Great Moments in Psychology

GREAT MOMENTS IN PSYCHOLOGY

2600 B.C.   Homunculus discovered in bullrushes

2100 B.C.   Babylonians invent defense mechanisms, conquer known world

1952 B.C.   Sumerians localize sense of smell in nose

1 B.C.         Psychologist follows street lamp, is denied position as wise man

1100 A.D.   Psychologists go on strike, demand shorter work-century and right to prepare porridge

1880             Wundt proposes lab for study of introspection, but thinks better of it

1887             Nietzsche finds God slumped over in shrubbery, gets idea for book

1888             Psychologist ignores advice of colleagues and friends, later discovers he's deaf

1890             William James sticks paddle in ear, discovers stream of consciousness

1914            Baby swallows kryptonite, develops Superego

1926            M&Ms invented, behaviorism commences

1928            Vision isolated as crucial sense for operation of farm machinery

1934            Cyberneticists identify thermostat as intelligent life form

1944            Heider announces attribution theory, gives no reason

1947            H. Stack Sullivan changes first name from "Hay" to "Harry," career finally takes off

1953            Pleasure centers located in hypothalamus and genitalia

1955            George Kelly discovers personal construct, attempts to find owner

1973            Psychologists give up on metaphors, claiming they go over like lead balloons

1978           Social cognition researchers disprove the existence of emotion, motivation, and all things hot and wet

1980           Reagan elected U.S. President, end of psychology as we know it

1983           In last-ditch try for government funding, psychologists come out in favor of nuclear war

1987           Dr. Joyce Brothers confesses to storing nuts in cheeks

1996           Clinton shows Freud wrong, cigar is actually a speculum

1999           Baumeister's publication rate blamed for world deforestation

2001           Bush assumes presidency, settles Great Man vs. Zeitgeist controversy

2001           Zimbardo elected APA president, needs no introduction

Reference: Vallacher, R. R. & Wegner, D. M. (2001, Spring). Great moments in psychology. Dialogue: Society for Personality and Social Psychology.