around six million European Jews. Approximately one million of them perished in Auschwitz, the largest death camp in Nazi-occupied Europe. -
11-plus examination introduced in the UK
The 11-plus examination was introduced in the UK. The 11-plus is a form of intelligence test that is still administered to some children in England and Northern Ireland in the final year of primary school. It is used to determine the best category of secondary school to suit their abilities. The test ceased to be compulsory in 1976. Since then, a modified 11-plus test has been used to gain entry to a small number of secondary schools, at their discretion. -
John Bowlby (1907–1990) proposes the ‘maternal deprivation hypothesis’
J. B. (British psychologist; attachment theory). His ideas have their main origin in concepts of psychoanalytic theory. In 1944, he published the paper '44 juvenile thieves: their characters and home life', in which he pointed to impoverished or missing early mothering experiences as causes of 'juvenile delinquency’. He referred to this as the ‘maternal deprivation hypothesis’. Later, he developed further his theory how children develop attachments to others and how this influences them later. -
The Nuremberg Code published
In 1946, following a series of post-war trials of former Nazi officials – among whom were 23 doctors who conducted brutal experiments on concentration camp inmates – a statement was released about how scientists should behave when conducting research involving human participants. This document, known as the Nuremberg Code, was the first ethics code in medicine and psychology. -
Cold War begins
The C.W. refers to the state of political and military tension between the Western Bloc (the US and other NATO countries) and the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union and its allies in the Warsaw Pact). The Berlin Blockade, which began in June 1948 and lasted 11 months, is widely seen as marking the beginning of the Cold War. During the blockade, Soviet forces blocked all land routes to the Western-occupied parts of the divided city of Berlin. The blockade ended with the partition of Germany. -
Wada technique is discovered
Japanese–Canadian neurologist Juhn Wada developed a new technique for studying brain function. The W. test involves injecting an anaesthetic into one half of the brain to blocking its function. This allows the study of the other hemisphere. The application of the W. test has led to the finding that while areas of the brain that control language are in the left hemisphere in most people, in some, they are located in the right hemisphere. On rare occasions, both hemispheres are involved. -
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) published in the USA
The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, developed by David Wechsler, was a version of the Wechsler–Bellevue scale designed to assess children’s intelligence. Unlike earlier intelligence tests for children, the WISC assessed a wider subset of mental abilities. A revised version of the test is still in use today. -
Theodore Adorno (1903–1969) and colleagues publish The Authoritarian Personality
T. A. (German philosopher and social theorist; critical theory of society). In psychology, Adorno’s researched on authoritarian personality with colleagues Else Frenkel-Brunswik, Daniel Levinson and Nevitt Sanford. Their book, The Authoritarian Personality, was published in 1950. The work of Adorno and colleagues was motivated by the desire to account for the rise of fascism in the 1930s. Their theory of authoritarian personality grew out of the psychoanalytic theoretical framework. -
First commercial computer created
In 1951, UNIVAC, the first commercial computer, was demonstrated at the U.S. Census Bureau in Philadelphia. The development of computers had a massive impact on psychology, as well as other sciences, as it allowed large amounts of quantitative data to be analysed quickly and accurately. -
Solomon Asch (1907–1996) publishes his work on conformity
S. A. (American social psychologist; conformity). In 1951, A. demonstrated, in a dramatic fashion, the effect of group pressure on individual judgement. In the experiment, which required participants to judge the length of lines, many participants gave an obviously wrong answer just because other people in the room gave the wrong answer before them. They conformed to the opinion of others, even when they believed the opinion to be incorrect. A.'s study inspired his student, Milgram. -
Colin Cherry (1914–1979) publishes results of research on attention
C. C. (contribution to the study of attention; the ‘cocktail party effect’) = the capacity to follow one conversation while many other conversations are going on in a noisy room. He was particularly interested in how psychological experiments can be carried out to understand everyday practical problems, in this case, selective attention. In 1953, Cherry published a series of experiments that tried to determine what allows people to separate out two spoken messages that are presented together. -
