Varieties of Psychologization in Communist Europe

Varieties of Psychologization in Communist Europe brings together nine in-depth case studies and a set of commentaries to rethink the place of psychology in twentieth-century Europe. Challenging enduring assumptions that psychological knowledge is inherently tied to Western capitalism, liberalism, and individualism, the volume demonstrates that psychological concepts, practices, and forms of expertise also took root in socialist societies-albeit in historically specific and politically contingent ways. The case studies trace how psychological and psychotherapeutic knowledge circulated and was adapted across diverse national and disciplinary contexts after World War Two. They show how psychologists negotiated ideological constraints and material limitations in order to assert the social usefulness of psychological expertise, whether with or without explicit approval from state authorities. Rather than presenting a monolithic socialist psychology or a uniform process of psychologization, the volume emphasizes the plurality of its forms, shaped by local political constellations, professional cultures, and transnational exchanges. The concluding commentaries situate these findings within broader debates in the history of psychology and the human sciences. They argue for a decentered history of psychological knowledge that takes non-Western and non-liberal contexts into account and conceptualizes psychologization as a historically contingent and contested process rather than a unidirectional diffusion from the West. Varieties of Psychologization in Communist Europe invites reflection on how the experiences of Communist Europe complicate and enrich our understanding of psychologization as a global historical phenomenon.