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History of the British Psychological Society

The Psychological Society was founded on October 24 1901 at University College London. Its aim was 'to advance scientific psychological research, and to further the co-operation of investigators in the various branches of Psychology.' The ten founders resolved 'that only those who are recognised teacher in some branch of psychology or who have published work of recognisable value be eligible as members'. As the Society's first historian later recalled, the change of name to The British Psychological Society in 1906 'was not due to any sudden uprising of imperial pride, but to the fact that members had discovered another body of persons who were using the former title. To prevent confusion with this unacademic group the change in title was agreed to.' (Edgell, 1947: 116).

Membership increased steadily until the First World War. Upon his return from serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps in November 1918, the then editor of the British Journal of Psychology initiated changes that would have revolutionary consequences for British psychology. An advisor to the Journal since its creation by James Ward and W.H.R. Rivers in 1904, Charles Myers had become its sole editor in 1914, the year in which it was acquired by the British Psychological Society.

Myers suggested that the Society should support sections for specialised aspects of applied psychology, noting that medical, industrial and educational psychology groups were already moving to establish separate organizations. Following the acceptance of his proposal that anyone merely 'interested in psychology' (not just recognised scholars or teachers) should be allowed to join, by the end of 1920 membership had increased to over 600. Myers was duly elected the Society's first President.

Although the 1919 reforms brought 'a welcome release from the genteel penury of the past' (Lovie, 2001), they also initiated a long-running debate between the Society's professional and scientific constituencies. As the century continued, opportunities increased for psychologists working in more areas of life, including health, education, work and the law. The Society restructured a number of times, forming various Divisions, Boards, committees and sub-systems to accommodate members' many interests.

A register of professional psychologists was set up in the 1930s. The Society was Incorporated in 1941. The Quarterly Bulletin of the British Psychological Society was launched in 1948. Its editor was Frederick Laws, a journalist with the News Chronicle. Membership of the British Psychological Society stood at 1,897 in 1950, rising only to 2,655 in 1960. By 1982 the Society had a membership of more than 10,000. It now stands at over 33,000.

The Society was granted a Royal Charter in 1965. On December 18, 1987, at Buckingham Palace, the Queen granted amendments to the Charter, thereby allowing the Society to maintain a Register of Chartered Psychologists. Reforms during the last few years have radically altered the the organizational structure once again. The Society's main administrative offices had moved to Leicester in the 1970s. With the purchase of additional offices in London in 2000, the British Psychological Society symbolically returned to the city in which it was founded almost a century before.

This Short History has been prepared by Dr Geoff Bunn
BPS Research Fellow at the Science Museum

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A short history of the British Psychological Society

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