The Uses and Usefulness of Psychology

Abstract

Psychology occupies a peculiar place among the sciences, suspended between methodological orientations derived from the physical and biological sciences and a subject matter that extends into the social and human sciences. This article traces the history of psychology from the late nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century. Early in the field’s history, psychologists distanced themselves from spiritualists and psychical researchers and embraced empirical methods of natural science. In the twentieth century, schools of thought—psychoanalysis, behaviorism, Gestalt, cognitive, operationalist, and neo-behaviorist—diverged within the field. Government programs during World War II and public visibility helped to shape the field. Academics and practitioners of the various schools agreed on the importance of scientific methods of research and experimentation. Given the century-long struggle for scientific and professional autonomy and authority, psychology today is diffuse and widespread.

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