ABSTRACT
As psychology sundered itself from philosophy and focused on mental functions and structures, the consequences and implications for education came into focus. The "new" or experimental psychology that emerged in America toward the later part of the 19th century was deeply influenced by several central figures who would also directly influence the field of gifted education. This new psychology begins with Wilhelm Wundt, a German professor, and William James, an American, each contributing to the burgeoning field of American psychology. Wundt's American contemporary, William James, was considered to be the first American psychologist. He developed his own unique type of psychology. Despite the parallel nature of Wundt's and James's work, even establishing demonstration laboratories the same year, Wundtian psychology never achieved the same level of popularity or academic application that James's work in the United States achieved. G. Stanley Hall's efforts to extend psychology often sacrificed quality for quantity.
