Evolution of psychologygreenspun.com : LUSENET : History & Theory of Psychology : One Thread |
When was Psychology first used or accredited as an academic subject
-- J Jorgensen (Jon_swefds@yahoo.co.uk), March 18, 2003
Answers will vary widely depending on how you mean the question. Psychology was included as a topic in philosophy and theology courses very early on. Most history of psychology textbooks will describe the first courses taught by people like William James. You'll have a different answer if you ask whether a graduate degree was offered, and again a different answer for under-graduate majors. Accreditation is still a different question: schools and colleges are accredited by regional accrediting agencies, and may have a psychology department that offers a major. Clinical and counseling programs etc. are accredited by the American Psychological Association--but that applies not to courses but to training programs. That development is very recent, after the 1950s. So ... you'll have to consult a variety of history of psychology texts and other sources to answer this question at different levels.
-- Hendrika Vande Kemp (hendrika@earthlink.net), March 18, 2003.