Published “The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology,” and helped to formalize the school of psychology called functionalism.

Published Gestalt Psychology, which criticized behaviorism and outlined essential components of the Gestalt position and approach.

Published The Behavior of Organisms, which described operant conditioning of animals. In 1948, his novel, Walden Two, described a utopian community based on behavioristic principles. In 1990, Skinner receives the APA’s first Citation for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology.  His death also occurred in 1990 at the age of 86.

Soloman Asch publishes his studies of conformity.  Using a series of “vision tests”, Asch asked participants to judge lines of varying lengths.  The real purpose of the study was go gauge conformity to social pressure- in other words, would participants go along with a group, even though they believed the group to be incorrect.  This series of study supported theories of normative social influence, and led to information on social factors that increase or decrease conformity.

Carl Rogers Publishes Client-Centered Therapy.  Rogers (along with Maslow) begin the field of Humanistic Psychology by focusing on the conscious mind, free will, and human dignity.  Client-Centered Therapy focuses on giving the client unconditional positive regard and helping the client overcome “conditions of worth.”

Abraham Maslow proposes a hierarchy of motives in Motivation and Personality.  In response to psychoanalysis and behaviorism, Maslow was instrumental in promoting the “third force” in psychology, humanistic psychology.  Maslow proposed that there is a hierarchy of needs that include physiological needs, safety needs, belonging needs, and self-actualization.

George Miller publishes his article “The Magical Number Seven, Plus of Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information.” Miller also coined the term chunk, to refer to pieces of information that can be stored in short term memory.  This theory is one of the earliest application of the cognitive approach to psychology.

Family theory and therapy launched.  This theory is built on the premise that it is the interconnected family systems that cause and maintain psychological problems.

Festinger proposes his theory of Cognitive Dissonance, which states that we experience a feeling of discomfort when we hold conflicting cognitions (e.g. I know smoking is bad for me, but I know I smoke).  We tend to reduce dissonance by rationalizing our cognitions.  Festinger also proposed the theory of Social Comparisons (precursor to the Theory of Social Norms), which states that we evaluate our own ideas and opinions by comparing ourselves with others.  Additionally, group “norms” influence our behaviors by setting unspoken rules for behavior and exerting pressure on the individual to conform to these norms.

Behaviorist Joseph Wolpe develops behavioral therapy known as desensitization.  Based on the principle that what is learned can be unlearned, Wolpe developed a system for using conditioning processes to relieve fears.

Based on his work on attachment in monkeys, Harry Harlow outlines “The Nature of Love.”  Harlow demonstrated that contact comfort was essential to developing attachment, contrary to Freud’s view that attachment was based on feeding.  Work by ethologists like Harlow and Konrad Lorenz served as the basis for attachment theory.

The Achieving Society is published by theorist David McClelland.  McClelland is known for his development of Achievement Motivation Theory.

Albert Ellis develops rational-emotive therapy (RET), which is later renamed REBT (Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy).  Based on the cognitive mediational model, REBT argues that dysfunctional thoughts and behaviors can be undone through cognitive and behavioral techniques.  REBT is based on the presumption that it is not the activating events (A) in one’s life that cause the emotional and psychological consequences (C), but rather these consequences result from one’s beliefs and interpretations (B).  By teaching clients to dispute their own irrational beliefs, REBT is designed to change the client’s dysfunctional emotional and psychological consequences.

Schachter and Singer posit the two-factor theory of emotion.  They assert that we experience certain emotions based not only on the physical sensations we experience in response to a stimulus, but also from the cognitive labels we give these sensations.  In other words, physiological arousal in response to a stimulus is similar for many emotions (e.g. fear, anger, attraction).  Therefore the actual conscious emotion we experience is not based on a unique pattern of physiological arousal, but rather on the way we label our arousal based on what we think caused the arousal in the first place.

Ronald Melzach and Patrick Wall propose the gate control theory of pain.  This theory suggests that there is a physiological “gate” through which pain can pass from body to brain.  Certain stimulation such as counterirritation (e.g. rubbing your foot after stubbing your toe) can close the gate, allowing fewer pain signals to reach the brain.  Conversely, the brain can also open and close the gate based on factors such as distraction, classical conditioning, and emotional reactions.

Robert Zajonc proposes the theory of Social Facilitation.  This theory suggests that on simple, well-learned tasks, individuals perform better in the presence of others.  However, on difficult tasks, the presence of others may lead to poorer performance.

Seligman and Maier conduct research on learned helplessness using dogs.  Seligman later publishes Learned Optimism, and becomes a pioneer in the Positive Psychology movement.

Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin propose their influential three-stage memory model, which includes sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Albert Bandura introduces observational learning in his work Principles of Behavior Modification.  In 1971, he publishes his Seminole work Social Learning Theory.  Bandura proposed the cognitive social learning theory, which includes principles such as modeling (learning by imitating others) and self-efficacy (the belief that one can perform a certain behavior successfully).  Bandura conducted a classic experiment on modeling in which he had children watch an adult model play with a “bobo” doll.  Not only did the children who saw the model play aggressively with the doll imitate her actions and speech, but they were also more attracted to aggressive toys (e.g. guns) compared to children who did not see the aggressive model. This theory is an offshoot of behaviorism, and offers support for the nurture side of the debate.

Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus publishes groundbreaking work on eyewitness testimony.  In a series of experiments, Loftus and colleagues discovered what they term the Misinformation Effect, which refers to the tendency for eyewitnesses to incorporate erroneous information into their own memories.  Her work was instrumental to our understanding of the limitations of human memory, and has implications for the use of eyewitnesses in court cases.

Sternberg also produces a theory of multiple intelligence, but he proposed just three types.  According to this triarchic theory, intelligence can be Analytical/Componential, Creative/Experiential, or Practical/Contextual.

Sometimes called the “Father of Modern Cognitive Psychology,” psychiatrist Aaron Beck receives the Distinguished Scientific Award for his work in advancing cognitive therapy.  Beck advanced CT (now CBT for Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy), which currently one of the fastest growing forms of therapy in the U.S.  In CBT, the therapist and client work together to solve problems through solution focused therapy.  Cognitive techniques include challenging irrational thoughts, and behavioral techniques can involve role-playing and homework exercises.  This form of therapy is popular for treating everything from anxiety disorders to eating disorders.

Social psychologist Robert Cialdini publishes The Science of Persuasion outlining the mechanisms through which persuasion occurs.  Cialdini’s work has been used extensively in social psychology, as well as in marketing.