Princeton University Department of Psychology
Encyclopedia
The Princeton University Department of Psychology, located in Green Hall, is an academic department
Academic department
An academic department is a division of a university or school faculty devoted to a particular academic discipline. This article covers United States usage at the university level....
of Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
on the corner of Washington St. and William St. in Princeton
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. For over a century, the department has been one of the most notable psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
departments in the country. It has been home to psychologists who have made well-known scientific discoveries in the fields of psychology and neuroscience (e.g., adult neurogenesis
Neurogenesis
Neurogenesis is the process by which neurons are generated from neural stem and progenitor cells. Most active during pre-natal development, neurogenesis is responsible for populating the growing brain with neurons. Recently neurogenesis was shown to continue in several small parts of the brain of...
in primate brains, cognitive miser
Cognitive miser
Cognitive miser is a term which refers to the idea that only a small amount of information is actively perceived by individuals when making decisions, and many cognitive shortcuts are used instead to attend to relevant information and arrive at a decision. The term was coined by Susan T. Fiske and...
, bystander non-intervention, face-selective neurons in primate brains, feature integration theory
Feature integration theory
The feature integration theory, developed by Anne Treisman and Garry Gelade since the early 1980s, posits that different kinds of attention are responsible for binding different features into consciously experienced wholes...
, mental models theory
Mental model
A mental model is an explanation of someone's thought process about how something works in the real world. It is a representation of the surrounding world, the relationships between its various parts and a person's intuitive perception about his or her own acts and their consequences...
, prospect theory
Prospect theory
Prospect theory is a theory that describes decisions between alternatives that involve risk i.e. where the probabilities of outcomes are known. The model is descriptive: it tries to model real-life choices, rather than optimal decisions.-Model:...
).
The department's undergraduate and graduate programs are highly ranked and the department has developed a well-respected neuroscience
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
program. The department has over forty faculty members, over forty graduate students, and over one hundred undergraduate students. The faculty have received numerous awards, which include a Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
, six Distinguished Contributions awards from the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
, and three William James
William James
William James was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher who was trained as a physician. He wrote influential books on the young science of psychology, educational psychology, psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and on the philosophy of pragmatism...
Fellow awards from the Association for Psychological Science
Association for Psychological Science
The Association for Psychological Science , previously the American Psychological Society, is a non-profit international organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in research, application, teaching, and the improvement of...
(APS). Additionally, two faculty members have previously served as presidents of the APS, twelve faculty members are fellows of the APS, and four faculty members have been inducted into the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
.
Since 2002, the department has been chaired by social psychologist Deborah Prentice.
History
Wilhelm Wundt
Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt was a German physician, psychologist, physiologist, philosopher, and professor, known today as one of the founding figures of modern psychology. He is widely regarded as the "father of experimental psychology"...
founded the first psychology laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
in the world, a Psychology Laboratory was built in Nassau Hall
Nassau Hall
Nassau Hall is the oldest building at Princeton University in the borough of Princeton, New Jersey . At the time it was built in 1754, Nassau Hall was the largest building in colonial New Jersey. Designed originally by Robert Smith, the building was subsequently remodeled by notable American...
, the oldest building in the university, under the leadership of J. Mark Baldwin
James Mark Baldwin
James Mark Baldwin was an American philosopher and psychologist who was educated at Princeton under the supervision of Scottish philosopher James McCosh and who was one of the founders of the Department of Psychology at the university...
. In 1915, psychology received recognition in the title when the department was renamed Department of Philosophy and Psychology. It was not until 1920, however, that the Department of Psychology was established with Howard Warren as its first chairman. In 1924, Eno Hall was constructed to house the department. The building was named in honor of Henry Eno
Henry Lane Eno
Henry Lane Eno was born in New York City on July 8, 1871; he died at Montacute House, Somerset, on September 28, 1928. A member of the Eno real estate and banking family, he was the son of Henry Clay Eno and his wife Cornelia, the daughter of George W...