APA adopts its first code of ethics
The first code of ethics for psychologists was developed by the American Psychological Association (APA). -
First edition of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) was released in the USA
The first edition of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, based on the Wechsler–Bellevue Scale, was published in the US. -
Thomas Pettigrew (born 1930s) publishes research on authoritarianism and racial discrimination
T. P. (American social psychologist; research on prejudice). In 1958, Pettigrew explored the differences of authoritarianism in South Africa, the Southern US (racial segregation) and the Northern US (less racial segregation). He found that even though the 3 areas differed in the levels of racism among the population, there was no difference in the level of authoritarianism. This suggested that prevalence of authoritarianism didn't account for the support for racial discrimination in a society. -
Harry Harlow publishes his work on attachment among rhesus macaque monkeys
Harry Harlow (1905–1981) was an American psychologistbest known for his experiments on attachment among rhesus macaque monkeys, which demonstrated the importance of caregiving and companionship in the development of the young.Harlow’s most famous experiments, which looked at attachment to surrogate mothers, were first published in 1958.Much of Harlow’s work on attachment and social deprivation in monkeys was controversial and raised important animal welfare issues. -
Donald Broadbent (1926–1993) proposes his theory of attention in the book Perception and Communication
D. B. was an influential British experimental psychologist recognised for his contribution to cognitive psychology, especially the study of attention. He published extensively about theories of selective attention and short-term memory, as well as the filter model of attention. In 1958, he published the book Perception and Communication, in which he laid down a framework for the understanding of cognitive processes like attention, memory and perception. -
Milton Rokeach (1918–1988) introduces the concept of ‘dogmatism’
M. R. ; American psychologist who extended the idea of authoritarianism to encompass both right-wing and left-wing ideologies. In 1960, R. proposed ‘dogmatism’ as an alternative to authoritarianism. He also rejected the psychoanalytic account of authoritarianism, preferring to view dogma. as a cognitive style: a particular way of structuring and processing information. R.’s thinking was influenced by the onset of the Cold War and communism -
Trial of Adolf Eichmann
A. E. (German Nazi, Holocaust organizer). He was involved in the logistics of mass deportation of Jewish people.. After the war, he fled to South America, where he was captured in 1960. In 1961, he was put on trial and hanged in Israel. During the trial, the question was raised of how someone who was an ordinary, petty bureaucrat could have been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Stanley Milgram was particularly interested in this trial. -
Albert Bandura publishes study on social learning, television and aggression in children
Albert Bandura (born in Canada in 1925) is widely recognised as the founder of social learning theory. In the 1960s, Bandura's research focused on the foundations of human learning and the willingness of children and adults to imitate behaviour observed in others, in particular, aggression. In 1963, together with colleagues Dorothea and Sheila Ross, Bandura conducted an influential study on children’s willingness to imitate aggression presented in a film. -
Stanley Milgram (1933–1974) publishes the results of his obedience studies
S. M. (American psychologist, student of Solomon Asch; studies on obedience influenced by the Holocaust). In 1961, M. began a series of experiments to explore how far people would go with administering electric shocks to another human being just because they were told to do so. M. found that about 65% of all participants administered shocks at the maximum 450 volts, even though they knew such shocks would be lethal. Results were published in 1963. -
Diana Baumrind’s critique of Milgram published
Diana Baumrind (born 1927) is a clinical and developmental psychologist known primarily for her research on parenting styles. In 1964, Baumrind published a critique of Stanley Milgram’s research, arguing that he had not properly protected the welfare of participants in the obedience studies. -
Charles Hofling and colleagues carry out research on obedience among nurses
C. H. was an American psychiatrist who, in 1966, led a famous study on the doctor–nurse relationship. The study looked at whether nurses would administer a fatal dose of medication on the instruction of an unknown doctor giving the order by telephone. The study found that 21 out of 22 nurses obeyed the order, even though doing so violated hospital rules and the dose they were asked to administer was obviously too high. -
