A History of Psychology [Hardcover]

John G. Benjafield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0195419308 | ISBN-13: 978-0195419306 | Edition: 2

A History of Psychology presents the ideas of significant individuals in psychology and explains the role of cultural context in shaping the ideas that become dominant in a society at a particular time. The book outlines the contributions of well over a hundred thinkers and psychologists including Pythagoras, Lao-tzu, Aristotle, Abraham Maslow, B.F. Skinner, and Herbert Simon.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This text is well organized, lucidly written, and easy to follow. In short, the author creates an atmosphere of erudite discussion in psychology helpful for both students and academics alike." --Dieter Halbwidl, Concordia University --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

About the Author

John Benjafield is in the Department of Psychology, Brock University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (November 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195419308
• ISBN-13: 978-0195419306
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #232,433 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent treatment of the history of psychology, September 30, 2000

By 

Jennifer Liebman (Evanston, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: History of Psychology, A (Hardcover)

This book provides the student with a thorough knowledge of the history of inquiry into the mind. Benjafield tells a story of the growth of ideas about mind and personhood, by focusing on the biography and work of eminent figures from Pythagoras to Darwin to Rogers. He places the plethora of modern psychological theories into a working historical context, allowing even the novice student to gain a good background in the nature of the discipline. I know that I still refer to this book regularly in order to enhance my knowledge in not only psychology, but history, and philosophy as well!

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good intro to History of Psychology, January 24, 2005

By 

P. Nagy "revreader" (Chapel Hill, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A History of Psychology (Hardcover)

A History Of Psychology, 2nd Edition by John G. Benjafield (Oxford University Press) Excerpt: An important development for any historian of psychology is the appearance of a new journal, History of Psychology, which has provided an important forum for scholars in this area. The last few years have been especially fruitful for research in the history of psychology and I have tried to incorporate as much of this new material as I can while still preserving what continues to be relevant from the first edition.
While important changes have been made to each chapter, some of these changes are more notable than others. Chapter 1 now contains a comparison of the similarity of Aristotle's theory of intelligence to a modern version. At the suggestion of reviewers, more material on associŽationism, particularly in regard to the Mills, has been added to Chapter 2. As pointed out above, there has been a great deal of recent research on nineteenth-century psychology, enriching Chapters 3 (nineteenth-century pioneers), 4 (Wundt and his contemporaries), and 5 (James). Freud and Jung (Chapter 6) continue to becontroversial figures. For example, Freud's 'seducŽtion theory' is the focus of continuing investigation. The contemporary relevance of functional psychology is more clearly brought out in Chapter 7. Intriguing new research has also been brought to bear on Bekhterev, Lashley, and Skinner (Chapter 8). We now have a much fuller understanding of their psychology and its relaŽtion to their character and cultural context. Our understanding of Gestalt psychology (Chapter 9) as a movement and its relation to German culture has also benefited from new scholarship. Fisher and the null hypothesis (Chapter 10) have in recent years become a very rich and controversial story. Chapter 11 (Theories of Learning) now contains material on Roger Sperry, whose work had unfortunately been omitted from the first edition. Chapter 12 (The Developmental Point of View) now considers the history of the develop-mental approach at the University of Toronto, including a discussion of the treatment of the Dionne quintuplets. After being a somewhat dormant force in psychology, the humanistic approach (Chapter 13) shows signs of being appreciated anew. Cognitive psychology (Chapter 14), still one of the dominant orientations in contemporary psychology, has been the focus of much attention from historians, allowing us to appreciate its origins more deeply. All of the topics in Chapter 15, including the nature of paradigms, social constructionism, feminism, and postmodernism, have been intensely investigated recently. Taken as a whole, the new research in the history of psychology demonstrates its conŽtinuing relevance to the psychology curriculum.
In addition to the foregoing, the following specific changes have been made to the new edition:
* The bibliography has been made more useful to students. For example, the first edition conŽtained several references to conference papers, and these have been replaced with citations to published material where possible. In general, where multiple citations to the same work exist, that citation most likely to be available to students has been chosen.
* The index has been revised to ensure that students will more easily find topics and people of interest. Gaps in the previous index have been filled, and the student is now given a more sensible and relevant set of headings and sub-headings.
* Introductions have been written for each chapter, and annotated suggested readings and lists of important names, works, and concepts are included at the end of each chapter.