APA Historical Database: Selected Entries

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On March 4:

1784 — King Louis XVI appointed a royal commission to study Franz Mesmer's cures using "animal magnetism." The commission, formed at Mesmer's urging, was chaired by Benjamin Franklin, included chemist Antoine Lavoisier, and was charged with examining the scientific validity of Mesmer's methods.

1888 — Howard Long was born. Long, an early African American psychologist, earned his PhD under G. Stanley Hall in 1916. He published several research monographs in educational psychology and was assistant superintendent for educational research for the Washington, DC, public schools for 23 years.

1906 — Dorothea A. McCarthy was born. McCarthy was a child clinical psychologist with a special interest in language development in children. She devised the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities.

1916 — Hans Eysenck was born. Eysenck's factor-analytic theory of personality had as its main components the factors of Introversion/Extraversion and Stability/Instability. His noteworthy 1952 review of studies of the effectiveness of psychotherapy concluded that many studies were scientifically inadequate and that well-controlled studies revealed weak or no benefits of therapy.

1946 — The drug Benadryl (diphenhydramine; Parke-Davis) was approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Diphenhydramine is primarily prescribed as an antihistamine but is used in mental health settings as an antianxiety treatment and to combat drug-induced Parkinsonism created by other antipsychotic and antianxiety medication.

1965 — The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science was first published, with Goodwin Watson as the editor. The journal was published by the National Training Laboratory.

1981 — The Federation of Behavioral, Psychological, and Cognitive Sciences was incorporated in Washington, DC as a non-profit corporation. The federation sponsors an educational and legislative program that represents the interests of psychologists to the federal government.

1983 — The American Board of Professional Psychology voted to offer diplomate status in the fields of clinical neuropsychology and psychoanalysis.

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