August 12 in Psychology

APA Historical Database: Selected Entries

On August 12:

1884 - Lucile Dooley was born. Dooley was both a psychologist and psychiatrist. She specialized in the psychology of women and bipolar disorders.

1903 - Laurance F. Shaffer was born. Shaffer's interests were in theories of personality and adjustment and in clinical psychology. Shaffer served as director of the Psychological Corporation for many years. APA President, 1953.

1907 - Frederick A. Mote was born. Mote is best known for his studies of vision, including studies of adaptation to the dark and stereoscopic vision. He was involved in the development of selection tests for U.S. Navy personnel and studies of reinforcement and learning.

1942 - John A. McGeoch's book The Psychology of Human Learning was published.

1942 - Martin E. P. Seligman was born. Seligman is well-known for his studies of learned helplessness and the relation between helplessness and depressive mood disorder. His research on preparedness emphasizes genetic constraints on learning. APA Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution to Psychology, 1976; American Psychological Society William James Fellow, 1991; APA President, 1998.

1988 - The American Psychological Society (APS) was created from the Assembly for Scientific and Applied Psychology (ASAP), a group promoting the interests of scientific and academic psychology in the APA. Charles Kiesler was the first chair of the ASAP and Janet Taylor Spence the first ASAP president elected by the members that would become the APS. The vote for establishment was 419 to 13.

1988 - Andrew Young, civil rights advocate and mayor of Atlanta, delivered the invited address to the APA's annual meeting in Atlanta.

1989 - The Council of Undergraduate Psychology Programs (CUPP) was founded in New Orleans. Margaret Lloyd of Suffolk University headed the group, and Norine L. Jalbert of Western Connecticut State University succeeded her in 1991. CUPP was organized as the Council of Chairs and Directors of Undergraduate Psychology programs, but changed its name by the time of this founding meeting.

1990 - The first business meeting of the Council of Undergraduate Psychology Programs was held in Boston.

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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