Cummings Center for the History of Psychology

06/12/2026

It’s the 91st annual Founders’ Day Weekend, honoring Alcoholics Anonymous founders Bill W. and Dr. Bob! Keeping with tradition, The University of Akron is hosting a variety of panels, meetings, and performances related to the mission and history of AA.

In celebration of this international gathering, we’re offering free museum admission Saturday, June 13 to all visitors. Drop by and explore the history of psychology through our one-of-a-kind exhibits and collections, right here in Akron. Plan your visit at https://www.uakron.edu/chp/museum/

[Image description: The Cummings Center building. Text reads “Free Admission Founders’ Day Weekend, June 13.”]

06/10/2026

Did you know that visitors to our National Museum of Psychology can receive discounted admission with a state-issued EBT card? We’re proud to be one of eight local participants in Museums For All, an IMLS initiative to make museums more accessible for everyone. Just present your EBT card at our front desk, and you’ll receive $3/person discounted admission for your group.

We're open to all, Tuesday through Saturday. Plan your visit at https://www.uakron.edu/chp/museum/

You can also explore the full list of participating Akron museums at https://artsnow.org/museums-for-all/

[Image description: An infant crawling across a museum recreation of the Visual Cliff apparatus. In the foreground, the Museums For All logo is displayed.]

06/09/2026

Geneticist and comparative psychologist John Paul Scott (1909-2000) was best known for his work on animal behavior, particularly dogs. He wrote the 1965 book “Genetics and the Social Behavior of Dogs” alongside John L. Fuller, a classic study of the genetic and environmental influences on canine behavior.

Over 100 photographs from the John Paul Scott papers are newly digitized and available through our online database. Browse the collection at https://collections.uakron.edu/digital/collection/p15960coll2/search/searchterm/John%20Paul%20Scott/field/source/mode/exact/conn/and/page/1

Special thanks to Cummings Center volunteer Max Ott, who digitized these photos!

[Image description: John Paul Scott, a light-skinned man with short gray hair, glasses, and a mustache kneeling outside of a research building. He is holding a dog that is licking his face.]

06/08/2026

All of us here at the Cummings Center were saddened to hear of the passing of two valued friends and board members, Dr. Florence L. Denmark and Dr. Robert “Bob” Lowman.

Dr. Denmark was a pioneer in the psychology of women and a force within APA leadership, including a term as APA President in 1980. Denmark was a passionate believer in psychology as an agent of social change, with a key focus on the psychological wellbeing of women, girls, and families.

Dr. Lowman was a vital leader within APA, expanding funding opportunities and recognition for the field of psychology. Beyond his career in psychology and research administration, Lowman was an enthusiastic photographer, deltiologist, and nature-lover.

We will miss Dr. Denmark and Dr. Lowman, and extend our condolences to their family and friends.

[Image descriptions:
1: Portrait of Florence Denmark, a light-skinned woman with short light-colored hair.
2: Portrait of Robert Lowman, a light-skinned man with short gray hair and glasses.]

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.