Influential Women in Psychology Throughout History

Throughout history, women have made groundbreaking contributions to the field of psychology, often overcoming significant barriers to do so. In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re taking this opportunity to draw attention to a few key female figures in the history of psychology and their contributions that have truly set the stage for the future of the field.

Women in Psychology: An Overview

Psychology as a scientific discipline emerged in the mid- to late- 1800’s, and the history of women in psychology dates back to at least the 1890’s. Since that time, female psychologists have overcome countless setbacks, including both social and academic barriers that long kept them from having the same opportunities as their male counterparts. Despite these setbacks, women have made some of greatest leaps and discoveries in psychology, including some of the most influential findings in attachment theory, play therapy, experimental psychotherapy, and feminist psychology. The following women may often be excluded from history books, but their lives and contributions are not to be forgotten:

Anna Freud

While Sigmund Freud is often considered the “Father of Psychology,” his daughter would also rise to be an influential figure in the field. Anna Freud expanded on her father’s work, but she also embraced new ideas that would further increase interest in the field of child psychology. One of her most famous accomplishments was her development of the concept of defense mechanisms, a topic that is still relevant in psychology today.

Mary Whiton Calkins

Born on March 30th, 1863, Mary Whiton Calkins was a true pioneer for women in psychology. After graduating from Smith College with a degree in classics and philosophy, Calkins was hired to teach Greek at Wellesley College before being offered a teaching position in the new area of psychology. In order to teach this subject, however, she was required to study psychology for at least a year—a task which proved difficult due to the lack of psychology programs at the time. Eventually, she was able to attend psychology lectures by William James at Harvard, although she was denied the ability to study at the university as a student. Despite later completing the requirements for a doctorate degree in psychology from Harvard, she was never awarded a degree because of her gender.

In spite of this, Calkins would go on to have a consequential career in psychology after returning to Wellesley College to teach. Her accomplishments include:

• Writing over 100 professional papers
• Becoming the first woman president of the American Psychological Association
• Inventing the paired association technique
• Completing significant work in self-psychology

Margaret Floy Washburn

As the first woman to be awarded a PhD in psychology, Margaret Floy Washburn opened doors for the women in the field who would come after her. She worked during a time when women were often denied positions in academia, but she persisted through this inequality to become a noteworthy researcher, lecturer, and writer. Her work played a major role in the development of comparative psychology, and she is perhaps best known for contributions to the fields of animal cognition and motor theory.

Mary Ainsworth

Mary Ainsworth is a quintessential figure in psychology for her research on mother-child attachments and interactions, which has heavily influenced our understanding of attachment styles. A developmental psychologist, Ainsworth is best known for her Strange Situation assessment. This famous assessment, involving a researcher observing a child’s reaction when their mother briefly leaves them alone in an unfamiliar room, led to Ainsworth’s conclusion that there were three attachment styles. This early work in attachment theory has since spawned additional research on the topic, which speaks to the value of Ainsworth’s initial findings.

Leta Stetter Hollingworth

Leta Stetter Hollingworth was another early pioneer of psychology, earning recognition for her research on intelligence and gifted children as well as on the psychology of women. Hollingworth challenged the assumptions of the time that women were intellectually inferior to men and semi-invalid while menstruating, completing research that displayed that women were just as intelligent and capable as men. Despite facing numerous obstacles in her life, Hollingworth’s work was a catalyst of change for how women were viewed both in psychology and society as a whole.

Melanie Klein

Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1882, Melanie Klein (born Melanie Reizes) is best known for her work in object relations theory and her development of play therapy, which is still widely used today. Her research was inspired by her own struggles with mental health, and she wrote several psychoanalytic papers that attributed depression to unresolved childhood issues. Klein believed that adult relationships are shaped by the relationships experienced in infancy, and this fueled her work in developmental psychology.

Karen Horney

An influential neo-Freudian psychologist, Karen Horney offered counterpropositions to sexist psychological theories that existed at the time. Known for her take on feminine psychology, Horney proposed that men suffer from “womb envy” (a response to a theory originated by Freud) and was outspoken about refuting many of Freud’s ideas. This helped her draw attention to the psychology of women, creating her theory of neurotic needs and contributing to the idea that individuals can influence their own mental health.

