February 26 in Psychology

APA Historical Database: Selected Entries

On February 26:

1874 — The Library of Congress received its copy of the first issue of the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.

1883 — Erich R. Jaensch was born. Jaensch was a German psychologist who is best known for his studies of eidetic imagery. This work was later corrupted by shaping it to the requirements of Nazi ideology. Jaensch published hundreds of articles on visual and spatial perception.

1907 — John Bowlby was born. With the collaboration of Mary D. Salter Ainsworth, Bowlby's research and theory of the process of a child's attachment to a mother figure and the consequences of loss have exerted a significant influence on developmental psychology. APA Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, 1989.

1923 — The first annual meeting of the Council for Exceptional Children was held in Cleveland.

1968 — Walter Mischel's book Personality and Assessment was published.

1973 — The journal Animal Learning and Behavior was first published by the Psychonomic Society. Abram Amsel was the first editor of the journal.

1976 — The state of South Dakota adopted its psychologist licensure law.

1985 — In Ake v. Oklahoma, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, in cases in which a defendant's sanity may become an issue, he or she has a right to obtain psychiatric help in preparing an insanity defense. If necessary, the service must be provided at public expense. In this case, Glen B. Ake was accused of two murders and could not obtain a psychiatric evaluation.

1990 — By declining to review the cases of Ben-Shalom v. Stone and Woodward v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of the military to discharge gay or lesbian members of the armed forces.

1993 — APA Division 50 (Psychology of Addictive Behaviors; now called the Division on Addictions) was established by the APA Council of Representatives. Herbert Freudenberger chaired the group that petitioned for division status. Members of the Society for Psychologists in Addictive Behavior formed the core of the new division.

Copyright © 1995, American Psychological Association. Web version by permission. Source: Street, W. R. (1994). A Chronology of Noteworthy Events in American Psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. The American Psychological Association and Central Washington University have supported the development of the APA Historical Database.

Choose Another Day
How to Cite This Page in APA Style