When psychology was first recognized as a science, detached from biology and philosophy, the dispute over how

to describe and / or explain the human mind and its behavior began. Structuralism became known as the first school of thought, at that time. Some of the ideas that were related with the structuralism school were advocated by Wilhelm Wundt. Wilhelm Wundt was also the founder of the first psychology lab. One

of Wundt's students, and a man named Edward B. Titchener, would afterward go on to formally create and name structuralism, even though he did not follow or believe several of Wundt's ideas. Almost instantaneously other theories surfaced to go up against the supremacy in psychology. In reply to structuralism, an American perspective emerged under the authority of thinkers such as Charles Darwin and William James. In 1906, Mary Whiton Calkins published an article in the Psychological Review asking for a resolution between these two schools of thought. Structuralism and functionalism were and still are pretty much the same, she argued, since both are primarily related with the conscious self. Regardless of the fact of this, many slanderous remarks continued to be spread by both sides. William James wrote that structuralism had plenty of school, but no thought. In the mean time, while Wilhelm Wundt dismissed functionalism as literature. Ultimately both of these schools of thought lost supremacy in psychology, and was replaced by the rise of these three schools of thought; behaviorism, psychoanalysis, and humanism. Even though psychology of today shows the disciplines affluent and varied history,

the beginning of psychology is drastically diverse from the up to date conceptions of the field. In order to expand a full perceptive of psychology, you will need to spend some time researching psychologys history and origins. When you first read numerous introductions to psychology history, the very first thing that you may become aware of is the fact that there are comparatively few women that are mentioned. The assistance of the numerous of psychology's most renowned female thinkers have long been ignored. That is starting to vary as more history texts begin to be aware of women; such as Mary Whiton Calkin, Karen Horney, Mary Ainsworth, Leta Hollingworth and Christine Ladd Franklin. The previously mentioned females are just a small number of the women who have made a mark on the roots of psychology. Mary Whiton Calkins is perhaps best known to be the first woman president of the American Psychological Association. She has made countless contributions to the field of psychology as well. She studied at Harvard University with famous teachers including Hugo Munsterberg, and William James. In spite of the fact that she completed all of the necessities for a doctorate degree in psychology, Harvard University refused to allow her to obtain her degree basically because she was a woman. Mary Whiton Calkins was best known for her interest in self psychology, first and foremost. She was also know for her invention of the paired associate technique and becoming the first women to become the APA President. Mary Whiton Calkin was born on March 30th in the year of 1863, in Hartford Connecticut. Mary Whiton Calkins started college at Smith College in 1882 as a sophomore. In 1983 after the death of her sister, she took a 1 year long break from

school, but she continued to study at home through private lessons. During that year, Mary tutored two of her brothers and she also studied Greek. She then returned to Smith College with as a senior standing to Smith College in 1884 where she graduated with a concentration in classics and philosophy. Soon after finishing her undergraduate work with a concentration in Philosophy and Classics in 1885, Mary spent about one year traveling parts of Europe. She traveled partly with her family and the rest of the time she spent traveling with Abby Leach. Abby Leach was a close friend of Marys and a teacher from Vassar College. For the duration of the time that they spent there, they visited Italy and Greece, along with other places of interest. Mary then began teaching as a Greek tutor at Wellesley College in 1887. Wellesley College was a liberal arts college for women. She was then approached by a professor in the Philosophy department, and asked by the professor if she would consider teaching a new sub discipline of Philosophy called Psychology. Mary decided to rise to this challenge with the condition being that she would be able to study for one year in a psychology program. In order for her to teach psychology classes, she needed to study psychology for at least one year. The complexity with this was that there were few psychology programs that were available at the time, and even less that would accept women as applicants. She originally thought about studying abroad, but discarded that idea. The distance and not having of a psychology lab stopped her from attending programs at Yale and the University of Michigan. Women, during this time were not treated equally, and although Mary had much support from her family members, some of the male professors, and all of her friends, she still had a complicated time getting the

