Margaret Floy Washburn
First U.S. woman to earn a PhD in psychology.
She was best known for her experimental work in animal behavior and motor theory development.
- field
- Psychology
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Experimental work in animal behavior, motor theory development, first U.S. woman to earn PhD in psychology
Lore & Background
Born in New York City and raised in Harlem, Washburn was an only child who learned to read before starting school at age 7. She graduated high school at 15 and entered Vassar College as a preparatory student due to lack of Latin and French. At Vassar, she developed an interest in philosophy and was first introduced to psychology. Cattell encouraged her to pursue a PhD at Cornell University, where she studied under E. B. Titchener. She owned two cats, Hiram and a later cat purchased in a New York City pet shop. She never married, devoting herself to her career and the care of her parents.
Reader's Guide
Margaret Floy Washburn was a major figure in early 20th-century American psychology, substantially adding to the development of psychology as a science and scholarly profession. Washburn drew on ideas from behaviorism, structuralism, functionalism, and Gestalt psychology, but rejected psychodynamic theories as too ephemeral. She served as editor for several major psychology journals. In current psychology research, echoes of her insistence that behavior is part of thinking can be seen in dynamic systems approaches to cognition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Margaret Floy Washburn?
Margaret Floy Washburn was an American psychologist active in the early 1900s, recognized for her experimental research on animal behavior and her contributions to motor theory. She made history as the first woman in the United States to complete a doctoral degree in psychology.
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