A History of Psychology

Eric B. Shiraev is a professor and researcher at George Mason University. He received his PhD in political psychology from St Petersburg University, Russia, and completed a post-doctoral program at University of California, Los Angeles. He has extensive teaching and research experience at a number of distinguished universities both in the United States and abroad. Shiraev is the author, co-author, and/or co-editor of fourteen books and numerous publications in the fields of cross-cultural psychology, political psychology, and comparative studies. In addition to his teaching and scholarly pursuits, he also writes opinion essays for think-tanks, nongovernment organizations, and the media. Shiraev’s research interests include: history of science, comparative history of psychology, cross-cultural psychology, historical theories of abnormal behavior, political psychology, folk beliefs, scientific foundations of spirituality, and psychology of social adjustment and immigration.

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• PrefaceAbout the Author1. Understanding Psychology′s HistoryPrologueFour Types of Knowledge in PsychologySociety and Psychology’s HistoryHistoriography of PsychologyUnderstanding the History of PsychologyConclusionSummaryKey Terms2. Early Psychological KnowledgePsychological Knowledge at the Beginning of Human CivilizationPsychological Knowledge in the Civilization of the GreeksPsychological Knowledge in India and China: An Introduction to Non-Western Tradition in PsychologyPsychological Knowledge at the Turn of the First MillenniumFurther Development of Knowledge in the High Middle Ages (1000–1300s)AssessmentsConclusionSummaryKey Terms3. Psychology During Mid-Millenium TransitionsTransitions From the Late 15th to the End of the 18th CenturyPsychology in Mid-Millennium: What People KnewThe Impact of Scholars and Their TheoriesFrench Materialism and EnlightenmentAssessmentsConclusionSummaryKey Terms4. Psychology in the LaboratoryTransitions of the 19th CenturyPhysiology and Philosophy: Two Academic SchoolsEarly Measurements in PsychologyFirst Psychological LaboratoriesIn the Laboratory: Psychology in Search for Own IdentityAssessmentsConclusionSummaryKey Terms5. Psychology and the Mass Society at the Beginning of the 20th CenturyThe Social and Cultural LandscapeAdvances in Natural and Social Sciences and Their Impact on PsychologyPsychology as a Scientific DisciplineFunctionalism: Connecting the Individual and the Social EnvironmentEvolutionary Ideas in PsychologyNew Fields of PsychologyAssessmentsConclusionSummaryKey Terms6. Clinical Research and Psychology at the End of the 19th and Beginning of the 20th CenturyWhat People Knew About Mental IllnessSocial Climate and PsychopathologyUnderstanding Mental IllnessEarly Attempts at TreatmentAssessmentsConclusionSummaryKey Terms7. The Birth and Development of the Behaviorist TraditionThe Social Landscape: The Right Time for Behaviorism?Animal PsychologyStudies of ReflexesThe Behaviorism of John WatsonAssessmentsConclusionSummaryKey Terms8. The Birth and Development of PsychoanalysisThe Social and Scientific LandscapeSigmund Freud and PsychoanalysisEarly Transitions of Psychoanalysis: Alfred AdlerEarly Transitions of Psychoanalysis: Carl JungAssessmentsConclusionSummaryKey Terms9. The Paths of Gestalt PsychologyThe Social Landscape After the Great WarPrinciples of Gestalt PsychologyAdvancements of Gestalt TheoryAssessmentsConclusionSummaryKey Terms10. Theoretical and Applied Psychology After the Great WarSociety and PsychologyPsychological TestingPsychology of Development and CognitionPersonality TheoriesEarly Social PsychologyAssessmentsConclusionSummaryKey Terms11. Behaviorism and Psychoanalysis in the Mid-20th CenturyFurther Development of BehaviorismA Winding Road of PsychoanalysisAssessment of Behaviorism and PsychoanalysisConclusionSummaryKey Terms12. Humanistic and Cognitive PsychologyThe Social LandscapeHumanistic PsychologyCognitive PsychologyConclusionSummaryKey Terms13. Focusing on Contemporary IssuesLesson 1. Psychology Continues to Address Its “Traditional Themes”Lesson 2. Psychology Welcomes Interdisciplinary ScienceLesson 3. Psychology Did Not Abandon Its Established TraditionsLesson 4. Psychology Can Correct Its Past MistakesLesson 5. Psychology Remains a Progressive ScienceSummaryKey TermsReferencesGlossaryFigure and Photo CreditsAuthor IndexSubject Index