Passauer Schriften zur Psychologiegeschichte最新文献

In this paper, a historical approach to the influence of Pavlov on American psychology is presented. After consider what we call the "received view": Pavlov's influence on American psychology is seen mainly, perhaps solely, as related to behaviorism, we present an alternative view in which the influence of the Russian is interpreted in relation to Florence Edna Mateer (1887-1961), William Horsley Gantt (1892-1980) and Howard Scott Liddell (1895-1962).

Cultural studies and especially semiological theory has recently sought to re-conceptualise classical problems considered in academic psychology such as perception, identity, and "subjectivity". It is argued that these theorizations are reductionist and/or theoretically incoherent without an adequate epistemology. Yet they have become for many students of the human sciences the conventional modes of analyzing such questions as personal identity.

In this paper I argue that while McDougall's theory of instincts is widely regarded as having been discarded by mid-1920's psychologists, it in fact continued to be influential in the work of some later psychologists. A case-study is presented which analyzes the development of E.C. Tolman's concept of "demand" (purpose, determining adjustment, instinct) out of McDougall's earlier notion of "instinct".

This paper centers on the project of the Hungarian psychoanalyst, Imre Hermann, to establish a complete theory of instincts on the basis of a concept of a "clinging instinct." In addition to providing an outline of this concept, I will explore the combined impacts on Hermann's work of both key principles of classical Freudian psychoanalytic theory and local historical conditions.

Many senior American and British psychologists between c1890 and c1925 were engaged in an attempt to settle on a unified definition of the term "instinct" as a psychological construct. Whilst this enterprise failed, some of its basic concepts underpin today's project of evolutionary psychology. This claim is substantiated by an analysis of the similarities between William McDougall's "Social Psychology" (1908), in which he articulated his theory of instincts, and John Tooby's and Leda Cosmides' "The Psychological Foundations of Culture" (1992). It is argued that Tooby's and Cosmides' approach faces similar problems as were faced by McDougall's theory of instincts.

This paper explores epistemological and historical relationships between "instincts" and "intuition". First, it discusses epistemological connotations of the instinct concept, specifically the implication of a kind of innate knowledge imbedded in the assumption of unlearned behavior as this emerges in evolutionary theory and 19th century comparative psychology. Second, it claims that while the intuition concept foreshadows (in some ways) the appeal to instinct, the instinct concept in turn contributes to changes in the concept of intuition.

During the latter half of the 20th century it tended to be taken for granted within Psychology that "nativist" or "hereditarian" theoretical positions were intrinsically right-wing in their ideological connotations, while those of "environmentalist" positions were left-wing. In this paper, written from the perspective of a critical historian of Psychology, it is suggested that this is too simplistic. As popularly understood, the term "instinct" has at least three meanings, which differ considerably in their ethical register. It is argued that in none of these senses can unambiguous ideological implications can be drawn.

When Freud began formulating the basic postulates of psychoanalytic theory the concept of instinct was in widespread use. There are very different models of conceptualizing instincts in psychoanalysis: reflex arc, representation, interaction, subject and finally a regressive structure. Freud revised the traditional concept of instinct and his models formed a peculiar metatheoretical history of psychoanalysis. Defining human nature by reference to its determining instinctive essence and commitment to the ideal of natural science led Freud to a naturalistic fallacy. Yet at the same time the hermeneutics of instinct theory reveal a socio-historical meaning of naturalism.

The split between the theoretical branch and the practice--oriented art of memory psychology has existed for centuries. Whereas the theory of memory involved creation of elaborate models to elucidate the structure and processes of memory, in contrast the art of memory embraced techniques to enhance memory performance. One might expect a close relationship between practice and theory. This is, however, not the case. Theorists and memory artists criticized, fought, or ignored each other, as is demonstrated by examples from the 16th to the 19th century.