, the principal donor and research associate in psychology. Warren was also a donor, but he chose to keep his donation anonymous at the time. He commented that it was "the first laboratory in this country, if not in the world, dedicated solely to the teaching and investigation of scientific psychology
Experimental psychology
Experimental psychology is a methodological approach, rather than a subject, and encompasses varied fields within psychology. Experimental psychologists have traditionally conducted research, published articles, and taught classes on neuroscience, developmental psychology, sensation, perception,...
." According to university president John Hibben
John Grier Hibben
John Grier Hibben was a Presbyterian minister, a philosopher, and educator. He served as president of Princeton University from 1912–1932, succeeding Woodrow Wilson and implementing many of the reforms started by Wilson.-Early life:Hibben was born in Peoria, Illinois, just before the start...
, the laboratory was the realization of a dream that Warren had cherished for a long time.
University president James McCosh
James McCosh
James McCosh was a prominent philosopher of the Scottish School of Common Sense. He was president of Princeton University 1868-1888.-Biography:...
was primary professor of psychology in the early days of the department. Baldwin, who studied under both McCosh and Wundt, continued this tradition.
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, was redesigned by university alumnus Francis W. Roudebush for the use of the psychology and sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
departments.
In 1972, the Princeton Psychology Colloquium Committee, which schedules weekly speeches and discussions for psychology students, invited Richard Herrnstein
Richard Herrnstein
Richard J. Herrnstein was an American researcher in animal learning in the Skinnerian tradition. He was one of the founders of quantitative analysis of behavior....
, psychology professor at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
to speak about the vision of pigeons. At the time, Herrnstein was the victim of serious criticism because he had written an article in which he argued that genetic differences
Human genetic variation
Human genetic variation refers to genetic differences both within and among populations. There may be multiple variants of any given gene in the human population , leading to polymorphism. Many genes are not polymorphic, meaning that only a single allele is present in the population: that allele is...
would play an increasingly larger role in the determination of social status
Social status
In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society . It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc....
. Because Princeton's University Action Group, a radical student organization, threatened to sabotage the event on the grounds that Herrnstein was a racist, the Harvard professor canceled his appearance. Kamin asserted that "the climate in which [Herrnstein's] decision was made raises serious questions about freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
."
Most of the department's graduates from the classes of 2004 to 2007 had placements in the faculties of research universities and post-doctoral positions. Thanks to a group of faculty and students who work across traditional disciplines and departments, interdisciplinary research and scholarship in the department has grown significantly since the end of the twentieth century.
Academic
The quality of the department's teaching and research has been recognized by several sources. The department's graduate program has been ranked fifth best in the United States by U.S. News and World Report (USNWR), and twelfth best in the United States by the National Research CouncilUnited States National Research Council
The National Research Council of the USA is the working arm of the United States National Academies, carrying out most of the studies done in their names.The National Academies include:* National Academy of Sciences...
. USNWR ranked the department's behavioral neuroscience
Behavioral neuroscience
Behavioral neuroscience, also known as biological psychology, biopsychology, or psychobiology is the application of the principles of biology , to the study of physiological, genetic, and developmental mechanisms of behavior in human and non-human animals...
program and its social psychology program sixth and seventh best in the United States, respectively.
Graduate
The graduatePostgraduate education
Postgraduate education involves learning and studying for degrees or other qualifications for which a first or Bachelor's degree generally is required, and is normally considered to be part of higher education...
study is focused on systems neuroscience
Systems neuroscience
Systems neuroscience is a subdiscipline of neuroscience and systems biology that studies the function of neural circuits and systems. It is an umbrella term, encompassing a number of areas of study concerned with how nerve cells behave when connected together to form neural networks...
, cognitive neuroscience
Cognitive neuroscience
Cognitive neuroscience is an academic field concerned with the scientific study of biological substrates underlying cognition, with a specific focus on the neural substrates of mental processes. It addresses the questions of how psychological/cognitive functions are produced by the brain...
