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This is a list of important publications in psychology, organized by field. Some reasons why a particular publication might be regarded as important:

• Topic creator – A publication that created a new topic.
• Breakthrough – A publication that changed scientific knowledge significantly
• Influence – A publication which has significantly influenced the world or has had a massive impact on the teaching of psychology.

Historical foundations

• James, William (1890). The Principles of Psychology. This monumental text can be viewed as the beginning of psychology. Online version
• Freud, Sigmund (1900). The Interpretation of Dreams. Dream interpretation became a part of psychoanalysis due to this seminal work. Online version
• Freud, Sigmund (1920). Introductory Lectures on Psycho-analysis. Discussion of slips, transference, and dream analysis. Includes classic case studies.

Abnormal psychology

Behaviorism

• Watson, John B. (1913). "Psychology as the behaviorist views it," Psychological Review, 20:158-177. With his behaviorism, Watson put the emphasis on external behavior of people and their reaction to a given situation, rather than the internal, mental states of those people. He argued that the analysis of behavior and reactions was the only objective way to get insight into human actions. Online version
• Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and Human Behavior. This is Skinner's seminal textbook, in which he discusses many subjects that are not usually covered, such as psychotherapy, self-control, and thinking. It was written as part of a publishing deal so that he could get his utopian fiction novel published. It has proven to be an enduring Radical Behaviorist treatment of the person and society. Pavlovian behaviorism has been absorbed into and obliterated by other theories of behavior, including Radical Behaviorism. Online version

Biological psychology

Clinical psychology

• Freud, Sigmund (1900). The Interpretation of Dreams. Dream interpretation became a part of psychoanalysis due to this seminal work.

Cognitive psychology

Developmental psychology

Educational psychology

Evolutionary psychology

Evolutionary developmental psychology

Evolutionary educational psychology

Forensic psychology

• Hugo Münsterberg (1908). On the Witness Stand. Considered^{[by whom?]} to be the first publication to apply psychology to legal matters. Among the topics discussed are the reliability of witnesses' testimony and memory, lie detection, and methods of interrogating suspects of crime.

Gestalt psychology

• Max Wertheimer (1912). Experimental Studies of the Perception of Movement. Considered^{[by whom?]} to be the founding article for Gestalt psychology. The article described the Phi phenomenon.

Health psychology

Human behavior genetics / Genetic psychology

Humanistic psychology

• Frankl, Viktor (1946). Man's Search for Meaning. New York, NY: Washington Square Press [Second printing, 1963]. p. 221. ISBN 080701429X.
• Rogers, Carl (September 17, 1995). On Becoming a Person. Boston, MA: Mariner Books, 2nd ed. edition. ISBN 978-0395755310.

Industrial and organizational psychology

Neuropharmacology

Neuropsychology

• David Marr (1982-2010) Vision: A Computational Investigation into the Human Representation and Processing of Visual Information. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company. ISBN 0-7167-1284-9.^[1]

Occupational health psychology

Personality psychology

• Abraham Maslow (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370–396. Maslow's hierarchy of needs was first described in this paper. Online version
• Michael Apter (1982). The Experience of Motivation: The Theory of Psychological Reversals Reversal theory was introduced broadly in this book.

Phenomenology

Religion

Psychophysics

• Gustav Fechner. (1836) Elements of Psychophysics. Foundation of the field of psychophysics.

Social psychology

• Allport, G.W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. New York: Doubleday. This book expounds one of the most influential theories of prejudice reduction, known as the Contact Hypothesis: increasing contact between members of different groups is the foundation for reducing intergroup hostility.
• Tajfel, H., & Turner, J.C.. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W.G. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole. (see Social identity theory).