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What Were Margaret Floy Washburn’s Contributions to Psychology?

Margaret floy washburn overcame barriers in the male-dominated field of psychology. learn how she established herself as the founding mother of comparative psychology..

Around the turn of the twentieth century, there wasn’t much space in academia for female scholars. Certain disciplines, like psychology, were almost exclusively male. Graduate programs didn’t permit women to enroll, and there were few opportunities for women to study psychology and impact the field with their ideas.

Margaret Floy Washburn was one of the few women who was able to fight her way into the field. Many psychologists now consider her one of the founding scholars of comparative psychology — and some historians argue she should be better remembered. 

Who was Margaret Floy Washburn?

Margaret Floy Washburn was an American psychologist born in 1871 who earned her doctorate in psychology despite having to begin her doctoral studies as a “hearer,” meaning an unofficial student-at-large.

“She was a woman, a scientist working at a time when that was viewed as incompatible by the larger culture,” says Dorothy M. Fragaszy , the Emerita professor of psychology at the University of Georgia. 

Margaret Floy Washburn's Early Life

Washburn was born in Harlem, New York City, on her family’s farm, where her great-grandfather had started commercial gardens. She was an only child, and her parents placed her in small private schools where she sped her way through her elementary studies and started high school at age 12. She began Vassar College at age 15 and graduated in 1891.

Her interest in psychology led her to Columbia University , where a psychology laboratory had just been established. The school, however, refused to admit her as a graduate student, and she later wrote: “... the most I could hope for was to be tolerated as a ‘hearer.’”

She soon learned of a new doctoral program opening at Cornell University. She attended on a scholarship and had exposure to experimental psychology. She graduated in 1894 and took positions at several universities before she landed back at Vassar College in 1903, this time as a professor. 

Limited Laboratory

As a scholar, Washburn pursued research and publishing despite her limited laboratory. Vassar College was not a graduate-degree granting institution, which meant Washburn didn’t have the benefit of working long-term with graduate students, Fragaszy says.

Washburn used professional journals to establish herself within the discipline and even served as the president of the American Psychological Association. “For about 30 years, she was editor, associate editor, co-editor – you name the journal of psychology published in the U.S. – and she was an editor,” Fragaszy says. “This was enormous professional service.”

Read More: The 50 Most Important Women in Science

Margaret Floy Washburn and Comparative Psychology

Although her laboratory was more limited than her peers at larger universities, Washburn published extensively and has been called comparative psychology’s founding mother .  

One of her textbooks, Fragaszy says, was published in the early 1900s and used widely in the U.S. until the 1960s. 

Comparative psychology is the study of behavioral differences between two groups. Initially, comparative psychologists were interested in studying humans and their differences from non-human species. A comparative psychologist, for example, might seek to understand a behavioral difference (or similarity) between humans and gorillas.

Over time, the study broadened to include an analysis between distinctions among the same species. A comparative psychologist, for example, might study the behavior of different generations. In the U.S., the discipline became increasingly popular around the turn of the twentieth century. 

Read More: Charles Henry Turner’s Insights Into Animal Behavior Were A Century Ahead Of Their Time

Washburn's Contributions to Psychology

In 1908, Washburn published The Animal Mind — a book that examined the behavior of animals. She went beyond just observing rats in her laboratory and conducted experiments that allowed her to report on the behavior of a wide variety of insects, birds, and sea life.

The book, as one biographer described it, “was met with wide and lasting popularity.” It was reprinted four times in the next three decades. Part of the popularity was Washburn’s unique but scientific approach. Other textbook authors relied on anecdotes and observations, but Washburn based her results on clinical observations.

Washburn felt a researcher had to have foundational knowledge about the animal in question in order to properly record its behavior. She argued that behaviors like fright, hunger, or loneliness could complicate results, so they had to be known in advance so the researcher could identify them. 

For almost 60 years, The Animal Mind was on the reading list for undergraduate courses in psychology. Although it is no longer a teaching tool, the book is considered an important historical document in the history of the discipline, Fragaszy says.

Read More: How the Scientific Method Works: An In-Depth Look

Margaret Floy Washburn's Legacy

Washburn suffered a stroke in March of 1939 and died later that year on an October afternoon. Academic psychology journals ran biographies after her death, detailing her life’s work and her contributions to the discipline. 