, perception and cognition, personality and social psychology, and physiological psychology. It is a preparatory program for a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
, which takes approximately five years to complete, and a career of scholarship in psychology. Every year, six doctoral degrees and eight master's degrees are awarded on average. Students in the university's M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
/Ph.D. program, run jointly with the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is a public medical school located in Piscataway and New Brunswick, New Jersey, and one of the eight schools of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey . In cooperation with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the medical school’s principal...
at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey is the state-run health sciences institution of New Jersey, United States. It has eight distinct academic units...
, are also able to pursue their doctoral degree in the department.
Laboratory units are organized around the research programs of the faculty. These programs range from animal motivation and conditioning processes to decision making in human social groups
Group decision making
Group decision making is a situation faced when individuals are brought together in a group to solve problems. According to the idea of synergy, decisions made collectively tend to be more effective than decisions made by a single individual...
, from neurophysiological mechanisms
Neurophysiology
Neurophysiology is a part of physiology. Neurophysiology is the study of nervous system function...
controlling basic drives to attributional processes
Attribution (psychology)
Attribution is a concept in social psychology referring to how individuals explain causes of behavior and events. Attribution theory is an umbrella term for various theories that attempt to explain these processes. Fritz Heider first proposed a theory of attribution The Psychology of Interpersonal...
in judging other individuals, from the sensory and perceptual roots of human cognition to concept formation
Concept learning
Concept learning, also known as category learning, concept attainment, and concept formation, is largely based on the works of the cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner...
and problem solving
Problem solving
Problem solving is a mental process and is part of the larger problem process that includes problem finding and problem shaping. Consideredthe most complex of all intellectual functions, problem solving has been defined as higher-order cognitive process that requires the modulation and control of...
behavior in the child and adult, from the mathematical and computer techniques employed in research to the mechanisms of attitude
Attitude (psychology)
An attitude is a hypothetical construct that represents an individual's degree of like or dislike for something. Attitudes are generally positive or negative views of a person, place, thing, or event— this is often referred to as the attitude object...
formation and change.
Admission to the graduate program is highly competitive. The number of applications received by the department has risen steadily from 2003 to 2007 and, consequently, the admission rate has declined accordingly. In 2003, twenty out of 192 applicants were accepted. Though seventeen applicants were admitted to the program in 2007, the applicant pool had almost fifty more applicants than the applicant pool from four years earlier.
Men are better represented in the department's student body than in the student bodies of most psychology graduate programs in the United States. Women account for about half of the department's graduate student body, even though women made up 68 percent of the recipients of doctoral degrees in psychology in 2005. Gender representation notwithstanding, female graduate students in psychology programs may benefit from same-sex mentors in their departments. Whereas only 33 percent of faculty members in psychology departments in the United States are women, the Department of Psychology's faculty has a female representation of over 40 percent. Additionally, the department is one of two departments at Princeton University that has had women who have served as departmental chairs.
Nine percent of the department's graduate students are underrepresented minorities
Minority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
. In contrast, twelve percent of recipients of psychology doctoral degrees in 2005 were African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. However, the ethnic and racial diversity of the department's students is comparable to the diversity of the student body of the university's Graduate School. Eight percent of the university's graduate students are members of the three aforementioned underrepresented groups. To reduce minority underrepresentation in graduate school, the department's faculty and graduate students participate in the Princeton Summer Undergraduate Research Experience program, which seeks to encourage students from underrepresented groups to apply to and succeed in graduate school.
Program in cognitive psychology
The department is "a presence in the burgeoning field of cognitive psychology." The research of the cognitive psychology program's faculty spans a wide set of issues within the study of cognitive processes that include cognitive control, memory, judgment and decision makingDecision making
Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios. Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice.- Overview :Human performance in decision terms...
, language processing
Language processing
Language processing refers to the way human beings process speech or writing and understand it as language. Most recent theories back the idea that this process is made completely by and inside the brain.- Spoken language :...
, reasoning
Psychology of reasoning
The psychology of reasoning is the study of how people reason, often broadly defined as the process of drawing conclusions to inform how people solve problems and make decisions...
, and visual perception. The highly interdisciplinary quality of these topics of study results in research that is interactive and multifaceted. Most of the research is conducted at the intersection of fields like computer science and neuroscience.
