In the previous essays on crazy therapists, I’ve alternately defended and criticized my profession. Today, let’s wrap it up with a brief, questionable history lesson. Together, we will explore the unsightly twists and turns on the road to modern psychology. If you think modern treatments such as alien abduction therapy are crazy, you should see what cave-dwelling proto-psychologists were up to millions of years ago. Here’s a hint: it involved drilling.
In addition to prehistoric psychologists, we’ll explore the foibles of the field’s leading figures, paying special attention to people with entertaining names like Wilhelm Wundt, Edwin Boring (ha ha!), and Barbra Streisand, who we remember as the first female psychologist to boink her patient.
Those questions, and more, in a little essay I like to call “one of the most accurate history lessons on the Internet.” More →