Mamie Phipps Clark

Mamie Phipps Clark is one of the better-known female figures in the history of psychology, although much of her work and life is still greatly overlooked. Renowned for her research on race, self-esteem, and child development, Clark was the first Black woman to earn a doctorate in psychology from Columbia University. In addition, she was only the second Black American to earn a doctorate from Columbia, as her husband Kenneth Clark was the first. Clark and her husband founded the Northside Center for Child Development in 1946, which was the first agency to offer psychological services to children and families in Harlem.

While Clark made many significant contributions to psychology, her most famous was the classic experiment known as the “Clark Doll Test.” The research that Clark and her husband conducted with this experiment, which involved showing Black children two dolls that were identical other than the color of their skin and asking the children questions on their perceptions of the dolls, was instrumental for demonstrating the harmful effects of segregation on children during the famed Brown vs. the Board of Education Supreme Court case. In addition to this work, Clark’s investigations into self-concept among minorities led to further research on developmental psychology.

Christine Ladd-Franklin

Influenced by her mother and aunt’s support of women’s rights, Christine Ladd-Franklin became a female leader in psychology for her work on color vision. After challenging Edward Titchener, a leading male psychologist at the time, for not allowing women to participate in his group of experimentalists, Ladd-Franklin studied at Johns Hopkins University. Despite completing her dissertation there, the school did not allow women to receive a PhD at that time, and she would not be awarded her doctorate degree until 44 years later. A proud advocate for women’s rights in academic fields, Ladd-Franklin also rejected Helmholtz’s theory of color vision and developed her own theory on the subject.

Eleanor Maccoby

Another indispensable figure in the field of developmental psychology is Eleanor Maccoby, who is known for her pivotal work in the psychology of sex differences. Maccoby played an important role in our current understanding of gender roles, socialization, and biological influences on sex differences. She was the first of her kind in many rights, becoming not only the first chairwoman of the Department of Psychology at Stanford University, but also the first woman to ever deliver a lecture at Stanford wearing a pantsuit.

Elizabeth Loftus

A modern innovator in the field of psychology is Elizabeth Loftus, who is considered one of the nation’s leading experts on memory. Loftus is one of the most influential female psychologists on the 20^th century thanks to her work on memory, which changed the way we think about the topic. She has published numerous books and papers on memory as a construct, stating the idea that memories are reconstructed rather than replayed. Today, Loftus is a distinguished professor at the University of California, Irvine, and she is still often contacted about her work relating to the misinformation effect, false memory, and how our memories may be manipulated.

Women in Psychology Today

The legacy of these pioneering women has paved the way for a new generation of female psychologists who continue to make significant strides in the field. Today, women are not only contributing to psychology but are also leading and innovating in various areas of research, practice, and education. Women, who were once a minority in psychology and not allowed to earn advanced degrees in the discipline, now make up 79% of the bachelor’s degrees awarded in psychology and roughly 75% of graduate students in psychology. Women also make up more than half the members of the American Psychological Association.

There are many women continuing to make remarkable strides in the field today, including several members of PAR's team. These modern-day pioneers are building on the legacy of their predecessors and making significant contributions to psychology.

Rebecca Gerhardstein-Nader, PhD

Rebecca Gerhardstein-Nader, PhD, is the author of the Vocabulary Assessment Scales Expressive® and Vocabulary Assessment Scales Receptive® as well as co-author of the Feifer Assessment of Reading™ (FAR™) manual and other psychological assessments. Dr. Gerhardstein-Nader earned her PhD in clinical psychology from Florida State University in 2005 before beginning her career at PAR. She is currently the manager of test development at IPC, where she develops certification exams for the electronics industry. Dr. Gerhardstein-Nader has extensive experience in end-to-end assessment development, including collaborating with subject matter experts, writing items, collecting and analyzing data, conducting reliability and validity studies, quality testing, and writing product manuals.

Melissa A. Messer, MHS

Melissa A. Messer, MHS, is the Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Product Officer for PAR, Inc. Melissa developed an interest in psychology and mental health at a very young age and began working at a private practice office in high school. During college, she became fascinated with research, particularly in children with chronic illness, medication adherence, and quality of life. She had the opportunity to develop several measures during her undergraduate and graduate training and used many PAR assessments in both research and clinical work. After completing graduate school at the University of Florida, she joined PAR as a research assistant. Since then, she has worked on the development of more than 40 products and is the author of several, including the Academic Achievement Battery (AAB) series, the Working Styles Assessment (WSA), and the Work Values Inventory (WVI). In addition, she has coauthored multiple editions of John Holland’s Self-Directed Search (SDS). 