Program in psychology and public policy
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school has granted undergraduate A.B. degrees since 1930 and graduate degrees since 1948...
and the Department of Psychology, the program was planned with the intent of being a “discipline plus” degree. The growing interest in the incorporation of psychology in law schools and public policy schools is another reason why the program was established. Such interest is evidenced by the fact that five members of the Department of Psychology's faculty have an additional appointment at the Woodrow Wilson School and the fact that the department is one of the sponsors of the Princeton Graduate Student Conference on Psychology and Policymaking.
Undergraduate
Undergraduate students can concentrate in Psychology to receive an A.B.Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in the discipline. As part of the degree requirement, they must complete two junior research papers and a senior thesis under the supervision of the department's faculty members. Psychology is one of the most popular concentrations on campus. It is one of the seven concentrations that have more than one hundred concentrators and undergraduate student enrollment in the department continues to rise steadily. Every year, the department confers 58 undergraduate degrees on average.
Additionally, undergraduate students can enroll in the Program in Neuroscience, which encourages the study of molecular, cellular, developmental, and systems neuroscience as it interfaces with cognitive and behavioral research, to earn a Neuroscience Certificate.
Current faculty
Assistant professors are Matthew Botvinick, Asif Ghazanfar, Uri Hasson, Virginia Kwan, Yael Niv, Daniel OppenheimerDaniel M. Oppenheimer
Daniel M. Oppenheimer is an associate professor of psychology at Princeton University's Department of Psychology. Primarily interested in cognitive psychology, he researches causal discounting, charitable giving, perceptual fluency, and people's perceptions of randomness...
, Emily Pronin, and Alex Todorov.
Associate professors are Michael Graziano, Kenneth Norman, Nicole Shelton, and Stacey Sinclair.
Full professors are Jonathan Cohen, Joel Cooper, John Darley
John Darley
John M. Darley is a distinguished American social psychologist, who has made contributions to the study of helping behaviour...
, Susan Fiske
Susan Fiske
Susan Tufts Fiske is Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology at Princeton University's Department of Psychology. She is a social psychologist known for her work on social cognition, stereotypes, and prejudice...
, Joan Girgus, Elizabeth Gould
Elizabeth Gould (psychologist)
Elizabeth Gould is an American neuroscientist. She is a professor of psychology at Princeton University's Department of Psychology. She was one of the first to find evidence of adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus...
, Charles Gross, Bart Hoebel, Barry Jacobs, Philip Johnson-Laird
Philip Johnson-Laird
Philip Johnson-Laird is a professor at Princeton University's Department of Psychology and author of several notable books on human cognition and the psychology of reasoning....
, Sabine Kastner, Daniel Osherson, Deborah Prentice, Eldar Shafir, Susan Sugarman, and Anne Treisman
Anne Treisman
Anne Marie Treisman FRS is a psychologist currently at Princeton University's Department of Psychology. She researches visual attention, object perception, and memory. One of her most influential ideas is the feature integration theory of attention, first published with G. Gelade in 1980...
.
Emeriti professors are Byron Campbell, Sam Glucksberg, Daniel Kahneman
Daniel Kahneman
Daniel Kahneman is an Israeli-American psychologist and Nobel laureate. He is notable for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making, behavioral economics and hedonic psychology....
, George Miller, and Joseph Notterman.
The Senior Lecturer in the department is Andrew Conway.
The Director of Clinical Psychological Studies is Ronald Comer.
Historic faculty
- James BaldwinJames Mark BaldwinJames Mark Baldwin was an American philosopher and psychologist who was educated at Princeton under the supervision of Scottish philosopher James McCosh and who was one of the founders of the Department of Psychology at the university...
(1861-1934), experimental psychologist and philosopher, received an undergraduate degree and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the university. He later accepted the Stuart Chair in Psychology at the department in 1893 and founded the first psychological laboratory in the department.
- Carl BrighamCarl BrighamCarl Campbell Brigham was a professor of psychology at Princeton University's Department of Psychology and pioneer in the field of psychometrics. His early writings influenced the eugenics movement and anti-immigration legislation in the United States, but he later disowned these views...
