Wilhelm Wundt, the forgotten father of modern psychology

Wilhelm Wundt's place in the history of psychology

While ancient philosophers considered the central problems of psychology, it was Wilhelm Wundt who first called himself one. Here's a quick video overview of his contribution.

William James laid the foundation for psychology as a scientific discipline in the US

Though initially trained in painting, James would help establish Harvard's psychology department as a distinct science rather than an extension of philosophy. He taught one of the first psychology courses in America and is credited as one of the founders of American Pragmatism.

The basics of behaviorism and its founder John B. Watson

Watson believed he could use classical conditioning to shape the behavior of infants toward positive outcomes, culminating in his famous "Little Albert" experiment. Here's a quick overview of his life and thought.

Who was Freud and what did he say?

Sigmund Freud is one of the most famous psychologists and is widely cited—but do you really know the basics of what he taught? Here's a super brief breakdown of his major insights.

What is psychology? An overview

What is psychology and why should we study it? This short video from Macat explains how the subject has developed over the years and introduces some of the key thinkers and ideas.

Browse and explore dozens of major psychology theories

There are a ton of different psych theories—so here's a breakdown of some of the major ones according to the general psychological focus.

Socrates is considered by many the father of Western philosophy

We know Socrates mostly through the writings of Plato, one of his admirers. Plato's dialogues typically feature Socrates as the main speaker. His penetrating look at life's most important subjects—from the nature of justice and knowledge to the existence of gods—made him many enemies, and even led to his execution.

Carl Jung proposed the controversial idea of the 'collective unconscious'—all humans share a common psychic realm.

For most of recorded history dreams were considered divine in origin.

Frank Lloyd Wright is known as a brilliant, prolific architect with a turbulent personality and life

Frank Lloyd Wright’s childhood was colored by Unitarianism, a nomadic lifestyle, his parents’ divorce, and financial difficulties. By his death, Wright was known as one of America’s most influential architects and left behind a legacy of thoughtful writings, modern architectural principles, an esteemed fellowship program, and countless masterpieces.

What is psychoanalysis?

This nine-minute video, the first of a four-part series, seeks to answer the questions: what is psychoanalysis, and is it weird? The answer to the latter question is overwhelmingly yes. The answer to the first question is a bit...

'There cannot be mental atrophy in any person who continues to observe, to remember what he observes, and to seek answers for his unceasing hows and whys about things.'

-Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922)

Walter Camp shaped the rules that transformed football into the modern game

Known as the “Father of American Football,” Walter Camp introduced key innovations in the 1880s—such as the line of scrimmage, the system of downs, and the snap—that distinguished football from rugby and defined its modern structure.

Existentialism has been used as a therapeutic tool

Psychologists became interested in existentialism in the 1940s, with two Swiss psychiatrists—Ludwig Binswanger and Medard Boss—particularly taken with Martin Heidegger’s “Being and Time.” The existential approach to therapy emphasized a patient’s personhood and experiences, using them to help that patient face their problems head-on.

Meet Frederick Terman: Stanford University professor and the 'Father of Silicon Valley'

Stanford University professor Frederick Terman used to encourage his students to start their own tech companies. His advice led to the creation of Hewlett-Packard. He also established the Stanford Research Park, which helped develop many successful tech companies today. Terman is often called the "Father of Silicon Valley," because his ideology directly shaped the region's development.

Why Bauhaus—the 20th-century design school and aesthetic movement—matters today

The school, founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar, Germany, in 1919, was an experimental educational environment that valued the function of an object before its form, a philosophy that would animate the rise of minimalist and modernist design in the 20th century.

Diving into the life of Henry David Thoreau

Before he went to live in the woods by Walden Pond, Thoreau (who originally went by David Henry) lived a fascinating life, opening a school with his brother, working for his father's pencil-making business, and becoming close to Ralph Waldo Emerson, who'd become a mentor figure for the aspiring writer. This deep profile explores all that and more.

Read the original 1907 paper on the first known Alzheimer's patient

Alzheimer's disease was first identified by Dr. Alois Alzheimer in 1901, following a postmortem brain examination of a patient experiencing memory loss and other symptoms. Alzheimer's original paper was largely lost until 1995, when an English translation was published in a medical journal.

The term schizophrenia was coined by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler in 1908

He launched the word during a lecture at the German Psychiatric Association in Berlin. In his talk he focused on the splitting of psychic functioning as a defining feature of the disease and noted it wasn't associated with dementia or factors like early puberty onset.

