Final answer:
Margaret Floy Washburn was the first U.S. woman to earn a Ph.D. in psychology in 1894. Mary Whiton Calkins, denied the degree by Harvard, made notable contributions and was the first female APA president. Inez Beverly Prosser was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in psychology.
Step-by-step explanation:
The First U.S. Woman to Earn a Ph.D. in Psychology
The first U.S. woman to be awarded a doctoral degree in psychology was Margaret Floy Washburn in 1894. Her profound work, The Animal Mind: A Textbook of Comparative Psychology, became a cornerstone in the field for over two decades. Despite completing all necessary requirements for a Ph.D. in psychology during the mid-1890s, Mary Whiton Calkins was denied the degree by Harvard University solely because of her gender. Nevertheless, Calkins' research on memory and self-psychology was seminal, and she was later recognized as the first female president of the American Psychological Association in 1905.
In addition to Washburn and Calkins, the early 20th century saw other significant milestones for women in psychology. Notably, Inez Beverly Prosser became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in psychology in 1933. Her research played a crucial role in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision.
The contributions of these pioneering women laid the foundation for future generations of diverse psychologists, expanding the representation in the field and ensuring that psychology would evolve to better reflect and serve all segments of society.