June Downey was born in Laramie, Wyoming to Stephen Wheeler Downey and Evangeline Downey as the second child in a family of nine. Her father was a colonel in the Union Army and one of the founders of the University of Wyoming and her younger brother, Sheridan Downey, served as US Senator from California between 1938 and 1950. Following education in Laramie public schools and the University of Wyoming preparatory school she entered the university to major in Greek and Latin.
Career
After graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1895, Downey taught in an elementary school for a year before attending the University of Chicago to work in philosophy and psychology where she completed her master's degree in 1898. In 1901, Downey gained interest in experimental psychology, while attending a summer course taught by Edward Bradford Titchener at Cornell University. Returning to the University of Wyoming, Downey taught English and psychology whilst also conducting some laboratory work for a few years, under the supervision of James Rowland Angell. Downey continued her education of experimental psychology under Edward B. Titchener at Cornell University. She returned to the University of Wyoming in 1905, as a Professor of Philosophy. In 1906 she took leave from her work in order to complete her doctorate; submitting her thesis in 1908, titled 'Control Processes in Modified Handwriting', on the topic of handwriting as a measure of personality. Following her graduate work, Downey was made head of her department; the first woman to be given such a position in a state university. She published a number of academic papers as well as writing and occasionally publishing short stories, poems, plays, and popular articles, including a volume of poetry titled The Heavenly Dykes. Downey's studies focused on themes of imagery and aesthetics and were concentrated in experimental studies rather than theory. She was one of the first psychologists to study personality scientifically and became an expert in handwriting and handedness.
Later life
As Downey grew older she concentrated on her teaching. She published her last book, 'Creative Imagination', in 1929 tying together her interests in psychology and the arts. Downey gained membership to the council of the American Psychological Association between 1923 and 1925 and was one of the first two women admitted to membership in the Society of Experimental Psychologists in 1929, along with Margaret Washburn. Downey never married and had no children. Downey died at her sister's home in Trenton, New Jersey in 1932 after being taken ill with stomach cancer. Shortly after her death, Downey's family presented her private library to the University of Wyoming. The University held a memorial service for her and in 1999 she was named a finalist of 'Wyoming Citizen of the Century'. James Rowland Angell, whom Downey worked under for her doctorate, described her as "endowed with an unusually alert and discerning mind and with a maturity of judgment extremely infrequent in students of her age."
Major contributions
Downey primarily did research on handwriting, but included some research on motor processes such as involuntary muscle movement and its connection to the mind and personality. Downey had studied the practice of muscle reading from a psychological perspective. In 1919, Downey developed the Downey Individual Will-Temperament Test. This test was one of her biggest contributions to personality psychology and was one of the first personality inventories. The test measured personality based on handwriting. It contained 10 smaller tests that when combined could be calculated into a total score that represented one's "will-capacity". The Downey Individual Will-Temperament Test was arranged to represent three personality types. The three personality types are hairtrigger, which is impulsive and quick, the witful type, succinct and decisive, and the accurate type, which is slow and thoughtful.
Other interests
Similar to William James and other eminent psychologists, Downey was greatly interested in the creative arts. She wrote poems, plays, and stories throughout her life. She even wrote the school song, "Alma Mater", for the University of Wyoming. In 1911, she published The Imaginal Reaction to Poetry, one of her most important experiments involving the arts. This study examined the images people had in response to reading poetry, she believed that variation in such images revealed differences in character.
Her next work was her dissertation titled Control Process in Modified Handwriting: An Experimental Study. In this article she studied the relationship between handwriting and temperament or personality.
Heavenly Dykes published in 1904
Imaginal Reaction to Poetry published in 1911
Graphology and the Psychology of Handwriting published in 1919
Plots and Personalities published in 1922 Publisher The Century Company described this book as "the queerest book they have ever published."
The Will-temperament and its Testing published in 1923
Creative Imagination: Studies in the psychology of literature published in 1929.
Legacy
A June Etta Downey Fund in Psychology was established by family members to support professorships, restore the June E. Downey Seminar Room, and support women in the Department of Psychology at the University of Wyoming. She is also honored by the University of Wyoming, which is home to a bronze plaque with her name on it, the use of "Alma Mater" a song written by her, and has a building named after her.
