Foundation and evolution of the Paris Institute of Psychology

Before the foundation of the Paris Institute of Psychology, teaching courses in psychology were already given at the turn of the century in Paris by great founding figures of French psychology, notably Théodule Ribot and Pierre Janet. However, no specific training or degree in psychology was proposed to students in French higher education. It took the determination of Henri Piéron and a few philosophers who were open to this new science, in particular Henri Delacroix and Georges Dumas, for the Paris Institute of Psychology to be founded in 1920. This Institute became the flagship place for the dissemination of scientific psychology in France, before the creation of the Bachelor in Psychology degree in 1947. This article outlines the history of the founding of the Paris Institute of Psychology and its development until the 1960s.