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Mary Whiton Calkins was at the forefront of late 19th century Psychology, and the science of psychology was only beginning to emerge as a formal scientific discipline at this time. Calkins went on to create her own views on themes such as association, memory, and the self after being significantly impacted by the work of William James, with ...
- Childhood and Early Education
- Early Career and Continued Education
- Early Study and Career in Psychology
- Mary's Significant Accomplishments
- The End of Mary's Career and Life
- The Legacy Mary Left Behind
- Lessons to Learn
On March 30th, 1863, scientist Mary Whiton Calkins was born in Hartford, Connecticut. She was the first of several children born to her parents, Wolcott and Charlotte. Her childhood was spent in Buffalo, New York, where the family was close and the center of Mary's personal life. In 1880, 17-year-old Mary and her family moved to Newton, Massachuset...
When Mary and her family returned to Massachusetts, her father arranged for her to interview at Wellesley College, a women's college. After meeting with the university president, Mary was hired as a tutor in the Greek Department. Mary worked in the Greek Department for the next three years, first as a tutor and later as a teacher. A professor notic...
While studying under William James, Mary learned about concepts related to consciousness, feelings, and the self. However, Mary was most interested in laboratory and experimental work. She decided to attend nearby Clark University simultaneously, where she worked with Edmund Sanford in his laboratory, who trained her on experimental procedures. Mar...
Calkins produced significant research related to dreams, memory, and the self. Throughout her career, she wrote over 100 psychological papers, four books, and a textbook, all of which were published. In 1903, psychologist James McKeen Cattell asked ten fellow psychologists to rank their American colleagues according to merit. Mary ranked 12th on th...
Mary continued to serve as faculty staff at Wellesley College for the rest of her career. She taught there for 40 years, opening the doors for some other young female psychologists to learn about psychology freely. In 1929, Mary Whiton Calkins retired, leaving a legacy of perseverance against barriers. She died shortly after, in 1930.
Mary Whiton Calkins made several significant accomplishments, even when others attempted to halt her study and progress. Further, she was a pioneer in a burgeoning field. Her work occurred when psychology was still a young form of science and research, so some of her work may have focused more on the unknown. At the time, Calkin's extensive researc...
Although Mary faced challenges, she tried not to let those challenges stop her from achieving her goals. One lesson to learn from the life of Mary Whiton Calkins is that there may be barriers to success, but barriers may open another opportunity. In addition, Mary didn't succeed alone. Her family, teachers, and peers built a circle of support in he...
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Mary Whiton Calkins (1863–1930) is often mentioned in accounts of the history of memory research as the inventor of the method of paired associates as well as for her investigations of primacy, recency, frequency, and vividness in association formation. Her experimental studies over the period from 1892 to 1894 not only introduced the paired associates method but were also pioneering ...
Mary Whiton Calkins retired from Wellesley after more than 40 years of teaching with the title of research professor. She died the following year on February 26, 1930, in Newton, Massachusetts. sources: Brozek, Josef. Explorations in the History of Psychology in the United States. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, 1984. Calkins, Mary Whiton.
Mary Whiton Calkins, philosopher and psychologist, was the first woman to be elected president of the American Philosophical Association. She lived during “the golden age” of American philosophy and studied under two of the classic American philosophers, William James and Josiah Royce. Though she was influenced by both of these teachers ...
- Beatrice H. Zedler
- 1995
This chapter provides an autobiographical account of Mary Whiton Calkins. The author describes herself, her interests, and her occupations. She notes that she began the serious study of psychology with William James. She was equally fortunate to have entered on laboratory work under the guidance of Edmund Sanford, a teacher unrivalled for the richness and precision of his knowledge of ...
Mary Whiton Calkins. 1863-1930. American psychologist and philosopher who became the first woman president of both the American Psychological Association (1905) and the American Philosophical Association (1918). The eldest of five children born to Reverend Wolcott Calkins, a strong-willed, intellectually gifted evangelical minister, and ...