More than 80 years have passed since her death, and many psychology undergraduates may not be familiar with her work. Fragaszy says there are many reasons younger scholars are unfamiliar with Washburn, including that limited laboratory she had at Vassar. 

“She didn’t have a cadre of Ph.D. apprentices carrying on her work,” Fragaszy says.  

Washburn’s male contemporaries at larger universities had the benefit of working with graduate students, and because graduate studies can take several years to complete, they were able to work together on larger, empirical studies that not only received greater attention but also served as the foundation for which that graduate student launched their own career. 

“Her own theoretical contributions have not received the attention they did. It seems to me that she was ahead of her time in some way,” Fragaszy says.

Read More: Meet 10 Women in Science Who Changed the World

Article Sources

Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:

Psychology’s Feminist Voices. Margaret Floy Washburn

Emerita professor of psychology at the University of Georgia. Dorothy M. Fragaszy

National Academy of Sciences. Margaret Floy Washburn

APA Psych Net. Comparative psychology’s founding mother, Margaret Floy Washburn

Frontiers in psychology. The origin of the phrase comparative psychology: an historical overview

The American Journal of Psychology . The Psychological Contributions of Margaret Floy Washburn

New World Encyclopedia. Margaret Floy Washburn

Emilie Lucchesi has written for some of the country's largest newspapers, including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and an MA from DePaul University. She also holds a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Illinois-Chicago with an emphasis on media framing, message construction and stigma communication. Emilie has authored three nonfiction books. Her third, "A Light in the Dark: Surviving More Than Ted Bundy," releases October 3, 2023 from Chicago Review Press and is co-authored with survivor Kathy Kleiner Rubin.

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Margaret Floy Washburn

Margaret Floy Washburn was an advocate for equal educational opportunities for women and became the very first woman in the United States to be awarded a doctoral degree in psychology. Born into a wealthy New York City family, Washburn received her bachelor's degree from Vassar College in 1891, majoring in Chemistry and French. Through persistence, Washburn convinced Columbia University to allow her to audit classes taught by noted psychologist, James McKeen Cattell.

About a year later Cattell recommended that Washburn apply to Cornell University, one of very few institutions that would accept females as graduate students. At Cornell Washburn worked with an early icon in American psychology, E.B. Titchener. She became Titchener's first doctoral student and, in 1894, the first female in the United States to be awarded a Ph.D. in psychology.

Washburn subsequently taught at several colleges but spent the bulk of her career as a psychology professor at Vassar College. By all accounts Washburn loved teaching and mentoring undergraduates. She declined to marry, at least in part, because she would have been expected to give up her paid teaching position. Washburn was an expert on animal behavior as well as sensation and perception. She authored multiple editions of one of the earliest and most successful textbooks in comparative psychology, The Animal Mind . She also wrote a book on her motor theory, Movement and Mental Imagery . Washburn was a co-editor on very early volumes of the American Journal of Psychology , was ranked among the top 50 psychologists in the country in 1903, served as President of the American Psychological Association in 1921, and was elected to the National Academy of Science in 1931.

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General Biography

Margaret Floy Washburn was born an only child to parents Francis Washburn and Elizabeth Floy Davis in New York City on July 25th, 1871. Washburn’s father was a businessman until he decided to enter the Episcopal ministry, while her mother stayed at home as a housewife and caretaker for their child. Finances did not seem to be a huge issue for the family as Washburn’s mother came from a wealthy family herself. Her early education consisted of both private and public school and eventually graduated high school in 1886 at the age of 15 (Goodman, 1980).

Washburn later attended Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY, where she excelled in many areas, including chemistry, French, poetry, philosophy, biology, and Greek. After graduating from Vassar in 1891, Washburn found herself intrigued by both philosophy and science, which led her to the newly established Columbia University psychological laboratory (Goodman, 1980). She attended classes at Columbia as a “hearer”, which meant she was only allowed to sit in on classes as an observer since women rarely were accepted into graduate programs during this period in time. She later attended the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell with experimental psychologist Edward B. Titchener. In 1894, she was acknowledged as the first woman in the United States to earn a PhD in Psychology (Goodman, 1980).