Hans Eysenck develops his personality theory
Hans Eysenck (1916–1997) was a German-born psychologist who spent most of his life in the UK. He is best known for his personality theory, which proposed that human personality consists of two different dimensions, namely 'extroversion/introversion' and 'neuroticism/stability'. In the 1970s, a third dimension, ‘psychoticism’ was added. Eysenck also studied how genetics and environmental factors contribute to individual differences in human abilities and personality characteristics. -
Mary Ainsworth (1913–1999) introduces the Strange Situation method of studying attachment
M. A. (American–Canadian psychologist;early attachment). In the early 1950s, she worked with Bowlby on the research into the effects of 'maternal deprivation' on child development. In 1954, M went to Africa. There, she moved attachment theory forward through her observations of 28 mothers and their children in Uganda. She noted that, attachment types were revealed upon reunion with the mother. In the USA in 1970, she developed a standard method; the ‘Strange Situation’ to experiment attachment. -
Burrhus F. Skinner (1904-1990) publishes Beyond Freedom and Dignity
B. F. S. (American psychologist; behaviourism; operating conditioning). He studied learning of rats & pigeons. S. developed the theory of o. c.: a type of conditioning in which an outcome depends on the actions of the animal. In o. c., the animal operates on the environment to create an outcome. Later in his career, S. sought to apply behaviourist principles to human bhvr. In 1971, he published Beyond Freedom and Dignity, arguing that behaviour could be shaped using behaviourist principles. -
Raymond Cattell (1905–1998) proposes the distinction between ‘fluid’ and ‘crystallised’ intelligence
R. C. is considered to be one of the leading figures in the history of personality and intelligence research. In his 1971 book Abilities: Their structure, growth and action, C. proposed the distinction between ‘fluid’ and ‘crystallised’ intelligence. Fluid intelligence refers to the ability to think logically and solve problems independent of acquired knowledge; crystallised intelligence refers to the ability to apply acquired skills, knowledge and experience to new situations. -
Daniel Kahneman (born 1934) proposes theory about limited attentional resources
D. K. is an Israeli psychologist best known for his work on heuristics and biases in reasoning – that is, the ways in which people make sense of things. Together with Amos Tversky, he demonstrated that people often show pronounced biases in estimating the probability that an event will occur. In 1973, K. put forward the idea that there is an inherent limit to human attentional resources and that our brains can only process a limited amount of information at any one time. -
Elizabeth Loftus (born 1944) publishes study on leading questions with John Palmer
E. L. (American psychologist; human memory, eyewitness testimony, the psychological aspects of courtroom procedure). In 1974, together with her colleague John Palmer, L. published an article that examined the way in which the phrasing of a question influences participants’ memories of an event. For example, participants were shown a video of a staged car collision and then asked if they had seen any broken glass. See results of 'hit' vs. 'smashed' in picture. -
Brian Bigelow and John La Gaipa publish their work on children’s friendship
Bigelow and La Gaipa are two Canadian psychologists who carried out pioneering research in 1974 on children’s friendship. They analysed almost 500 essays on friendship written by children and examined how the concept of friendship changes as children grow older. -
Video recorder invented
The first VCR systems were developed in Japan. The development and widespread availability of video cameras and players made recorded observation a widely available methodology for psychologists. In part, this was the result of affordability and transportability; videos were cheap and the equipment relatively unobtrusive. -
Lee Ross coins the term ‘fundamental attribution error’
Lee Ross is an influential American social psychologist who has studied attribution theory, attributional biases, decision making and conflict resolution. In 1977, Ross first coined the term ‘fundamental attribution error’ to describe the finding that people are predisposed towards attributing another person's behaviour to individual characteristics and attitudes, even when it is relatively clear the person's behaviour results from situational demands. -
BPS adopts its first code of ethics
The British Psychological Society published its first ethical principles for research with human subjects, with the aim of providing a guideline framework for psychological research -
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) developed
