The 10 essential women in the history of Psychology

Throughout history, many psychologists have influenced the development of the science of the human mind and behavior. It is common to talk about Watson, Skinner, Bandura, Freud, among others, the vast majority men. Unfortunately, the woman's voice has been silenced for many years, and her contributions were minimized or excluded from scientific circles.

But as Ann Johnson of St. Thomas University states, this changed in the 1960s and 1970s and in later years, new generations of female psychologists have begun to receive more recognition.

Psychologists have not had an easy road

Today 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 domain, and women who wanted to carve out a professional future as psychologists had to carve out a niche in a discipline that only accepted mens.

Luckily, hehe social and economic changes of this last century have allowed the growth of "female 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 obtained their doctorate in psychology, in 1974 22% of doctorates in psychology were for women, and in 1983 56% of psychologists.

The 10 most influential women in Psychology

It may seem normal now, but many of these women faced long-standing discrimination, obstacles and difficulties. In today's article, and in honor of all these women, we have compiled a list of female psychologists who have made important and innovative contributions in 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 memory study. For 60 years she has contributed to the knowledge of how the brain works. She to this day continues to teach and direct research at the Montreal Neurological Institute She (Canada) and, in addition, she is a professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at the University of McGill.

Brenda Milner is famous for studying her in the case of the patient H.M. He this was a young man who had suffered from very serious epileptic seizures since he was 10 years old. Desperate, he went to see Dr. Scoville and agreed to undergo experimental surgery in which his medial temporal lobes on both sides were removed. Her seizures were greatly reduced, but she was affected with anterograde amnesia, the inability to save new events in long-term memory. Brenda Milner began working with H. M., conducting a series of experiments designed to assess memory and her learning ability. What she was observing eventually led to a revolutionary discovery: she found that H. M. she steadily improved from day to day on testing, despite the fact that she had no recollection of ever doing those things before. In other words, the patient was learning new skills effectively despite having no recollection of doing 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 point on. In addition to this monumental finding, Milner identified the role played by the hippocampus and the medial area of ​​the temporal lobe in explicit memory and contributed the first memory storage data implicit.

2. Virginia Satir

Virginia Satir (1916-1988) is known for her work as an exceptional therapist, and she is one of the most important people in the Systemic Family Therapy. Virginia Satir believed that people are equipped with the capacity for growth, transformation and continuing education. Her methodology not only combined the interactive and intrapsychic elements of modern therapy, but she strived to create an improvement in the quality of communication and relationships within the structure of the family.

Satir's Systemic Transformation Therapy works to address a client's actions, emotions, and perceptions that are related to her 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 trauma and injuries 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 pioneered the developmental psychology and is possibly best known for her research on the behavior of babies in the "strange situation" and her contribution to Attachment Theory.

This theory, first developed by John Bowlby, is essential in any introductory book on developmental psychology. Ainsworth identified three attachment styles that children have with their parents and caregivers. In a 2002 ranking of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century, Ainsworth was ranked 97th among the most frequently cited psychologists.

It may interest you: "The 10 most important and influential psychologists in history"

4. Elisabeth loftus

Elizabeth loftus (1944) is one of the most influential and controversial psychologists. She is famous for her research on the reliability of repressed memories and she is a pivotal figure in cognitive psychology. With her work he has made an enormous contribution to psychology and opened the debate on a controversial aspect of psychology and memory. During the 70s, Loftus published a collection of influential studies on the fallibility of witness testimonies in the judicial sphere. At first, her contributions did not have much impact, but today her work is beginning to leave its mark.

The controversial side of her investigations is based on the role she has played in the cases of accusation of abuse sexuality in childhood based on the recovery of memories, which made her person the object of demands and threats of death. Her research on the use of 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. With her husband Fritz perls and Paul Goodman developed Gestalt Therapy in the 1940s, a therapeutic model humanist-existentialist which was originally designed as an alternative to psychoanalysis conventional. Gestalt therapy experts use experiential and creative techniques to enhance the patient's self-awareness, freedom, and self-direction.

If you want to know more about Gestalt Therapy, you can visit our article: "Gestalt therapy: what is it and on what principles is it based?”

6. Leda Cosmides

Leda Cosmides (1957) she 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 obtained her doctorate in cognitive psychology. Cosmides was a member of the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciencesher, before transferring to the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she has been on the faculty since 1991.

In 1988 she won the Behavioral Science Research Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in 1993 she 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 J. H. Barkow and J. Tooby. This text he is recognized as one of the most important of the moment in his field, both for establishing the theoretical and methodological principles that serve as the basis for evolutionary psychology, and for its importance in the field of application.

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, because she was a pioneer in the field of child psychoanalysis and she extended the concept of defense mechanisms which are set in motion to adjust the id drives to the demands of the superego.

He was especially interested in communication problems between therapists. Her contributions were eminently practical, the result of her experience the Hampstead Child Therapy Clinic in London. She did many scientific works and helped found the annual publication of the Psychoanalytic Study of the Child in 1945. Her main work is "The self and defense mechanisms" (1936), which has become a classic of the psychoanalysis.

8. Mary Whiton Calkins

Mary Whiton Calkins (1863 - 1930) was an American psychologist who became the first female president of the American Psychological Association (APA). Despite graduating in philosophy, she became an influential figure in the development of early psychology, she especially the psychology of the self, 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 some seminary at Harvard University, the center refused to award her title because she was a woman.

9. Melanie Klein

Melanie Klein (1882 - 1960) was born in Vienna in and was an Austrian psychologist known for creating a therapeutic technique called "Game Therapy". His initial intention was to attend medical school, but she became a well known psychoanalyst.

She met Sigmund Freud for the first time in 1918 at the International Psychoanalytic Congress in Budapest (Hungary), and inspired him to write her first article on psychoanalysis called "The Development of a Child". This experience was a motivation to continue linked to this current of psychology and she began to dedicate herself to psychological therapy. The Kleinian school is one of the most famous in the school of psychoanalysis.

10. Margaret Floy Washburn

Margaret Floy Washburn (1871-1939) she was a pioneer in her time because she will always be remembered for being the first woman to get a doctorate in psychology.

She received her Ph.D. in 1984 and her 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 preside over the American Psychological Association (APA) after Mary Whiton Calkins.