Mary Whiton Calkins' Influence on Psychology

Mary Whiton Calkins was an American psychologist and the first female president of the American Psychological Association. While she completed the requirements for a doctorate degree in psychology from Harvard, the university refused to award her a degree because she was a woman. In spite of this, she became an influential figure in the development of early psychology and taught many students through her position at Wellesley College.

Best Known For

• Self-psychology
• Creation of paired-associate technique
• First woman APA President

Timeline

• March 30, 1863 - Born in Hartford, Connecticut
• 1884 - Graduated from Smith College
• 1887 - Began teaching Greek at Wellesley College
• 1890 - Began attending lectures at Harvard taught by William James and Josiah Royce
• 1892 - Admitted to Harvard as a "guest"
• 1895 - Presented thesis to Harvard faculty, but was denied a degree
• 1927 - Retired from Wellesley College
• February 26, 1930 - Died of cancer

Early Years

Mary Whiton Calkins entered Smith College as a sophomore in 1882. She took a year long-break from school in 1883 when her sister died, but she continued to study through private lessons. Calkins returned to Smith College in 1884 and graduated with a concentration in classics and philosophy.

Calkins' Pursuit of Psychology

After graduating from Smith College, Mary Whiton Calkins was hired to teach Greek at Wellesley College. She had been teaching at Wellesley for three years when she was offered a position teaching in the new area of psychology.

In order to teach in psychology, she needed to study the subject for at least one year. This was difficult because there were few psychology programs available at the time, and even fewer that would accept female applicants. She initially considered studying abroad but abandoned the idea. Distance and lack of a psychology lab dissuaded her from attending programs at Yale and the University of Michigan.

After being invited by William James to attend some of his psychology lectures at Harvard, Calkins sent a formal request to the University to sit in on these lectures. She was initially refused by the administration, but both her father and the president of Wellesley College wrote to Harvard on her behalf. The request was approved in 1890, although university records noted "by accepting this privilege Miss Calkins [did] not become a student of the University entitled to registration" (Furumoto, 1980).

At Harvard, Calkins attended lectures given by William James and Josiah Royce and studied experimental psychology with Dr. Edmund Sanford of Clark University. Still interested in pursuing her psychology studies, Calkins again requested that she be allowed to study at Harvard with Hugo Munsterberg. Her request was granted in 1892, but with the same provision that she was admitted only as a guest, not as a student.

Career

At Harvard, Calkins invented the paired-associate task which involved showing study participants a series of paired colors and numerals, then testing recollections of which number had been paired with which color. The technique was used to study memory and was later published by Edward B. Titchener, who claimed credit for its development.

In 1895, Calkins presented her thesis, An experimental research on the association of ideas, to a graduate committee that included William James, Josiah Royce, and Hugo Munsterberg. Despite unanimous approval from the thesis committee, Harvard still refused to grant Calkins the degree she had earned.

Later that same year, Calkins returned to Wellesley College where she continued to teach until her retirement in 1927.

Calkins' Contributions to Psychology

Over the course of her career, Calkins wrote over a hundred professional papers on psychological and philosophical topics. In addition to being the first woman president of the American Psychological Association, Calkins also served as president of the American Philosophical Association in 1918.

Despite Mary Whiton Calkins' contributions, Harvard maintains its refusal to grant Calkins the degree she earned. Her influence on psychology is often overlooked by both scholars and students.

Selected Works

Calkins, Mary Whiton. (1892). Experimental Psychology at Wellesley College. American Journal of Psychology, 5, 464-271.

Calkins, Mary Whiton (1908a). Psychology as Science of Self. I: Is the Self Body or Has It Body? Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods, 5, 12-20.

Calkins, Mary Whiton. (1915). The Self in Scientific Psychology. American Journal of Psychology, 26, 495-524.

Calkins, Mary Whiton. (1930). Autobiography of Mary Whiton Calkins. In C. Murchison (Ed.), History of psychology in autobiography (Vol. 1, pp. 31-62). Worcester, MA: Clark University Press.