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With all the developments and diverging areas of psychological study that have shown up since the creation of this discipline there are many psychologists who have had great influence on the field of psychology. But not all have had influence on the field of psychology to the same degree. Here are the 10 mist influential psychologists in history.

B. F. Skinner

B. F. Skinner is still a leading influence when it comes to the principles of behaviorism. Many of his theories hold up and are still widely accepted today. Some of his famous works involved behavior modification and token economies.

Sigmund Freud

When you think of the greatest influences in the field of psychology you are going to think of Freud. He is a legend and for good reason. He helped to show that not all psychological conditions were rooted in physical causes. He brought the subconscious mind and its role in motivating behavior to light as well.

Albert Bandura

Albert Bandura is well known for his social learning theory. He noted how learning often takes place thanks to observation, modeling, and imitation. Bandura showed that people do not just learn from their own actions. They learn from others.

Jean Piaget

Piaget is known for his contributions in the area of the intellectual development of children. His research entered into many different areas of psychological study and he had noteworthy comments on education reform.

Carl Rogers

Carl Rogers believed in the value of realizing human potential and sought to find ways to help people realize that potential. His influence is that he not only saw what was but what could be given the proper circumstances. He is best known for his own Rogerian therapy.

William James

The influence of William James is so great that he is called the father of American psychology. He wrote a classic textbook on psychology and is credited with playing a large part in helping the public and the professional spheres see psychology as an actual science.

Erik Erikson

Erik Erikson is best known for his theory of the stages of psychosocial development. His stage theory began in childhood and extended throughout the lifespan, unlike many earlier theories that focused mainly on childhood development.

Ivan Pavlov

Ivan Pavlov was a psychologist who concentrated more on observable phenomena than the unconscious or unseen. He is famous for his experiments making dogs salivate in response to a bell as an example of conditioning. His study and explanation of these conditioned reflexes is still at the heart of much behaviorism theory today.

Kurt Lewin

Lewin is known for his work with modern social psychology. He brought scientific methods of testing to his studies of social behavior. He is often refereed to as the father of modern social psychology.

Wilhelm Wundt

Wilhelm Wundt is not always mentioned among the most influential psychologists in history but he should be. He was the first psychologist and realized that psychology was a new area of study. Thanks to him Germany was known for being the place to go to study psychology for a time.

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