Washburn started her career teaching at a few colleges. From 1894 to 1900, she taught philosophy and psychology at Wells College, traveling back to Cornell often in order to stay in the loop regarding the ideas, events, and people that were a part of the establishment of Cornell as a center for activity in psychology (Goodman, 1980). Shortly after, Washburn became the warden of Sage College, which later led her to an appointment as lecturer for special courses, such as social psychology and animal psychology (Goodman, 1980). She spent a short time at the University of Cincinnati before returning to Vassar College in 1903 as an Associate Professor of Philosophy (Goodman, 1980), where she stayed for the rest of her career.

Because of her expertise regarding animal behavior, it is no surprise that Washburn authored a comparative psychology textbook titled The Animal Mind (1908), as well as a novel on her motor theory of consciousness titled Movement and Mental Imagery (1916). In the early volumes of the American Journal of Psychology, Washburn was a co-editor and earned a spot as one of the top 50 psychologists in the country. Interestingly enough, Washburn never married because she came from an era where women were not allowed to hold both roles of teacher and wife or mother.

Washburn was known as “a forceful personality with a sharp sense of humor moderated by sensitivity to others’ feelings” (Scarborough, 1990). Outside of her career in psychology, she enjoyed activities such as piano playing, singing, ballroom dancing, and oil painting. Washburn had a special love for cats, but was also fascinated by other animals, which likely explains why she was interested in publishing work on animal psychology. On October 29th, 1937, Washburn died in Poughkeepsie, New York, with her death being caused by a stroke (Scarborough, 1990).

Important Achievements

As mentioned previously, one of Washburn’s biggest achievements was being the first woman to earn a PhD in American psychology (from Cornell University) and being the second woman to serve as APA President. While she was not the first woman to complete a doctoral program at a university, she was the first to be granted a degree (American Psychological Association, n.d.). These achievements are important in the field of psychology, as they paved the way for other women to enroll in universities and complete degree programs. They also showed that women were capable of holding high positions in psychological associations.

Washburn also published many books, some of which were mentioned briefly in earlier paragraphs, detailing her experimental studies and theories. One of her notable books is The Animal Mind, published in 1908. This book served as an overview for the experiments she conducted on animal cognition, along with other studies related to animal psychology (Martin, 1940). The Animal Mind became a widely used textbook for studying animal psychology, and went through many different editions over time. It remained a staple for psychology textbooks for almost 25 years (Martin, 1940).

Her most prevalent theory came in the 1916 book Movement and Mental Imagery, where she proposed her motor theory of consciousness. In simple terms, her theory stated that consciousness and motor activity are connected, and because of that, thinking and movement are connected. This was one of the first supported hypotheses for the connection between the mind and the body, specifically body movement. Ideas about movement and thinking are still being studied today, with a recent study suggesting that movement and physical activity could lead to cognitive thinking changes, and could assist in enhancing cognitive reserve (Herald et. al., 2018). It is possible that these more recent studies would not be happening without Washburn’s work.

Washburn published works over the span of 35 years of her life, all of which contained studies and articles written by her. She was also the first woman to be elected to the Society of Experimental Psychologists, an academic group for experimental psychology created by Edward Bradford Titchener in 1904, who originally disallowed women from joining (Martin, 1940). Because of this invitation, and being the first woman to earn a psychology doctorate, Washburn is viewed as a trailblazer for women in the field of psychology. Her continuous work in the field and success in her publishing also showed that women were capable of working and flourishing with academia and experimental research, something that at the time, many believed they were unsuited for.

Historical Context

Arguably, the first major influential person in Washburn’s life may have been psychologist James McKeen Cattell. However, Washburn’s parents were influential all throughout her life through their sharing of literary interests and encouragement (Goodman, 1980).  Washburn was allowed to attend Cattell’s lectures at Columbia University where he later recommended that she apply to Cornell University. This led Washburn to the infamous psychologist, Edward B. Titchener, becoming his first ever doctoral student (Goodman, 1980). After a year at Cornell, Washburn earned an M.A. degree in absentia in 1893. In 1894, she was granted her Ph.D. from Cornell, which was greatly influenced by Titchener’s recommendation (Dallenbach, 1940). His recommendation proved to be beneficial, as women were rarely granted degrees from universities at the time, and even more rarely received recommendations from men in psychology.