(1890-1943), psychometristPsychometricsPsychometrics is the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, personality traits, and educational measurement...
who chaired the College BoardCollege BoardThe College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...
committee that created the Scholastic Aptitude Test, was an associate professor in the department in 1923.
- Hadley CantrilHadley Cantril-Biography:Born in Utah, he was educated at Dartmouth College and received his Ph.D. from Harvard. He joined the faculty of Princeton in 1936 and later became chairman of Princeton University Department of Psychology...
(1906-1969), co-author of the classic study on selective perceptionSelective perceptionSelective perception may refer to any number of cognitive biases in psychology related to the way expectations affect perception.For instance, several studies have shown that students who were told they were consuming alcoholic beverages perceived themselves as being "drunk", exhibited fewer...
in a DartmouthDartmouth CollegeDartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
-Princeton American footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
game, joined the department in 1936 and remained a member of the faculty until his death. He also served as chairman of the department.
- Leonard CarmichaelLeonard CarmichaelLeonard Carmichael was a U.S. educator and psychologist. Born on November 9, 1898 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he received his B.S. from Tufts University in 1921 and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1924...
(1898-1973), psychologist, educator, and administrator, became a member of the department's faculty as an instructor of psychology in 1924 and was promoted to assistant professor in 1926.
- Gustave GilbertGustave GilbertGustave Mark Gilbert was an American psychologist best known for his writings containing observations of high ranking Nazi leaders during the Nuremberg Trials. His Psychology of Dictatorship was an attempt to profile Adolf Hitler using as reference the testimonials of Hitler’s closest generals and...
(1911-1977), co-author of the second of three stereotypeStereotypeA stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
studies that comprise the Princeton Trilogy, jointed the department as a visiting lecturer in abnormal psychologyAbnormal psychologyAbnormal psychology is the branch of psychology that studies unusual patterns of behavior, emotion and thought, which may or may not be understood as precipitating a mental disorder...
in 1948.
- Harold Gulliksen (1903-1996), psychometrist renowned in part for the development and improvement of an effective screening test for United States Navy gunners during the Second World War, became a professor of psychology at the department after the war.
- Julian JaynesJulian JaynesJulian Jaynes was an American psychologist, best known for his book The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind , in which he argued that ancient peoples were not conscious....
(1920-1997), author of "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind", lecturer at the Department of Psychology (1966-1990).
- Edward JonesEdward E. JonesEdward Ellsworth Jones , also known as "Ned" Jones, was an influential social psychologist who worked at Duke University for most of his career. He moved to Princeton University's Department of Psychology in 1977.-Biography:He earned his Ph.D...
(1927-1993), who discovered the actor-observer biasActor-observer biasThe actor-observer asymmetry touches on the fundamental questions of how people gain access to their own and other people's minds and whether those modes of access are distinct....
in collaboration with Richard NisbettRichard E. NisbettRichard Nisbett is Theodore M. Newcomb Distinguished Professor of social psychology and co-director of the Culture and Cognition program at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Nisbett's research interests are in social cognition, culture, social class, and aging. He received his Ph.D...
, joined the psychology faculty in 1977 and remained in the department until his death. The university's Edward E. Jones Lecture Series were inaugurated in his honor.
- Daniel KatzDaniel KatzDaniel Katz was a psychologist, born in Trenton, New Jersey, USA. His academic career culminated at the University of Michigan though he was a professor at Princeton University's Department of Psychology for a time...
(1903-1998), co-author of the first of three stereotype studies that comprise the Princeton Trilogy, was a member of the faculty from 1928 to 1943.
- Ronald Kinchla (1934-2006), quantitative psychophysicistPsychophysicsPsychophysics quantitatively investigates the relationship between physical stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they effect. Psychophysics has been described as "the scientific study of the relation between stimulus and sensation" or, more completely, as "the analysis of perceptual...
, joined the department as professor of psychology in 1969 and attained emeritus status in 2003. He also served as director of graduate studies for the department and "helped to shape the modern-day psychology department."
