William James

The head of the academic bloodline that ends at the ranking test.¹²

Documented core

James founded American psychology with The Principles of Psychology (1890) and, at Harvard in 1878, supervised the doctorate of G. Stanley Hall — the first PhD in psychology granted in America. Hall went on to found the child-study movement and to supervise Lewis Terman. The loop that runs from the constitution of the child as a subject of study to its ranking by test closes inside one advisor-to-student line, and James stands at its head.

Role in the thesis

The documented origin of the enactment rail’s academic descent — advisor to student, on the record. Cited as a teaching line that leaves a paper trail, never as a directed relay.

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1. William James, The Principles of Psychology (1890), 2 vols. — the founding text of American psychology ↩︎

2. G. Stanley Hall's doctorate under James at Harvard, 1878 (the first American PhD in psychology) ↩︎

Referenced by. Where this entry is cited in the reading — hover any to read it in place.

• Two Testimonies — “Hall took the first American doctorate in psychology, at Harvard in 1878, under William James; he became the first president of the American Psychological Association and founded the child-study movement.”
• Measuring the Child — “Stanley Hall](../data/nodes/people/hall-g-stanley.md) took the first American doctorate in psychology, at Harvard in 1878, under William James; he became the first president of the American Psychological Association and founded the child-study movement, the systematic collection of data on the developing young.”