Introducing Mary Whiton Calkins: Self-Made Psychologist and Suffragette

Mary Whiton Calkins was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educator, whose work informed theory and research of memory, dreams and the self. She is most well know for her contributions on the system of self-psychology, as well as the sexism she encountered in the field of psychology.

In a time where there were several schools of thought, Calkins established the school of self-psychology. This, unfortunately, became quite unpopular and controversial among other psychologists, who deemed this topic irrelevant. However, her interest in self-psychology persisted, and she spent much time critically examining the self from both philosophical and psychological viewpoints. Calkins went on to write numerous books and articles on this topic.

Mary Whiton Calkins

During her time, although there were an increasing number of educational opportunities available to women, Calkins still faced sexism in the field. Most notably, although she was the first woman to complete the requirements for a doctoral degree in psychology, Harvard University refused to bestow her a P.h.D. on the grounds that Harvard did not accept women.

However, she did not let this event deter her, and went on to become an instructor of psychology at Wellesley in 1891. That same year, she established at Wellesley the first experimental psychology lab to be founded by a woman, and the first lab to be established at a woman’s college.

After the laboratory was established, it quickly gained popularity; her first course on "psychology approached from the physiological standpoint" yielded over fifty students.

In 1903, Calkins was ranked twelfth in a listing of fifty psychologists with the most merit, an achievement that happened after James McKeen Cattell asked ten psychologists to rank their American colleagues in order of merit.

In 1905 she was elected president of the American Psychological Association and the American Philosophical Association in 1918. She was the first woman to hold a position in both associations. She was then awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Columbia in 1909 and a Doctorate of Laws from Smith College in 1910; she was also the first woman elected to honorary membership on the British Psychological Association.

Outside of her contributions to the field of psychology, Calkins was a suffragist and an avid supporter of women's rights. While working at Wellesley, a colleague of hers was fired for holding pacifistic views, spurring Calkins to offer her resignation on the grounds of harbouring the same views as her colleague who was terminated. However, her resignation was ultimately not accepted by the President or board.

Alexis Choong Tongwei, Grade 10

Raffles Girls’ School

Editor Suhh Yeon Kim

Source List:

● “Mary Whiton Calkins.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.,

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Whiton-Calkins.

● “Mary Whiton Calkins.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Dec. 2022,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Whiton_Calkins#Initial_psychological_training.