Cultural Historical And Critical Psychology

This book opens up a critical dialogue within and across the theoretical traditions of critical psychology and cultural-historical psychology. It explores and addresses fundamental issues and problems within both traditions, with a view to identifying new avenues for productive discussion and cooperation between these two important movements in contemporary psychology. Accordingly, the book gathers contributions from a range of internationally respected researchers from both fields who have demonstrated a willingness to look critically, and self-critically, at their theoretical allegiances and trajectories. This book provides readers with the opportunity to both appreciate and reflect on fundamental differences of perspective across the ‘cultural-historical’/’critical’ psychology divide and, thereby, to consider and debate key issues facing the discipline of psychology more generally.

This book considers cultural psychology from historical, theoretical, and epistemological perspectives, building an understanding of cultural psychology as a human science and moving beyond the nature-culture dichotomy. The unique collection of chapters seeks to advance the field of cultural psychology by reviving its historical legacies and arguing for its social responsibility in future historical developments. It considers European legacies for cultural psychology as developed by leading figures such as Giambattista Vico, Wilhelm Wundt, Wilhelm Dilthey, and Ernst Cassirer in order to provide insights into a long tradition of thinking from a cultural psychology perspective. The book discusses historical pathways in the rise and repression of cultural psychology and its different historical forms, arguing for the necessity of decolonizing psychology, securing a place for culture in it, and developing an epistemology suited to humankind’s meaning-making processes in mutual shaping of psyche and culture. It provides an integrative and historical understanding of the subject and uses the diversity and heterogeneity within the field to offer critical reflections on its achievements. The thoroughly international group of contributors brings diverse analyses of self, body, emotions, culture, and society and considers the future of cultural psychology. The volume is a stimulating read for scholars and students of cultural and theoretical psychology and related areas including philosophy, anthropology, and history.

This book examines key ideas related to the Theory of Subjectivity within a cultural-historical approach. It brings together the intellectual contributions made by Professor Fernando González Rey (1949–2019) towards understanding human subjectivity, and emphasizing their unfolding in different fields and contexts. The book addresses the genesis and development of González Rey’s work, articulating this discussion with the author’s biography. González Rey’s main scientific contribution is the Theory of Subjectivity in a cultural-historical perspective, which is inseparable from Qualitative Epistemology and from its constructive-interpretive methodological expression. The book presents and discusses González Rey’s contributions to different contexts and fields, such as psychological research, education, cultural-historical psychology, human development, motivation, human health and psychotherapy. This book brings together examples of how these ideas have been employed and developed in different fields and contexts.

This broad-ranging introduction to the diverse strands of critical psychology explores the history, practice and values of psychology, scrutinises a wide range of sub-disciplines, and sets out the major theoretical frameworks.

Weaving together the various foundations of psychology and health into a compelling narrative, this book culturally and historically situates the practice, strengths, and shortcomings of the field. Historian of psychology Wade Pickren traces the development of the relationship of health and psychology through a critical history that incorporates context, culture, and place from the early modern period to the present day. Covering a range of topics and time periods including psychology and health in the nineteenth century; stress in post-World War II USA; and the relationship between body, mind, and emotion in the modern world, Psychology & Health: Culture, Place, and History outlines the journey of an understanding of health rooted in nature, to a commodity governed by the neoliberal values of the marketplace, including an exploration of the roles of self-help, emotions, and resilience. The book closes with an outline of contemporary alternatives in health psychology and points toward a future when, once again, psychology and health are grounded in nature. Throughout, the rich connections across cultures illustrate the importance of cultural variations in understanding health, disease, and treatment. This book is essential reading for scholars and students of health psychology at all levels. It will also be of interest to professionals and practitioners in related fields, as well as those interested in the enduring connection between health and psychology.

Presents a fresh perspective that explores the development of psychology as both a human and a natural science.

Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology is a comprehensive reference work and is the first reference work in English that comprehensively looks at psychological topics from critical as well as international points of view. Thus, it will appeal to all committed to a critical approach across the Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology, for alternative analyses of psychological events, processes, and practices. The Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology provides commentary from expert critical psychologists from around the globe who will compose the entries. The Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology will feature approximately 1,000 invited entries, organized in an easy to use A-Z format. The encyclopedia will be compiled under the direction of the editor who has published widely in the field of critical psychology and due to his international involvements is knowledgeable about the status of critical psychology around the world. The expert contributors will summarize current critical-psychological knowledge and discuss significant topics from a global perspective.