'The Father of Positive Psychology' gives tips on building resilience

People differ in how they respond to setbacks. Famed psychologist Martin Seligman outlines three key pillars for resilience: developing mental toughness by interpreting failures as external and temporary, recognizing and using one’s signature strengths, and cultivating strong relationships that offer support and meaning.

A full crash course in psychology

This 40-episode crash course series mirrors the curriculum of an advanced high school class on the psychology with well-known creators the Green brothers. Browse each roughly 10-minute episode or watch them all.

The history of the gene: an interactive timeline

Humans didn’t need modern technology to figure out that kids tend to look like their parents. But what did humans believe about genetics before we knew about DNA or cells in general? Explore this interactive timeline to see how philosophers and scientists throughout the ages tried to explain how traits are passed from generation to generation.

Everything you know about Phineas Gage is wrong

A stray spark sent a 3.5-foot-long, 1.25-inch thick iron rod through the brain of foreman Phineas Gage in 1848, creating a scientific case that has attracted onlookers for nearly two centuries. His life reportedly soon spiraled out of control, with his behavior tending toward selfishness and chaos. Evidence of these changes is far less common, with Gage's story bloated by fabrication, scientific prejudice, and artistic license.

His father, an art instructor, taught him to paint

Picasso’s talent was evident from an early age. With the encouragement and instruction of his father, an artist and art instructor, he developed classical techniques that often surprise those only familiar with his abstract works.

Photography was invented by a romantic artist

The invention of photography changed the landscape of art forever. The first photographs were created by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, a romantic era printmaker, by using light and chemistry to expand upon images produced by the earlier camera obscura.

Edward Jenner, the father of vaccinations

The British physician was the first to attempt to inoculate someone from smallpox using its milder cousin, cowpox. His innovations and documentations would prove crucial to the deployment of widespread vaccinations.

Theodore Roosevelt is considered by many to be the "first modern president"

Roosevelt transformed the presidency by expanding executive power beyond conventional norms, arguing that the president could act in the national interest unless expressly forbidden to do so. His energetic leadership, media use, and policy activism expanded the office's role and prestige.

Pilates was invented by an acrobatic WWI prisoner of war

As the Great War raged on, and as months gave way to years, the imprisoned Joseph Pilates explored a question that he had pondered since childhood: Could he reimagine the capabilities of the human body through an anatomically based method of training, taking inspiration from scientific treatises, the carefree movement of children, and the dexterous ease of cats? Read this article to learn about the birth and legacy of Pilates.

The history of the periodic table and how it hinted at atoms possessing internal structure

In 1869, more than two decades before the discovery of electrons, Russian chemist Dmitrii Mendeleev organized known elements by atomic weight and chemical properties using index cards. His organization revealed previously undiscovered elements and identified patterns in the reactivity of elements, which would later be linked to each element's outermost electron shell. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Who was the world's first author?

This article details the effort to define the world's first author, as supported by current archaeological evidence. Clay disks found in an ancient Sumerian city point to Enheduanna, a high priestess and daughter of Akkadian King Sargon, as the...

Who was Salvador Dalí?

Salvador Dalí reshaped modern art with surrealism, symbolism, and eccentricity. This snapshot covers his rise from Spanish prodigy to global icon, his Surrealist break, and his fascination with dreams and celebrity.

Some founders of quantum mechanics thought consciousness could influence phenomena

Since quantum systems exist as a superposition of states before producing a definitive outcome, some quantum pioneers wondered if the act of conscious observation was what collapsed the wave function of possibilities into one state.

Kierkegaard used pseudonyms throughout his writing

“The Father of Existentialism” published over 40 texts and 40 articles during his life and used several pen names throughout them. The pseudonyms allowed him to present relevant opinions in a relatable, first-person manner without the reader believing that Søren Kierkegaard earnestly held them.

LSD was discovered accidentally after its inventor touched his face and hallucinated

Unlike many drugs, the first time a human ever tripped on acid was recorded first-hand by a scientist. Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, curious about the "not unpleasant intoxicated-like condition" that overcame him after an accidental exposure, set up a rigorous experiment to test the drug's effects on himself.

The first official World Chess Championship was held in 1886

The inaugural world championship took place across New York, St. Louis and New Orleans in 1886, where Wilhelm Steinitz defeated Johannes Zukertort. Steinitz became the first recognized world champion, establishing the modern era of organized competitive chess.