Washburn influenced many people throughout her career, but most importantly, her students respected her and some went on to be very successful. Considering Washburn’s success, she paved the way for the next generation of women psychologists. Other women in psychology prominent in this time period included Christine Ladd-Franklin and Mary Whiton Calkins. These three women were the start of a movement to change the way women were perceived, proving to men that women had more to offer to the field of psychology and other areas of expertise (Russo & Denmark, 1987).

Similar to Washburn, June Etta Downey worked alongside Edward B. Titchener at Cornell in 1901. Downey was also interested in the study of motor behavior, and it can be assumed that she was inspired by Washburn in some way, especially considering both women studied with Titchener. The only difference is Downey focused more on personality, graphology, and aesthetics, which was quite different from animal psychology and cognition (Russo & Denmark, 1987).

Women in psychology during this period struggled to receive proper education as it was a male dominated field. More specifically, women who were married or had children had very little opportunity to excel within the field. Some women were even denied the degrees they rightfully earned, and if they did earn their degree, they often struggled to find positions that hired women. It is assumed that Washburn chose not to marry because she knew it would potentially delay or hinder her career in psychology. She instead dedicated her life to her career and research. So much so that, after Mary Whiton Calkins, Washburn served as president of the American Psychological Association (APA) and received the high honor of being named a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, being only the second woman to ever receive this honor (Goodman, 1980).

The time of Washburn, or the early 1900s, is considered the Progressive Era and is described as a period of peace, prosperity, and progress (Library of Congress, n.d.). The promise of jobs and higher wages was reason enough for many people to move to larger cities in the United States, which resulted in problems for lower class and working class populations, including starvation, inadequate water supply, disease, and overcrowding (Library of Congress, n.d.). However, because Washburn was considered upper middle class, the Progressive Era provided benefits to her family, and this privilege undoubtedly contributed to her opportunities and success.

Historical Impact

Washburn made a great impact when it comes to the field of psychology. Her work in animal psychology and cognition was her first contribution, and her book The Animal Mind reflected the importance of studying the influence of the brain on animal behavior, including perception, attention, learning, and sensation. What made this book different from other animal studies was the variety of animals Washburn chose to utilize in her research; other psychological experiments with animals at the time only used rats. Washburn’s work led her to conclude that mental processes and consciousness of animals is similar to that of humans, because animals have the same mental structures as humans do (Washburn, 1908). The Animal Mind would go on to be a commonly used textbook in psychology for 25 years, showing the impact of Washburn’s work.

Washburn also contributed her theory of motor consciousness to the world of psychology. This idea outlines that consciousness is linked to movement. This theory was her attempt to branch behaviorism and structuralism, two major psychological systems. Washburn had criticized and scrutinized the structuralist perspective, and used these grievances to create her own theory (Abel, 1927). The development of this theory shows Washburn’s intellectual drive, which likely underscored her later contributions to the field of psychology.

Overall, at a time when women and people of color were discouraged from pursuing education, and even forbidden in some places, Washburn receiving her degree was a major turning point for psychology. Her dedication and thorough work showed that women were just as capable of academic achievements as men. Without the tenacity of Washburn, it may have taken much longer for women to be included in the field of psychology.

Abel, T. M. (1927). Washburn’s motor theory: A contribution to functional psychology. The American Journal of Psychology, 39(1/4), 91–105. https://doi.org/10.2307/1415403

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Margaret Floy Washburn: 1921 APA president. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://www.apa.org/about/governance/president/bio-margaret-washburn

Library of Congress (n.d). Cities during the Progressive Era. Retrieved April 7, 2023, from https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/progressive-era-to-new-era-1900-1929/cities-during-progressive-era/

Dallenbach, K. M. (1940). Margaret Floy Washburn 1871-1939. The American Journal of Psychology, 53(1), 1–5. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1415955

Goodman, E. S. (1980). Margaret F. Washburn (1871–1939): first woman Ph. D. in psychology. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 5(1), 69-80.

Herold, F., Hamacher, D, Schega, L. & Muller, N. (2018). Thinking while moving or moving while thinking – concepts of motor-cognitive training for cognitive performance enhancement. Front. Aging Neurosci. 10:288 doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2018.00228

Hudson, G. & Elliott, A. (2005). The impact of the variability hypothesis on Margaret F. Washburn’s and Mary W. Calkins’ paradoxical relations with faculty in their graduate programs. Modern Psychological Studies, Vol 11. No 1. Article 2.