While work on developing the MRI scanner began in the 1950s, it wasn’t until 1980 that a group of Scottish scientists from the University of Aberdeen created the first scanner that could be used for clinical diagnosis. The MRI scanner works by creating a strong magnetic field around the area of the body being scanned. It then produces an image that can be used for clinical diagnosis or research. In psychology, MRI is used in the study of the structure of the brain. -
Birth of the personal computer
The first affordable personal computer was developed in 1981 by the company IBM. This made it possible to analyse large amounts of data reliably and conduct complex statistical tests, and also created new opportunities in the design of research. For example, computers made designing experiments much easier and cheaper: stimuli could be presented onscreen, reaction times could be measured in milliseconds, sophisticated flight and driving simulators could be created, etc. -
Lewis Goldberg proposes the Big Five theory of personality
Lewis Goldberg (born in 1932) is an American psychologist famous for proposing the ‘Big Five’ taxonomy of personality. In 1981, Goldberg identified five broad domains or dimensions used to describe human personality, namely extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and intellect. -
Bob Altemeyer revises the concept of authoritarianism
R. A. (born 1940) is an American psychologist who revived the interest in authoritarianism in the 1980s. In his 1981 book Right-wing Authoritarianism, A. rejected the ideas of psychoanalysis, which were central to the work of Adorno et al. (1950), and instead based his theory of right-wing authoritaria. on the idea of social learning. His theory posits that authoritarianism consists of three distinct characteristics: ‘authoritarian submissions’, ‘authoritarian aggression’ and ‘conventionalism’. -
William Corsaro publishes his ethnography of children’s friendships
William Corsaro is an American sociologist who applied the ethnographic approach to the study of children’s friendships. The essence of this approach is that the researcher becomes a member of the group they are studying and proceeds to explore the relationships and behaviours within the group. In 1985, Corsaro published the book Friendship and peer culture in the early years, in which he presented some of his research findings. -
UN adopts the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
The UN adopts the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states: ‘the child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding’. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall, which had separated East and West Berlin since 1961, came down on 9 November 1989. The date is widely regarded as marking the end of the Cold War and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. -
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) developed
Functional magnetic resonance imaging, or functional MRI (fMRI), is a procedure that uses MRI technology to measure brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow. The advantage of fMRI is that, rather than providing an image of the brain’s structure, it looks at functional changes in the brain during the performance of a task. Building on advances in MRI technology, the first fMRI was developed in 1990 by a team of Japanese scientists, led by Seiji Ogawa. -
Salovey and Mayer coin the term ‘emotional intelligence’
Two American psychologists, Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer, published an article which coined the term ‘emotional intelligence’. They defined it as: ‘a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action’. -
Cognitive interview technique developed in the UK
Drawing on the wealth of psychological research on human memory, two British psychologists, Ron Fisher and Ed Geiselman, developed the interviewing procedure known as the ‘cognitive interview’. It has since been incorporated into police training and is used within the NHS when incidents involving patient safety are investigated. T -
Paul Costa and Robert McCrae propose their five-factor theory of personality
In 1992, American psychologists Paul Costa and Robert McCrae proposed their influential theory of personality. Like the theory of Lewis Goldberg, it suggested that human personality comprises five basic factors, although these differed slightly to those in Goldberg’s theory. Costa and McCrae’s factors are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. -
Murder of Jamie Bulger in Merseyside, UK
Two-year-old James ‘Jamie’ Bulger was kidnapped and later killed by two 10-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables. The murder led to widespread speculation that the killers’ conduct was linked to exposure to violent films, such as Child’s Play. Although the link was unproven, the crime led to far-reaching debates about the link between media and violence. -
Newson Report on children and the media published
Elizabeth Newson, a British developmental psychologist, published the results of a report looking at the issue of negative media effects on children. The report argued that there is a link between watching violence on screen and aggressive behaviour but that, for reasons of ethics, it is not possible to conduct research that would establish a causal link. -
