Cummings Center for the History of Psychology

05/27/2026

Has psychology ever been honored with a U.S. postage stamp? Yes and no! Over on the Cummings Center blog, Emeritus Board member Dr. Ludy T. Benjamin, Jr. explores the history of psychology through postage stamps, in the U.S. and abroad.

Click the link below to read on!

– contributed by Ludy T. Benjamin, Jr., Emeritus Member of the Cummings Center Advisory Board This blog is prompted by an unusual stamp collection that is part of the archival collections of …

05/21/2026

Heads up that the National Museum of Psychology and Institute Galleries will be CLOSED this Saturday, May 23. Our team will be off through the holiday weekend getting some well-earned R&R. We’ll be back to work exploring the history of psychology and our shared humanity next Tuesday – see you then!

[Image description: Psychologists Abraham Maslow and Muzafer Sherif standing together in front of a large building. Text overlay reads “Closed Saturday May 23.”]

05/20/2026

Accuracy, speed, coordination – all critical skills for aviation cadets! ✈️

Developed in 1934, the Complex Coordination Test was given to U.S. Army Air Force recruits during World War II. This apparatus consisted of a seat, rubber pedals, a yoke stick, and a panel of flashing lights. Cadets were expected to maneuver the pedals and yoke forward, backward, and side-to-side in response to the pattern of lights over the course of an 8-minute period. This test served as an early model for modern flight simulators.

See an original Complex Coordination apparatus, plus other artifacts and documents from World War II, in our Psychology Takes Flight exhibit, on display now through November. Plan your visit at https://www.uakron.edu/chp/museum/

[Image descriptions:
1: A Complex Coordination Test apparatus in a museum gallery. It is an “L” shaped wooden device with a small light display, a built-in wooden chair, two pedals, and a yoke stick.
2: Archival photo depicting a row of four men, each seated operating a Complex Coordination apparatus. In the background, a fifth man is seated at a table observing their performance.]

05/19/2026

Thanks to everyone who joined us last week for the 12th Annual Benjamin Lecture! We welcomed over 100 attendees to Dr. Kelly Lambert’s presentation – covering current and historical perspectives on habitat, experience, and neuroplasticity. Attendees joined us from our Advisory Board, Psi Alpha International Honor Society for High School Psychology, Hillsborough College in Tampa, Florida, Sinclair Communlty College, and the local Akron community. It’s always such a pleasure to share new perspectives in psychology with such a wide audience!

A recording of Dr. Lambert’s presentation will be made available soon. Stayed tuned for more info.

[Image description: Three people posing together. Left to right, they are Cummings Center Executive Director Dr. Cathy Faye, Featured Speaker Dr. Kelly Lambert, and Cummings Center Assistant Director Dr. Jennifer Bazar.]

04/30/2026

Time is running out to register for the 2026 Benjamin Lecture! Register by May 6 to hear from acclaimed behavioral neuroscientist Dr. Kelly Lambert, who will guide attendees through the fascinating world of experience-based neuroplasticity. This engaging presentation will bridge historical foundations with modern neuroscience, exploring how diverse habitats and experiences help us to sculpt healthy outcomes.

The 2026 Benjamin Lecture will be held on Thursday, May 14. Learn more and register now at https://www.uakron.edu/chp/about-us/benjamin-lecture.dot

[Image description: Dr. Kelly Lambert, a light-skinned woman with shoulder-length blond hair. Text reads “2026 Benjamin Lecture. Registration open now through May 6th.”]

04/30/2026

Cummings Center Executive Director Dr. Cathy Faye will be at The Nightlight tonight at 6:15pm for an open conversation following the documentary "John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office!" Join us there for an insightful look at Lilly's research into psychedelics, consciousness, and language.

Tickets are available at https://nightlightcinema.com/movie/john-lilly-and-the-earth-coincidence-control-office

Join us Thursday, 4/30 at 6:15 pm for a special DOC CLUB screening of John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office followed by an open conversation with Saelyx Finna and special guest
Cathy Faye, Ph.D. , Margaret Clark Morgan Executive Director of Cummings Center for the History of Psychology! It will be nothing short of riveting, we promise! 🐬🧠🥼

The daring experimenter Dr. John C. Lilly dedicated his life to radical self-investigation and unlocking the mysteries of consciousness and communication. “My body is my laboratory” was the motto, and his research on the language of dolphins and whales – as well as psychedelics and sensory deprivation – assured his own cult status in 20th-century pop culture as the basis for Ken Russel’s Altered States and Mike Nichols’s The Day of the Dolphin.

Directors Michael Almareyda and Courtney Stephens, along with narrator Chloë Sevigny, explore the life of a determined scientist and his experiments into the psychonautical unknown.

04/28/2026

The Henry W. Riecken Papers are newly processed and available for research! Riecken is best known for his work alongside Leon Festinger and Stanley Schachter, contributing to early studies of cognitive dissonance. Together, they co-authored the 1956 book “When Prophecy Fails,” which focused on the apocalyptic beliefs of a small religious sect. Riecken later transitioned to the government sector, serving as the first Director of the National Science Foundation’s Office of Social Sciences.

The finding aid for the Henry W. Riecken Papers is now available online: https://collections.uakron.edu/digital/collection/p15960coll10/id/1573/rec/6

[Image description: Portrait of Henry W. Riecken, a light-skinned man with short hair and glasses.]

04/23/2026

Northeast Ohio! Tune in to New Day Cleveland on Fox 8 tomorrow between 11am – 12pm for an interview with our Assistant Director, Dr. Jennifer Bazar! Bazar will be giving an overview of the Cummings Center’s National Museum of Psychology, the only museum of its kind in North America. Learn more about this one-of-a-kind destination, located in the heart of Akron.

Watch live online at https://fox8.com/on-air/live-streaming/

[Image description: Visitors in the National Museum of Psychology, looking at a museum display focused on primate research in psychology.]

04/20/2026

In April 1958, the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) hosted their annual meeting in Rome. While there, psychologists were granted an audience with Pope Pius XII. During his address to the group, Pius XII spoke about ethical questions in psychological testing and treatment, warning psychologists not to probe too deeply into individuals’ minds. In news reports about the address, he was quoted, “Certain secrets cannot be unveiled even to one prudent person.”

In the picture below, Pius XII can be seen shaking hands with Morris S. Viteles, a vital figure in the development of I/O psychology and the first American to be elected President of IAAP.

Explore the finding aid for the Morris S. Viteles Papers at https://collections.uakron.edu/digital/collection/p15960coll10/id/1355/rec/14

[Image description: A large group gathered indoors. Near the center, Morris S. Viteles, a light-skinned man with short light hair and glasses, is shaking hands with Pope Pius XII.]

04/09/2026

Psychologist Ruth Cruikshank Bussey knew from an early age that she wanted to work in science. During World War II, she served in the U.S. Army Air Forces under the Air Service Command, where she developed and validated tests for civilian aircraft employees. She later served in the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), a division of the Navy. After the war, she continued her work studying visual perception and opened a private consulting practice.

Bussey was one of many psychologists whose work contributed to the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. You can explore their contributions alongside original artifacts and tests in our “Psychology Takes Flight” exhibit, on view now. Plan your visit at https://www.uakron.edu/chp/museum/

[Image description: Portrait of Ruth Cruikshank Bussey, a light-skinned woman with short dark hair, wearing her Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES) uniform.]