A History Of Modern Psychology In Context

A fresh look at the history of psychology placed in its social, political, and cultural contexts A History of Modern Psychology in Context presents the history of modern psychology in the richness of its many contexts. The authors resist the traditional storylines of great achievements by eminent people, or schools of thought that rise and fall in the wake of scientific progress. Instead, psychology is portrayed as a network of scientific and professional practices embedded in specific temporal, social, political, and cultural contexts. The narrative is informed by three key concepts—indigenization, reflexivity, and social constructionism—and by the fascinating interplay between disciplinary Psychology and everyday psychology. The authors complicate the notion of who is at the center and who is at the periphery of the history of psychology by bringing in actors and events that are often overlooked in traditional accounts. They also highlight how the reflexive nature of Psychology—a science produced both by and about humans—accords history a prominent place in understanding the discipline and the theories it generates. Throughout the text, the authors show how Psychology and psychologists are embedded in cultures that indelibly shape how the discipline is defined and practiced, the kind of knowledge it creates, and how this knowledge is received. The text also moves beyond an exclusive focus on the development of North American and European psychologies to explore the development of psychologies in other indigenous contexts, especially from the mid-20th-century onward.

The history of psychology as a scholarly field has grown and diversified since the landmark volumes of E. G. Boring's A History of Experimental Psychology (1929, 1950). It is now a site of scholarly inquiry that attracts practitioners from a range of disciplines. Psychological concepts and practices hold interest for people from all walks of life and from around the globe. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the History of Modern Psychology reflects the range of such interest. The essays explore topics from everyday subjective experiences to deep connections among esoteric laboratory sciences and Enlightenment philosophies. Authors seek to answer difficult questions about how psychology developed, not only in the Western world, but across the globe. Human history has many examples of how people have used knowledge about themselves, others, and their world to try and change or improve their lives. How did these experiences help make possible a science and profession of psychology? In turn, how has scientific and professional psychology shaped or influenced the psychology of everyday life? The reader will find key insights into the profound differences that have marked the growth of Western modernity-race, gender, sexuality among them-and what they reveal about selfhood, identity, and possibilities for human freedom and oppression. In our own time, we see the psychological, economic, and political legacy of past practices and the profound inequities that we now must address. These histories will help readers find or create counter-histories that help us move toward a more equitable world.

"Ludden’s text is a breath of fresh air, enabling students of all backgrounds to see themselves reflected in well-researched and humanized portrayals of the pioneers of the field, working within the context from which psychological science has emerged." —Cynthia A. Edwards, Meredith College A History of Modern Psychology: The Quest for a Science of the Mind presents a history of psychology up to the turn of the 21st century. Author David C. Ludden, Jr. uses a topical approach to discuss key thinkers and breakthroughs within the context of various schools of thought, allowing students to see how philosophers, researchers, and academics influenced one another to create the rich and diverse landscape of modern psychology. Through detailed timelines and Looking Back and Looking Ahead sections, the book provides connections between movements and gives students a deeper appreciation for the transference of knowledge that has shaped the field. Included with this title: The password-protected Instructor Resource Site (formally known as SAGE Edge) offers access to all text-specific resources, including a test bank and editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides.

A History of Modern Psychology: The Quest for a Science of the Mind presents a history of psychology up to the turn of the 21st century. Author David C. Ludden, Jr. uses a topical approach to discuss key thinkers and breakthroughs within the context of various schools of thought, allowing students to see how philosophers, researchers, and academics influenced one another to create the rich and diverse landscape of modern psychology. Through detailed timelines and Looking Back and Looking Ahead sections, the book provides connections between movements and gives students a deeper appreciation for the transference of knowledge that has shaped the field.

A Brief History of Modern Psychology offers a concise account of the evolution of this dynamic field—from early pioneers of psychological theory to cutting-edge contemporary applications. In this revised third edition, leading scholar Ludy Benjamin surveys the significant figures, concepts, and schools of thought that have shaped modern psychology. Engaging and accessible narrative provides readers historical and disciplinary context to modern psychology and encourages further investigation of the topics and individuals presented. This book provides a solid foundational knowledge of psychology’s past, covering essential areas including prescientific psychology, physiology and psychophysics, early schools of German and American psychology, and the origins of applied psychology, behaviorism, and psychoanalysis. Exploration of 20th century and contemporary developments, including the emergence of clinical and cognitive psychology, ensures a complete overview of the field. The author integrates biographical information on widely recognized innovators such as Carl Jung, Wilhelm Wundt, and B.F. Skinner with lesser known figures including E.B. Titchener, Mary Calkins, and Leta Hollingworth. This personalistic approach to history allows readers to understand the theories, research, and practices of the individuals who laid the foundation to modern psychology.

The enhanced 4th Edition of Goodwin's series, A History of Modern Psychology, explores the modern history of psychology including the fundamental bases of psychology and psychology's advancements in the 20th century. Goodwin, Ph.D. in experimental psychology, has a true passion for the history of experimental psychology. Strengths of the text include his conversational writing style and attention to recent scholarship in the history of psychology. Goodwin's 4th Edition focuses on the reduction of biographical information with an emphasis on more substantial information including ideas and concepts and on ideas/research contributions; more history on the applied areas of psychology; condensed chapters, philosophical antecedents and physiological antecedents; and more psychology's history in the 20th century.

The evolution of cognitive psychology, traced from the beginnings of a rigorous experimental psychology at the end of the nineteenth century to the "cognitive revolution" at the end of the twentieth, and the social and cultural contexts of its theoretical developments. Modern psychology began with the adoption of experimental methods at the end of the nineteenth century: Wilhelm Wundt established the first formal laboratory in 1879; universities created independent chairs in psychology shortly thereafter; and William James published the landmark work Principles of Psychology in 1890. In A History of Modern Experimental Psychology, George Mandler traces the evolution of modern experimental and theoretical psychology from these beginnings to the "cognitive revolution" of the late twentieth century. Throughout, he emphasizes the social and cultural context, showing how different theoretical developments reflect the characteristics and values of the society in which they occurred. Thus, Gestalt psychology can be seen to mirror the changes in visual and intellectual culture at the turn of the century, behaviorism to embody the parochial and puritanical concerns of early twentieth-century America, and contemporary cognitive psychology as a product of the postwar revolution in information and communication. After discussing the meaning and history of the concept of mind, Mandler treats the history of the psychology of thought and memory from the late nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth, exploring, among other topics, the discovery of the unconscious, the destruction of psychology in Germany in the 1930s, and the relocation of the field's "center of gravity" to the United States. He then examines a more neglected part of the history of psychology—the emergence of a new and robust cognitive psychology under the umbrella of cognitive science.