Student Resources History and Biographies The Life and Work of Psychologist James McKeen Cattell By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book." Learn about our editorial process Updated on October 18, 2023 Fact checked Verywell Mind content is rigorously reviewed by a team of qualified and experienced fact checkers. Fact checkers review articles for factual accuracy, relevance, and timeliness. We rely on the most current and reputable sources, which are cited in the text and listed at the bottom of each article. Content is fact checked after it has been edited and before publication. Learn more. by James Lacy Fact checked by James Lacy James Lacy, MLS, is a fact-checker and researcher. Learn about our editorial process Print Image courtesy Library of Congress Table of Contents View All Table of Contents Early Life Career Contributions to Psychology Selected Publications Trending Videos Close this video player James McKeen Cattell was the first psychology professor in the United States, teaching at the University of Pennsylvania. During those early days, psychology was often regarded as a lesser science and was often even viewed as a pseudoscience. Cattell is credited with helping established psychology's legitimacy as a science thanks to his focus on quantitative methods of research could be viewed as more objective, repeatable, and scientific than other ideas of what psychology was at the time. These are issues that the field of psychology is still grappling with today. Cattell was also the founder and editor of a number of scientific journals including The Psychological Review. Early Life James McKeen Cattell was the oldest child born to a wealthy family in Pennsylvania on May 25, 1860. His father, William, was a Presbyterian minister who later became the president of Lafayette College. His uncle was Alexander Gilmore Cattell, a U.S. Senator for New Jersey. Cattell attended Lafayette College starting at age 16 where he studied English literature. He later graduated with an M.A. degree. After visiting Germany for graduate study, Cattell met Wilhelm Wundt, commonly called the father of psychology, and developed an interest in the subject. After a brief stint studying at John Hopkins University, Cattell returned to Germany to serve as Wundt's assistant. Cattell went on to publish the first psychology dissertation by an American. Career Cattell was awarded his Ph.D. in 1886 and became a lecturer at the University of Cambridge. He returned to the United States to teach psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and later at Columbia University. In 1895, he became the President of the American Psychological Association, which had been founded only a few years earlier in 1892. Cattell was later fired from his position at Columbia over his public opposition to U.S. involvement in World War I. He later won a lawsuit against the university and, with the money he was awarded by courts, founded the Psychological Corporation with Edward L. Thorndike, considered the founder of modern educational psychology, and Robert S. Woodworth. The corporation was one of the largest creators and administrators of mental tests. Contributions to Psychology Early in its history, psychology was often viewed as a lesser science or even a pseudoscience. As Cattell explained in his 1895 APA address: "In the struggle for existence that obtains among the sciences psychology is continually gaining ground.... The academic growth of psychology in America during the past few years is almost without precedent.... Psychology is a required subject in the undergraduate curriculum ..., and among university courses psychology now rivals the other leading sciences in the number of students attracted and in the amount of original work accomplished." Cattell is an important figure in psychology thanks to research on intelligence, his use of quantitative methods and his focus on establishing psychology as a legitimate science. Cattell was fundamental in establishing several major psychology journals including The Psychological Review, Science and Popular Science Monthly, which later went on to become Popular Science. While other names in the field of psychology have perhaps became more well-known, Cattell remains a key foundational figure in the psychological fields of study in the United States. Cattell died on January 20, 1944 at the age of 83. Selected Publications Below are a number of Cattell's published works: Cattell, J. M. (1890). Mental tests and measurements. Mind, 15, 373-380.Cattell, J. M. (1903). Statistics of American psychologists. American Journal of Psychology, 14, 310-328.Cattell, J. M. (1904). The conceptions and methods of psychology. Popular Science Monthly, 66, 176-186. Sources Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Cattell, James McKeen in Venn, J. & J. A., Alumni Cantabrigienses, Cambridge University Press, 10 vols, 1922-1958. Cattell, J. M. (1896). Address of the president before the American Psychological Association, 1895. Psychological Review, 3 (2), 1-15. Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia (1995) Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc. By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book." 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