German philosopher and psychologist Gustav Theodor Fechner (1811-1887) founded experimental psychology with his work on psychophysics in the 1860s. With the publication of Vorschule der Aesthetik (Preschool of Aesthetics) in 1876, he initiated the domain of experimental aesthetics.

Margaret Floy Washburn was the first woman to earn a doctoral degree in American psychology in 1894, and the second woman to serve as APA's (American Psychological Association) President. Her main research interests involved animal behaviour, sensation and perception. Her contributions to empirical aesthetics included studies of individual differences in the strength of aesthetic pleasure, a test of aesthetic judgment, and research on factors that influence the pleasingness of colours.

German philosopher Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714-1762) first used the term "aesthetics" in its modern sense in 1750, thereby giving a name to large areas of study within philosophy and scientific psychology.

French experimental psychologist Robert Francès (1919-2012) was one of the founders of IAEA in 1965. His research focused on psychology of aesthetics and psychology of music.