Editing Psychology (section)

==== 1900–1949 ====
Women in the early 1900s started to make key findings within the world of psychology. In 1923, [[Anna Freud]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-24 |title=Anna Freud: Theory & Contributions To Psychology |url=https://www.simplypsychology.org/anna-freud.html |access-date=2024-03-04 |language=en-US}}</ref> the daughter of [[Sigmund Freud]], built on her father's work using different [[Defence mechanism|defense mechanisms]] (denial, repression, and suppression) to [[Psychoanalysis|psychoanalyze]] children. She believed that once a child reached the [[Latency stage|latency period]], [[Child psychoanalysis|child analysis]] could be used as a mode of [[therapy]]. She stated it is important focus on the child's environment, support their development, and prevent [[neurosis]]. She believed a child should be recognized as their own person with their own right and have each session catered to the child's specific needs. She encouraged drawing, moving freely, and expressing themselves in any way. This helped build a strong therapeutic alliance with child patients, which allows psychologists to observe their normal behavior. She continued her research on the impact of children after family separation, children with socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and all stages of child development from infancy to adolescence.<ref>[[Erik Erikson|Erikson, Erik H.]] (1973) ''[[Childhood and Society]]''. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, p. 298</ref>

[[Functional periodicity]], the belief women are mentally and physically impaired during [[menstruation]], impacted [[women's rights]] because employers were less likely to hire them due to the belief they would be incapable of working for 1 week a month. [[Leta Stetter Hollingworth]] wanted to prove this hypothesis and [[Edward Thorndike|Edward L. Thorndike's]] theory, that women have lesser psychological and physical traits than men and were simply mediocre, incorrect. [[Leta Stetter Hollingworth|Hollingworth]] worked to prove differences were not from male genetic superiority, but from culture. She also included the concept of women's impairment during [[menstruation]] in her research. She recorded both women and men performances on tasks (cognitive, perceptual, and motor) for three months. No evidence was found of decreased performance due to a woman's [[Menstrual cycle|menstrual]] cycle.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Classics in the History of Psychology -- Hollingworth (1914) Index |url=https://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Hollingworth/Periodicity/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=psychclassics.yorku.ca}}</ref> She also challenged the belief intelligence is inherited and women here are intellectually inferior to men. She stated that women do not reach positions of power due to the [[Social norm|societal norms]] and roles they are assigned. As she states in her article, "Variability as related to sex differences in achievement: A Critique",<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hollingworth |first=Leta Stetter |date=1914 |title=Variability as Related to Sex Differences in Achievement: A Critique |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2762962 |journal=American Journal of Sociology |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=510–530 |doi=10.1086/212287 |jstor=2762962 |s2cid=144414476 |issn=0002-9602}}</ref> the largest problem women have is the social order that was built due to the assumption women have less interests and abilities than men. To further prove her point, she completed another experiment with infants who have not been influenced by the environment of social norms, like the adult male getting more opportunities than women. She found no difference between infants besides size. After this research proved the original hypothesis wrong, [[Leta Stetter Hollingworth|Hollingworth]] was able to show there is no difference between the physiological and psychological traits of men and women, and women are not impaired during [[menstruation]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weinberger |first=Jessica |date=2020-03-02 |title=The Incredible Influence of Women in Psychology |url=https://www.talkspace.com/blog/important-women-in-history-psychology-therapy/ |access-date=2024-03-04 |website=Talkspace |language=en-US}}</ref>

The first half of the 1900s was filled with new theories and it was a turning point for women's recognition within the field of psychology. In addition to the contributions made by [[Leta Stetter Hollingworth]] and [[Anna Freud]], [[Mary Whiton Calkins]] invented the paired associates technique of studying memory and developed [[Self psychology|self-psychology]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.apa.org/about/governance/president/bio-mary-whiton-calkins |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=www.apa.org|title=Mary Whiton Calkins: 1905 APA President}}</ref> [[Karen Horney]] developed the concept of "[[womb envy]]" and neurotic needs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Karen Horney {{!}} German Psychoanalyst & Feminist Psychologist {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Karen-Horney |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Psychoanalyst [[Melanie Klein]] impacted [[developmental psychology]] with her research of [[play therapy]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Melanie Klein {{!}} Institute of Psychoanalysis |url=https://psychoanalysis.org.uk/our-authors-and-theorists/melanie-klein |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=psychoanalysis.org.uk}}</ref> These great discoveries and contributions were made during struggles of [[sexism]], [[discrimination]], and little recognition for their work.