A History of Modern Experimental Psychology: From James and Wundt to Cognitive Science (Bradford Books)
A History of Modern Experimental Psychology: From James and Wundt to Cognitive Science (Bradford Books)
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.
List Price: $ 18.00
Price: $ 18.00
J. Michael Innes "(Mike)" said,
Wrote on December 27, 2010 @ 9:39 pm
Insightful, personal and illuminating history,
This is a relatively brief but insightful history of the development of experimental psychology. It sticks somewhat narrowly to the experimental psychologies of perception, cognition and memory, so it does not immediately have the kind of attraction to psychologists in fields which are more exposed to the demands of society, such as the study of social behavior or of psychopathology. But this history, unlike others in the field of academic psychology, does provide many insights into the social factors which affected the development of the theories and the methods of scientific study. The author, for example, provides an account of the disruption of psychology in Germany after the elevation to power of Hitler and the National Socialists in 1933. This not only changed the entire face of the ertswhile powerful force of German psychology, but because of the flight of psychologists from Germany, America became the site of the dominant forces in the intellectual and social influences on the discipline, an effect which has continued to this day. The amalgamation of the traditions of German psychology with the pragmatism of American science and philosophy led to the creation of forms of psychology which have had profound effects upon both the discipline but also the wider society. It is not difficult to see how different the practice of psychology would be today had such events not occurred. (Unmaking the West: “What-If?” Scenarios That Rewrite World HistoryMandler is relatively unusual in giving this kind of broader picture in an understanding of the forces which affect the emergence of a discipline. At the more narrow disciplinary level,he is also able to analyse the developments in scientific psychology since the Second World War, especially those in the rise of cognitive science, as he himself was a leading experimenter and theorist at the time. He is circumspect and modest in alluding to his contributions, but nevertheless he was there and he was a leading member of the strong contributors, so his insights into the development of the field are based upon intellectual analysis enhanced by personal views that clarify and illuminate the accounts.
This is a very useful volume, attractive to psychologists who have lived through the developments and also likely to bo so to students of the field who will be given a qualitative understanding of the issues that they may well not achieve from other, more traditional, treatments.
Was this review helpful to you?
|