education that she desired. Three years later in 1890 and after being invited by William James to sit in on some of his lectures at Harvard University, Calkins formally requested that she be allowed to sit in on his lectures. She was, in the beginning, refused by the administration of Harvard University, but both her father and the President of Wellesley College, at that time, wrote to Harvard University on her behalf. The request was finally approved in 1890, even though the University records stated that "by accepting this privilege, Miss Calkins does not become a student of the University and was not permitted to be registered. While she was at Harvard University, she attended lectures given by two of the most influential professors at that time, William James and Josiah Royce. She also was introduced to and studied experimental psychology with Dr. Edmund Sanford of Clark University. Soon after in 1892 Calkins was admitted to Harvard University as a "guest," and five years later in 1895 Calkins presented a thesis to the Harvard University faculty, but was ultimately denied a degree. Still engrossed in pursuing her psychology studies, Calkins once again requested that she be allowed to study at Harvard University with Hugo Munsterberg. Her appeal was granted in 1892, but with the stipulation that she be admitted only as a guest, and not as a student. In 1895, she offered her thesis, which was investigational research on the involvement of ideas, to a graduate committee board that included William James, Josiah Royce, and Hugo Munsterberg. In spite of the undisputed approval from the thesis committee, Harvard University still refused to award Calkins the degree that she had

earned. At Harvard University, Calkins made up the paired associate task, which implicated the showing of study participants a series of paired colors and numerals, and then testing memories of which number had been paired with which color. This procedure was used to study memory and was later published by Titchener, who then claimed credit for the procedures development. Later on in that same year, Calkins came back to Wellesley College where she continued to teach until her retirement in 1927. During the path of her career, Calkins wrote over one hundred expert papers on the topics in psychology and philosophy. In addition to this she was also the first woman president of the American Psychological Association, and Calkins also served as the president of the American Philosophical Association in 1918. Along with her major assistance and contributions to psychology, is the invention of the paired associate's procedures and her occupation in self psychology. Calkins also believed that the conscious self was the most important focus of psychology. Despite Mary Whiton Calkins assistance, Harvard University maintained its refusal to award her the degree she earned, and her influence on psychology was often disregarded by both scholars and students. Mary Whiton Calkins is in all probability best known as the first woman president of the American Psychological Association, but she has made many more contributions to the field of psychology as well. Her experiences symbolize the complicatedness and discrimination faced by many of the women in the early days of psychology. In spite of satisfying the necessities of a doctoral degree and receiving undisputed approval from a

thesis committee that included William James, Josiah Royce and Hugo Munsterberg, Harvard refused to award Calkins her degree just because she was a woman. Despite the consequences of this, Calkins went on to have a successful and significant career in psychology. She invented the paired-associate technique, contributed to dream research, advocated self psychology, and had written more than 100 professional papers on topics of both psychology and philosophy. During psychology's somewhat short lived history, there have been many famous psychologists who have left their mark both on psychology and on the world at large. Although several of these individuals do not essentially fit today's characterization of a 'psychologist', a word which indicates a doctoral level degree in psychology, their influence on psychology is without question. In addition to her position as the president of APA, Calkins was also ranked 12th, in 1908, on a list of several other well known psychologists in the United States. Even Columbia University and Smith College presented her with positions as a faculty member, but she courteously turned them down due to the longing to remain close to her family. Fascinatingly, there is no information on whether Calkins was ever in a romantic relationship or if she ever expressed a desire to start a family of her own. Mary Whiton Calkins was without a doubt a woman that was way before her time. Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, this woman set forth the effort and willpower to become someone that will encourage others and help to advance the new science of Psychology. Being a woman during this time and era did not make life easier, but that did not hold back Calkins from setting her goals, reaching her goals and speaking up about womens rights. Although Mary was born in Hartford, Connecticut on March 30, 1863, she grew up in Buffalo, New York with her close knit family. Her father was a

Presbyterian minister in Buffalo, New York, but in 1880 he became part of a Congregational church in Newton, Massachusetts where the family then moved and resided permanently until Marys death. Mary had four younger siblings to whom they all had a close knit relationship. With a life full of purpose, determination and success, Mary Whiton Calkins died in 1929 from cancer, leaving behind a career of teaching and tutoring spanning forty-two years and ever lasting impressions on all those in which she encountered. Contributions to Psychology: Calkins, Mary Whiton. (1892). Experimental Psychology at Wellesley College. American Journal of Psychology, 5, 464-271. Calkins, Mary Whiton (1908a). Psychology as science of self. I: Is the self body Or has it body? Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods, 5, 12-20. Calkins, Mary Whiton. (1915). The self in scientific psychology. American Journal of Psychology, 26, 495-524. Calkins, Mary Whiton. (1930). Autobiography of Mary Whiton Calkins. In C. Murchison (Ed.), History of psychology in autobiography (Vol. 1, pp. 31-62). Worcester, MA: Clark University Press.(about.com, 2011, Cherry, K.).

REFERENCE: 1. DR.Bradley, M, E., n.d. http://faculty.frostburg.edu/mbradley/psyography/marywhitoncalkins.html

2. Cherry, K., 2011 http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/bio_marycalkins.htm