Most of the time, people cite renown and well established men like Erick Erickson, Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, and Wilhelm Wundt as the significant contributors to the vast field of psychology. They usually spring to mind first because their theories have been vastly studied.
As much as they deserve their due credit, however, it should be realized that they never singlehandedly led to the creation of the field of psychology. In the history of psychology between the years 1850 and 1950, many women struggled with the limited education and freedom they had to make their mark in bringing about the field of psychology.
Although most of their contributions are usually overlooked, they were able to beat the odds in a field, which was mostly dominated by men, to give defining opinions when psychology was in its developmental stages. One such woman, who demands attention over all the others, is Mary Whiton Calkins (1863-1930).
Calkins, a philosopher and a psychologist, is maybe well known for her achievement in becoming the first woman president of the American Psychological Association, an accomplishment that was difficult to attain during her time.
It is sad to note that the road to realizing this accomplishment was marked by several hindrances as well as discriminatory practices. On March 30, 1863, Mary Whiton Calkins, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to a close-knit family of Wolcott Calkins and Charlotte Whiton Calkins (Waithe, 1995, p. 103). She was the firstborn in a family of five kids.
The family stayed in Buffalo, New York, during most of her youthful years. Waithe notes that “in 1880, when she was seventeen years old, her father, who was a Presbyterian minister, found another job in Newton, Massachusetts” (1995, p. 103). Consequently, the family moved to the new place, which became her home for the rest of her life. Since education for women did not receive much recognition during that time, her family closely monitored and designed her educational career.
Upon graduation from Newton High School, she was admitted to Smith College in 1882 to undertake her studies; however, one year later, with the death of her sister, she started to take private lessons.
Calkins re-entered the institution two years later and after completing her studies in classics and philosophy, her family went to Europe for sixteen months. She took the opportunity to increase her knowledge of the classics. When the family came back from the trip, Mary’s father talked with the administration of Wellesley College for her to commence working as a tutor in the institution.
Calkins then started to teach in 1887 in the Greek Department for three years. Nonetheless, a professor in the Department of Psychology noticed her excellent skills in tutoring. The College Board then approached her and asked her to become a tutor in the newly established Department of Psychology. However, she was asked to find an institution so that she could learn psychology for at least one year.
During that time, few options were available for women who wanted to expand their knowledge in psychology. After looking for a place in various universities, she settled on Harvard where the brilliant Josiah Royce and William James taught her. However, she was allowed to study at the institution with her male peers as an unofficial “guest” but nothing more.
This happened after James, Royce, and her father persuaded the Harvard officials to allow her take the regular classes. In the following years, she continued to demonstrate her excellence in the field of psychology and labored together with other psychologists in instituting the first psychology lab at the institution where she was teaching.
Calkins continued to work more on graduate work and in 1894, Harvard officials refused to admit her as a Ph.D. candidate. On the other hand, she turned down a Ph.D. offer from Radcliffe, Harvard’s institution for women. This is because it was not related to her major studies.
Calkins’ most well known theoretical perspective is the concept of self-psychology, which she defines as the study of conscious persons or selves (Calkins, 1930). This concept came after spending many years in trying to define the idea of self and it was sparked after studying William James’ new book called the Principles of Psychology. Calkins’ argument in self-psychology is founded on the aspects of the subject, the object, and the association linking the subject and the object (Hilgard, 1987). She argued that all consciousness is personal.
Moreover, she stated that it was difficult to define the “self.” This is because these attributes or associations are most of the time in flux and are exceptional to each person. She differentiated self-psychology from other aspects of psychology, for example, psychological atomism. She reasoned that the other forms lacked a conscious self-component.
She embraced similar sentiments just like her teacher James by contending that each person’s continuous scrutiny of the self by means of perception and connection fulfilled the main purpose of the mind. Her theories of self-psychology were not simply an intellectual conviction.
However, she emphasized on their ethical relevance as well. Even though her arguments received a hostile reception in the academic atmosphere of her time, she did not relent in supporting these arguments. This was largely due to her strong moral views concerning human interconnection.
The difficulties she faced while pursuing further education shaped most of her views concerning several sexist beliefs. As an advocate for the rights of women, she strongly went up against the idea that females were intellectually inferior to males. All through her career, Calkins expressed those views.
Over the course of her career, Calkins made significant contributions to the field of psychology (Hilgard, 1987). Even though the authorities at Harvard refused to recognize her doctorate work officially, she successfully performed many experiments on association and memory by employing numbers and colors.
Calkins extensively studied the influence of frequency, primacy, and vividness on associative memory and found out that frequency was the most essential element in efficient memory association, and the tasks that she invented are called the paired-associate techniques.
In 1891, while teaching in the Philosophy Department at Wellesley, she assisted in setting up a psychology laboratory for training hundreds of students. With over forty years of academic achievements, she wrote many books based on her thoughts on both philosophy and psychology. Waithe notes “Calkins became the first woman president of the American Psychological Association in 1905” (1995, p.104). Moreover, she also became the president of the American Philosophical Association in 1918.
Calkins is renowned for her remarkable achievements in the field of psychology and her great efforts to be successful. Because of the assistance she received from her father and her mentors, she received education that was far beyond the standards of the time. Even though she died in 1930 from cancer, the life of Calkins disapproved the old theories of intellectual inferiority of females.
Reference List
Calkins, M. W. (1930). A history of psychology in autobiography (Vol. 1, pp. 31-62). Worcester, MA: Clark University Press.
Hilgard, E. R. (1987). Psychology in America: A historical survey. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Waithe, M. E. (1995). A history of women philosophers 4 contemporary women philosophers, 1900 –today. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.