Margaret Floy Washburn

While at Columbia she was “allowed” to audit classes and work in James M. Cattel’s laboratory. Despite his full support and due to gender restrictions, she was not formally admitted as a student of psychology or as a student of the university. After a year she was chosen as a degree candidate at Cornell University, after winning the prestigious Susan Lynn Sage Fellowship. Within two years she began to study under Edward B. Titchner in experimental psychology. Under Titchner, she received a master’s degree in 1893 for her work with him. In

1894, she became the first woman to be granted a doctorate in psychology. Interestingly, she was not only the first woman to receive this degree; she was the first student to earn the support of Titchner for the doctorate. (Gale Encyclopedia)

Washburn was noted as an excellent teacher, and contributed to numerous theory developments within psychology. In addition to accolades from her students and fellow professors, she was the second woman in history to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences(Gale Encyclopedia). She became president of the American Psychology Association in 1921, again the second woman to attain this prestigious position.

Of the accomplishments in Washburn’s life, none compare to the breakthrough research in Comparative Psychology. She became a leading authority in animal psychology. The Animal Mind, published in 1908, became the first book in the field of animal psychology. Washburm divorced consciousness from behavior, competing with the

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