- Herbert Langfeld (1879-1958) was professor of psychology and director of the Psychology Laboratory. He continued in these positions for the next 23 years. In 1937, he became Stuart Professor of Psychology and chairman of the department. He received emeritus status ten years later. The department's faculty lounge is named after him.
- Silvan TomkinsSilvan TomkinsSilvan Solomon Tomkins is best known as a psychologist and personality theorist and as the developer of Affect theory and Script theory...
(1911-1991), one of the most influential theorists of twentieth-century psychology, had a teaching and research appointment in the department from 1947 until his retirement in 1975.
- Howard WarrenHoward C WarrenHoward Crosby Warren was an American psychologist and the first chairman of the Princeton University Psychology department. He was also president of the American Psychological Association in 1913....
(1867-1934) was Stuart Professor of Psychology and chair of the department from 1903 until 1931. He was a graduate of the university and "devoted his entire professional life so untiringly to that institution that his name is indelibly associated with Eno Hall and Princeton psychology."
- Ernest Wever (1902-1991), experimental psychologist who specialized in auditionHearing (sense)Hearing is the ability to perceive sound by detecting vibrations through an organ such as the ear. It is one of the traditional five senses...
, joined the department in 1927 at the invitation of Langfeld. He was named Dorman T. Warren Professor, a position that he occupied from 1946 to 1950, and Eugene Higgins Professor, a position that he occupied from 1950 to 1971. From 1955 to 1958, he served as chair of the department.
Alumni in academic and research institutions
Unless otherwise noted, a date indicates the year in which a Ph.D. was conferred.- Robert AbelsonRobert P. AbelsonRobert Paul Abelson was a Yale University psychologist and political scientist with special interests in statistics and logic....
'53, social psychologist and political scientist. - Alan BaddeleyAlan BaddeleyAlan David Baddeley FRS, CBE is a British psychologist. He is professor of psychology at the University of York. He is known for his work on working memory, in particular for his multiple components model.-Education:...
'57 (M.A.Master of Arts (postgraduate)A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
), professor of psychology at University of YorkUniversity of YorkThe University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
. - Dan BatsonDaniel BatsonC. Daniel Batson is an American social psychologist. He holds both doctoral degrees in Theology and Psychology . He obtained his doctorate under John Darley and has taught at the University of Kansas...
'72, professor emeritus of psychology at University of KansasUniversity of KansasThe University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
. - Roy BaumeisterRoy BaumeisterRoy F. Baumeister is Francis Eppes Professor of Psychology at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. He is a social psychologist who is known for his work on the self, social rejection, belongingness, sexuality, self-control, self-esteem, self-defeating behaviors, motivation, and...
'78, professor of psychology, Francis EppesFrancis W. EppesFrancis Wayles Eppes VII was the grandson of President Thomas Jefferson. After moving from Virginia with his family to near Tallahassee, Florida in 1829, he established a cotton plantation. In 1856 Eppes donated land and money to gain the location in Tallahassee of one of the first two...
Eminent Scholar, and social area director at Florida State UniversityFlorida State UniversityThe Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
. - Russell FazioRussell H. FazioRussell Fazio is known for his work in the 1980s that led to the emergence of the social cognition perspective in the field of psychology. Russell Fazio was born on October 9, 1952 in Utica, New York and went on to receive his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in 1974 wherein he graduated...
'78, Harold E. Burtt Professor of Psychology at Ohio State UniversityOhio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
. - Michael FriendlyMichael FriendlyMichael Lewis Friendly is a Professor of Psychology at York University in Ontario, Canada, and an Associate Coordinator with the Statistical Consulting Service.- Biography :...
'72, professor of psychology at York UniversityYork UniversityYork University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
. - James GibsonJ. J. GibsonJames Jerome Gibson , was an American psychologist, born in McConnelsville, Ohio, who received his Ph.D. from Princeton University's Department of Psychology, and is considered one of the most important 20th century psychologists in the field of visual perception...
