In 1979, Tianjin Normal College established the Institute of Education Science to offer education and psychology courses. The Psychology Laboratory led by the renowned psychologist Shen Deli, which was established in 1980, developed the first generation of domestically produced psychology teaching equipment. In 1984, the College of Education was established at Tianjin Normal University, and in 1986, it was authorized to grant master's degrees in developmental psychology. With a loan from the World Bank in 1989, the university established the best psychology laboratory in China at the time. In 1991, the Developmental Psychology became a key discipline in Tianjin, and in 1996, the university was authorized to grant doctoral degrees in developmental and educational psychology. In 2000, the university began to enroll undergraduate students majoring in applied psychology.

In 2000, TNU’s Psychology and Behavioral Research Center became a key research base of the humanities and social sciences under the Ministry of Education with Shen Deli being its director, and Yin Guoen, Zhang Jian, and Bai Xuejun being its vice-directors. In 2006, it was renamed as the Institute of Psychology and Behavior Research with approval from the Ministry of Education.

In 2003, the college was authorized to award Ph.D. degrees in psychology and established a postdoctoral research station. In 2007, it became a national key discipline in developmental and educational psychology. In 2010, the college was authorized to award master's degrees in Applied Psychology. In 2017, its Psychology was selected as a first-class discipline in Tianjin, and "Promotion of National Mental Health" was included in the list of characteristic subject groups. In the fourth round of national discipline evaluation in the same year, Psychology was awarded a B+.

In April 2019, TNU established the School of Psychology including the Psychology Department, the Institute of Psychology and Behavior, the Public Course Teaching and Research Office of Psychology, the Institute of Geriatric Psychology, the Tianjin Collaborative Innovation Center for National Mental Health and Promotion 2011, the Tianjin Eye Movement Tracking Interdisciplinary International Joint Research Center, the Experimental Teaching Center, the Brain Function Imaging Center, the Innovative Education International Joint Research Center, the Tianjin Student Mental Health Education Development Center, and the Institute of Language Psychology and Cognitive Science.

In 2020, its two national-level first-class courses, "Child Development" and "Application of Different Schools of Psychological Counseling Techniques in the Same Case Virtual Simulation Teaching Project", were introduced, and the school was approved as the public education base for psychological health in Tianjin. In 2021, the Applied Psychology major was certified as a normal major by the Ministry of Education, and in the same year its volunteer service team was awarded the Tianjin Workers Pioneer Title.

The school currently has 101 faculty members, including 75 full-time teachers, 20 with senior titles, 17 with associate senior ones, and 38 with intermediate ones.

There are currently 346 domestic undergraduate students, 166 academic master's students, 331 professional master's students, 70 academic doctoral students, and 59 professional doctoral students. Meanwhile, the school extensively carries out international exchanges, with eight overseas undergraduate students, 10 overseas master's students, and one overseas doctoral student.

Focusing on high-tech experimental methods and multi-disciplinary research methods, the school deeply explores the psychological characteristics and behavioral patterns of normal and special populations in different environments (family, school, and social environment) to shape an individual’s healthy personality.