Abby Mulay, PhD

Dr. Abby Mulay is a licensed clinical psychologist and assistant professor in the Community and Public Safety Psychiatry Division at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). After earning a bachelor’s in jazz voice performance from the Manhattan School of Music and working as a professional singer for many years, she obtained her PhD in clinical psychology from Long Island University and completed her predoctoral internship at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and a postdoctoral fellowship at MUSC.

In her current role, Dr. Mulay conducts forensic evaluations, supervises trainees, and maintains a small outpatient psychotherapy practice specializing in personality and interpersonal dysfunction. She has several research projects on forensic evaluation and the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD). Dr. Mulay coedited "The DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders" and serves as a representative-at-large for the Society of Personality Assessment (SPA) Board of Trustees. She is also a recipient of the SPA John E. Exner Scholar Award, an active member of the American Psychology-Law Society, and a reviewer for several journals.

Nikel Rogers-Wood, PhD, LP

Dr. Nikel Rogers-Wood holds a PhD in counseling psychology and is a licensed psychologist. Her clinical interests focus on women's emotional health, and she has significant experience in psychological assessment. Dr. Rogers-Wood has served as university faculty, worked in private practice as both a practitioner and clinical director, and has been involved in skilled nursing facilities and college counseling. In her role in college counseling, she coordinated a postdoctoral training program. Currently, Dr. Rogers-Wood is a project director in the Research and Development department at PAR.

Tannahill Glen, PsyD, ABPP

Tannahill Glen is board certified in clinical neuropsychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology and is a licensed psychologist in Florida (PY 6757). Dr. Glen founded Neuropsychology, Inc., an expert litigation consultation company, and is currently a clinical neuropsychologist at the MD Anderson Cancer Center at Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville, Florida. Alongside other notable female psychologists like Molly Colvin, PhD, ABPP, and Jennifer L. Reesman, PhD, ABPP, she has participated in several PAR Training webinars as a speaker on topics like the effects of COVID-19 on youth development, autism assessment, and children with learning disabilities.

Jaclyn Fleck, PsyD

Dr. Jaclyn Fleck is a licensed clinical psychologist in the Chicago suburbs and the owner of Prosper Psychological Services, a practice dedicated to neuropsychological and psychological testing. She works with clients aged four through adulthood, addressing concerns such as ADHD, autism, learning disorders, mood disorders, complex trauma, anxiety disorders, and personality disorders. Dr. Fleck handles the practice’s insurance verification and billing, having gained extensive experience with CPT codes and units of service over seven years. In 2023, she was audited by Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which provided her with in-depth knowledge about billing for testing. Dr. Fleck now offers private consultations to colleagues on best practices for billing and avoiding audits by private insurance companies.

Sierra Iwanicki, PhD

Sierra Iwanicki received a PhD in clinical psychology from Eastern Michigan University. Dr. Iwanicki's primary clinical and research interests include personality and psychological assessment, with a focus on forensics and trauma, as well as instrument development and psychometric evaluation. Her other interests involve clinical supervision and training, detecting noncredible reporting of psychiatric disorders, and treating individuals with severe and persistent mental illness.

Rachel Landsman, PsyD

Dr. Landsman is a licensed pediatric neuropsychologist with expertise in pediatric neuropsychology and psychology. She specializes in working with deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children, teens, and families facing various medical, neurological, developmental, and psychological issues.

As an instructor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Landsman supervises psychology and neuropsychology fellows. Her research focuses on cognitive and psychosocial profiles of DHH individuals, identifying autism spectrum disorder in DHH individuals, cognitive and psychosocial outcomes of Cochlear Implant candidates, and equitable neuropsychological care.

The Future of Women in Psychology

With women now making up the majority of psychology students, we’re likely to see a shift towards more female psychologists making history for their remarkable achievements and contributions to the field. From expanding on existing ideas to developing new research and psychological assessment tools, women are already making monumental additions to psychology, and they will continue to do so in ways that improve our understanding of topics within the discipline and make waves throughout society.