, '25 (B.S.Bachelor of ScienceA Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
) '28, perception psychologist and philosopher. - Daniel Gilbert '85, Harvard CollegeHarvard CollegeHarvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. - Stevan HarnadStevan HarnadStevan Harnad is a cognitive scientist.- Career :Harnad was born in Budapest, Hungary. He did his undergraduate work at McGill University and his graduate work at Princeton University's Department of Psychology...
'91, Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Sciences at Université du Québec à MontréalUniversité du Québec à MontréalThe Université du Québec à Montréal is one of four universities in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Basic facts:The UQAM is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québec , a public university system with other branches in Gatineau , Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec City, Chicoutimi, and...
(UQAM) and Professor in the School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of SouthamptonSchool of Electronics and Computer Science, University of SouthamptonThe School of Electronics and Computer Science , generally abbreviated "ECS", at the University of Southampton was founded in 1946 by Professor Erich Zepler...
. - Mara MatherMara MatherMara Mather is a cognitive psychologist and gerontologist who studies memory, emotion, decision making and aging at the USC Davis School of Gerontology. In 2005, she received the Springer Early Career Achievement Award in Research on Adult Development and Aging. In 2007, she received the Richard...
'00, associate professor of psychology at University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. - Harold Schlosberg '28, experimental psychologist.
Equipment and facilities
EEG
EEG commonly refers to electroencephalography, a measurement of the electrical activity of the brain.EEG may also refer to:* Emperor Entertainment Group, a Hong Kong-based entertainment company...
laboratory, a TMS
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a noninvasive method to cause depolarization or hyperpolarization in the neurons of the brain...
coil, an eye tracking
Eye tracking
Eye tracking is the process of measuring either the point of gaze or the motion of an eye relative to the head. An eye tracker is a device for measuring eye positions and eye movement. Eye trackers are used in research on the visual system, in psychology, in cognitive linguistics and in product...
laboratory, and high-performance computing facilities for data analysis and computational modeling. Seventeen faculty members from the department are affiliated with the CSBMB. Unique among research institutions that own and operate fMRI scanners, the CSBMB is the first facility to own a scanner that is run solely by neuroscientists that conduct basic research
Basic Research
Basic Research is an herbal supplement and cosmetics manufacturer based in Salt Lake City, Utah that distributes products through a large number of subsidiaries. In addition, their products are sold domestically and internationally through a number of high-end retailers. Dennis Gay is the...
. Most scanners in the United States are located in clinical settings and are utilized primarily in applied research
Applied research
Applied research is a form of systematic inquiry involving the practical application of science. It accesses and uses some part of the research communities' accumulated theories, knowledge, methods, and techniques, for a specific, often state, business, or client driven purpose...
.
When the University unveiled its $1.75 billion capital campaign in 2007, it allocated $300 million to build a 240000 sq ft (22,296.7 m²). headquarters for the department on a site of about 98 acres (396,592.3 m²). The psychology building, which would be in the shape of a half-circle cylinder, will consist of five floors above general ground level and one floor below ground level. The department will share this space with the Princeton Neuroscience Institute. The complex will house state-of-the-art labs, faculty offices, and classrooms in an attempt to push the university to the forefront of neuroscience and behavioral science research. Due to the economic environment, however, the construction of the new building has been postponed. The start date for the construction has been postponed until June 2010.
Psychology Library
Academic library
An academic library is a library that is attached to academic institutions above the secondary level, serving the teaching and research needs of students and staff...
. In 1968, two more rooms were added to house monographs and journal stacks. In 1990, the third journal room was moved into the basement to accommodate compact shelving. The Psychology Library, a branch of Princeton University Library
Princeton University Library
Princeton University Library is the main library system of Princeton University. With holdings of more than 7 million books, 6 million microforms, and 37,000 linear feet of manuscripts, it is headquartered in the Harvey S...
, underwent significant renovations in 2002. The basement room was no longer used because the library gained a Reading Room, which has become a popular study space for psychology concentrators. A ramp that leads to the second room was built to ease the reshelving of materials. A librarian’s office was built next to one of the computer clusters.
As of 2006, the Psychology Library contains a large collection of material. The library's collections will be moved to Lewis Library once the new psychology and neuroscience buildings are complete.