Psychological thought and practice in German-speaking Europe, 1900-1960.

Abstract

Psychology has become a protean "multi-discipline" that occupies a peculiar place among the sciences, suspended between methodological orientations derived from the physical and biological sciences and a subject matter extending into the social and human sciences. At the same time, modern societies have become permeated--some would say saturated--with psychological thinking and practices, much of which relates tenuously at best to what goes on in the discipline. In these remarks, both of these developments are placed in historical context, focusing particularly on Germany and Austria. Particular emphasis is placed on the roles of politics, society, and culture in the formation and reception of psychological thought and research, as well as in the creation and uses of psychological knowledge in practical contexts.