Mabel F. Martin. (1940.) The Psychological Contributions of Margaret Floy Washburn. American Journal of Psychology 53, 7-18.

National Women’s History Museum (n.d.). Margaret Floy Washburn. Retrieved February 23, 2023, from https://www.womenshistory.org/margaret-floy-washburn

Russo, N. F., & Denmark, F. L. (1987). Contributions of women to psychology. Annual Review of Psychology, 38(1), 279-298.

Scarborough, E. (1990). Margaret Floy Washburn (1871–1939). Women in psychology: A bio-bibliographic sourcebook, 342-349.

Washburn, M.F. (1908) The animal mind: A text-book of comparative psychology. Macmillan Company, New York. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.31648

Weinberger, J. (2021, January 28). The incredible influence of women in psychology. Talkspace. https://www.talkspace.com/blog/important-women-in-history-psychology-therapy/

Better Help (n.d.). What did Margaret Floy Washburn contribute to psychology? Retrieved February 24, 2023, from https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/psychologists/what-did-margaret-floy-washburn-contribute-to-psychology/

Open History of Psychology: The Lives and Contributions of Marginalized Psychology Pioneers Copyright © 2023 by Natalie McFarren and Anonymous Contributor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Margaret Floy Washburn

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Margaret Floy Washburn (born July 25, 1871, New York , N.Y., U.S.—died Oct. 29, 1939, Poughkeepsie , N.Y.) was an American psychologist whose work at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie made it a leading institution in undergraduate psychological research and education.

Washburn graduated from Vassar College in 1891. She then studied briefly at Columbia University , New York City , where she was allowed to audit courses and work in James M. Cattell ’s new laboratory of experimental psychology but was not admitted as a regular student. In 1892 she entered Cornell University , Ithaca, New York, where she studied under Edward Bradford Titchener , and she received a Ph.D. in psychology in 1894. For six years she was professor of psychology, philosophy , and ethics at Wells College, Aurora, New York. She returned to Cornell (1900–02) as warden of Sage College, a women’s residence; during that time she also taught courses in animal and social psychology .

After a year of teaching at the University of Cincinnati , Ohio , Washburn returned to Vassar to teach psychology. She remained (from 1908 as full professor) until her retirement in 1937. A remarkably effective teacher, she made Vassar a leading centre of undergraduate training and research in psychology. The results of her joint researches with advanced students were reported in a series of Studies from the Psychological Laboratory of Vassar College . Her own publications include scores of articles, reviews, and notes in professional journals and two books, The Animal Mind (1908) and Movement and Mental Imagery (1916). The former is a summary of studies that is of lasting importance, and the latter is a development of Washburn’s dualistic motor theory of mental activity, an attempt to find a compromise between the opposed and equally one-sided schools of behaviourism and introspection .

Washburn served as a cooperating editor of the American Journal of Psychology (1903–25) and as one of its four coeditors from 1925; she was also associated with the Psychological Bulletin , the Psychological Review , the Journal of Comparative Psychology , and the Journal of American Behavior . In 1927 a special number of the American Journal of Psychology honoured Washburn. She was a member of the National Research Council (1919–20, 1925–28), and in 1931 she became the second woman (after Florence R. Sabin ) to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences .

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Margaret floy washburn, phd, 1921 apa president.

Her principal research interests were animal behavior and the basic psychological processes of sensation and perception. The book she is best known for was " The Animal Mind " (1908), which was the first book based on experimental work in animal cognition. The book went through many editions and was for a number of years the most widely used book in comparative psychology. Following her interest in basic processes, Washburn developed a motor theory of consciousness. The theory was most fully developed in her book, "Movement and Mental Imagery" (1916). There, she integrated the experimental method of introspection with an emphasis on motor processes. The basic premise of her work was that thinking was based in movement. Thus, consciousness is linked to motor activity. Beyond serving as APA President, Washburn received many honors. Perhaps her highest honor was being named a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences. She was only the second woman to ever receive that honor.

A full account of her career can be found in Robert S. Woodworth (1948), Margaret Floy Washburn. "Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, I 25, 275-295 ."  A more intimate portrait of her life and work that also sets her story in the context of her times can be found in Elizabeth Scarborough and Laurel Furumoto, "Untold Lives: The First Generation of American Women Psychologists" (1989).

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