May 13 in Psychology

APA Historical Database: Selected Entries

On May 13:

1893 — Henry A. Murray was born. Murray assisted Morton Prince in founding of the Harvard Psychological Clinic (1927). His book Explorations in Personality (1938) was an early empirical study of personality. Murray developed his personality theory of needs and presses through work with the Thematic Apperception Test. APA Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, 1961.

1910 — Peter A. Bertocci was born. Bertocci was a philosophical psychologist whose "personalism" encouraged confrontation with the moral, ethical, and emotional demands of being fully human. He actively promoted the roles of education and counseling in the pursuit of realizing one's human potential.

1918 — Edwin Shneidman was born. Shneidman has been a pioneer in the scientific study of suicide and in the training of suicide prevention specialists. He was a cofounder of the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center (1952) and founder of the American Association of Suicidology (1968). APA Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions, 1987.

1925 — Carolyn Robertson Payton was born. Payton was a field assessment officer for trainees serving in the Peace Corps and eventually became the first woman director of the Peace Corps. Her interests were in minority issues, clinical psychology, and industrial/organizational psychology. APA Distinguished Professional Contributions Award, 1982.

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.

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