A Belgian Catholic priest was the first to come up with the idea for the Big Bang

In 1931, Georges Lemaître presented his radical idea that the universe came from a “primeval atom,” challenging the long-held belief that the universe had always existed. Einstein initially dismissed Lemaître’s work as having “abominable” physical insight, only to accept it later.

Enlightenment ideals of reason informed the foundation of the Revolution

From the 17th to 19th centuries, an intellectual movement took place in Europe and its colonies that emphasized reason over authority. Following the Scientific Revolution, thinkers like Descartes, Kant, and Locke sought to explain the world in rational—rather than religious—terms. The movement caused a paradigm shift in how societies are organized and how people perceive themselves.

Many private schools follow Dewey's experiential learning model

John Dewey is perhaps the biggest figure in American education. He is known for emphasizing active, experiential learning and founding one of the country’s most renowned private schools: the Experimental School, which would later become the Laboratory Schools in Chicago.

Photographer William Mumler claimed to photograph ghosts

Spirit photographer William Mumler rose to prominence during the spiritualist movement in the United States. His photographs engrossed and bewildered both believers and nonbelievers. Though Mumler was tried for fraud, his methods were never discovered.

Cell theory originated from microscopic observations of cork and dental plaque

In the mid-1600s, Robert Hooke identified compartment-like structures—which he called cells—in cork, and Anton van Leeuwenhoek discovered bacteria in samples of his dental scrapings. Almost 200 years later, Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann showed that plants and animals, respectively, are composed of cells, proving that cells are the foundation of all living things.

What pupils can reveal about a person’s thoughts and feelings

Eyes have long been said to be the window to the soul. In this article, a psychologist and pupillometrist explores research demonstrating pupils as a window into the mind. Pupils tell us how intensely someone is exerting mental effort, or even reveal what a person is imagining. Read this article for insight into the field of pupillometry and how it can offer insights into our psyches.

The history of brainwashing in America

"Brainwashing" refers to a coerced shift in worldview, often associated with cults or oppressive totalitarian governments. Though such processes are not well understood on a neurological level, they hold an outsized role in public imagination, particularly in science fiction and dystopias. This article reviews the history of the term, first popularized by Edward Hunter in 1950, and the subsequent use of the approach in pop psychology, the CIA, and more.

Wilbur published key papers, gave speeches in the burgeoning aviation community

Much of the theoretical work is credited to Wilbur, whose scientific mind observed birds and early pioneers to discover the key problem to solve was control. This 1901 speech surveys the recent work in the field and showcases what the brothers worked on two years before their breakthrough flight.

The Academy of Lynxes—a 17th-century science academy—was co-founded by an 18-year-old whose father suspected he was associating with sorcerers and magicians.

Modernist novels used unconventional narrative approaches

Modernist writers in the early 20th century sought to capture the complexities of the human mind in their fiction. Novelists like Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, Jean Rhys, and William Faulkner experimented with the form by using unconventional approaches to narrative, time, and structure. This lecture from Dr. Madeleine Davies from the University of Reading explains how modernists revolutionized fiction, using Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway” as a primary example.

An encyclopedia of anthropology

This online database offers articles and additional resources for all things anthropology. This free resource is filled with peer-reviewed entries that cover topics ranging from addiction to writing, and offers anthropological insight into more...

Holocaust History

Born in Berlin in 1924, to a Catholic father and Jewish mother, Wolfgang Haney survived the Holocaust, though many in his family did not. He spent a large part of his life collecting more than 15,000 objects related to the history of anti-Semitism, before dying in 2017. Recently, the German Historical Museum acquired his collection, as detailed in this article

The unexpected origin story of the snow globe

In 1900, a Vienna tradesman named Erwin Perzy I was attempting to invent an inexpensive way to improve light amplification in hospital operating rooms. After experimenting with a glass globe filled with water, the idea for the snow globe struck. Industrious as well as inventive, Perzy eventually turned his idea into a successful business. Read the full article to learn how the invention grew to become recognized globally.

Eduard Baltzer encouraged 'natural eating' in the 1860s

Historian Corinna Treitel credits the Protestant minister with inventing the concept of “natural eating” in Nordhausen, Germany, in the 19th century. Baltzer believed that people were consuming excessive amounts of schnapps, sugar, and meat, and that this behavior was having a detrimental impact on their lives. He encouraged a diet mostly of fruits and vegetables, though he was not opposed to food grown with artificial fertilizers.

Why wasn't German emperor Kaiser Wilhelm punished for starting WWI?

The accusations were explosive: a head of state had not only begun an illegal war, but egged his troops on to a series of horrific atrocities that left