The Twins Early Development Study begins in the UK
One of the largest twin studies carried out in the UK started in this year. The study, led by Robert Plomin, includes all twins born in the UK between 1994 and 1996. -
APA establishes the task force on intelligence research
In 1994, the American Psychological Association (APA) established a special task force to produce a comprehensive, up-to-date report on the state of research on human intelligence. This unusual step was taken in response to growing controversy about claims being made in studies of intelligence. The task force concluded that there was little evidence to support the suggestion of genetic differences in intelligence between racial groups. -
Emergence of the internet
In 1995, the internet – a global system of interconnected computers – was fully commercialised in the US. This meant there were no longer any restrictions on what the internet could offer. As in most other areas of life, the internet has had a profound influence on psychology. -
Millennium Cohort Study begins in the UK
The Millennium Cohort Study is a longitudinal research project tracking the lives of 19,000 children born in the UK in 2000–01. It follows them through childhood into adulthood, with data collected on a wide range of issues including parenting, child care, child behaviour and cognitive development. -
Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) released
The Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) was first released in 2002. The test is designed to measure emotional intelligence as a separate skill from those tested by more conventional intelligence tests, since it is equally vital than 'brain' intelligence. The MSCEIT tests four subsets of emotional intelligence: perceiving emotion, using emotion, understanding emotion and managing emotion. -
Human Genome Project declared complete
The Human Genome Project, an international scientific research project with the goal of determining the sequence of the human DNA, was declared complete in 2003. Alongside new techniques for genetic sampling, the mapping of the human genome has also made possible further studies into the role of genetics in psychological characteristics. -
Facebook goes online
In 2004, the world’s largest social networking site went live. Initially used only by students at Harvard, Facebook quickly grew to become a global phenomenon. It currently has approximately one billion active users. -
Michael Rutter publishes work on attachment in adopted Romanian orphans
M. R. (born 1933) is a British child psychiatrist best known for his study of the effects of institutional care on attachment in children. Building on his earlier work on children who grew up in UK care homes, R. examined the progress of 111 children who grew up in appalling conditions in Romanian orphanages and were adopted by British couples. This research showed that even children who suffered extreme deprivation in early childhood can recover if they are adopted by a loving family. -
Tanya Byron Review on the effects of violent video games published
British psychologist T. B., conducted a review on the effects of violent video games on children. The B. Review, published in 2008, found that most empirical evidence focused on short-term effects and involved laboratory studies that might not generalize to the real world. It raised the issue of causality: do violent games cause aggression or do aggressive childs play violent games? Or are both influenced by a third factor? -
WAIS-IV released in the US
The fourth edition of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (the WAIS-IV) was released in 2008. This version introduced four subscales: verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory and the speed of processing. As well as calculating an overall IQ score, the WAIS-IV calculates four index scores: one for each subscale. -
John Raacke and Jennifer Bonds-Raacke publish work on online friendships
Raacke and Bonds-Raacke are two American psychologists who, in 2008, conducted a study on the then-new phenomenon of online friendships formed through networking websites like Facebook. They found that among the population of US students studied, online friendships were becoming increasingly important, but this development did not impede their ability to form and maintain offline relationships. -
Jerry Burger conducts replication of Milgram’s experiments
In 2009, American psychologist J. B. conducted a partial replication of the Milgram experiment on obedience in which participants believed they were administering shocks of up to 150 volts. The rationale, based on Milgram’s findings, was that bhve at 150 volts could be extrapolated further bhvr of participants (going to highest voltage). Burger found that almost half a century after Milgram’s studies, the number of participants obeying orders was similar to the original experiments.
