Hello and thanks in advance for your responses, What book would you recommend for a (mid-life) beginner's interest in the history of psychology? Also, what do you think of Robert Feldman's books "Understanding Psychology" and "Essentials of Understanding Psychology" for same beginner's knowledge base? Would you recommend one of them? Many thanks. Best, Kate Herring

-- kate herring (herringkate@aol.com), March 13, 2002

Answers

I'm afraid I do not know of Feldman or his books, so I cannot comment on them. As for where to start as a "beginner" in the history of psychology, it depends, of course, entirely on what general areas of psychology interest you. Without any information about your interests, I would direct you to one of the many excellent general history of psychology textbooks on the market: Raymond Fancher's _Pioneers of Psychology_ or Watson & Evans' _The Great Psychologists_ if you prefer a biographical approach, Daniel Robinson's _Intellectual History of Psychology_ is you like a more ideas-oriented approach, Roger Smith's _Fontana History of the Human Sciences_ (_Norton History..._ in the U.S.) if you want an eclectic approach that brings in philosophy, economics, sociology, legal theory, etc. as well as psychology). Other good textbooks include Wayne Viney's and Thomas Leahey's. If you're particularly interested in psychotherapy, you might like Ellenberger's _Discovery of the Unconscious_ (an oldie but goodie). Beyond the general textbook, you'll have to pick based on your interests. Kurt Danziger's books (_Naming the Mind_ and _Constructing the Subject_) are particularly well-respected, I think. So is Ian Hacking's _Rewriting the Soul_ (roughly, about the history and theory of multiple personality disorder). I have to put in a plug here for a book I co-edited last year about psychology's 19th-century shift from being a branch of philosophy to being a branch of natural science, entitled _The Transformation of Psychology_.

-- Christopher Green (christo@yorku.ca), March 13, 2002.

Any one of the following recent texts will provide a good introduction. The shortest is Wertheimer's, which is a nice introduction to the introductions.

Wertheimer, Michael. A Brief History of Psychology. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College Publishers, 1999.

Leahey, Thomas H. A History of Psychology: Main Currents in Psychological Thought. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000

Schultz, Duane P. & Schultz, Sydney Ellen (Ed.). A History of Modern Psychology. Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers, 2000

Fancher, Raymond E. Pioneers of Psychology. New York: Norton, 1996.

Benjafield, John G. A History of Psychology. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1996.

Viney, Wayne & King, D. Brett. A History of Psychology: Ideas and Context Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998.

Goodwin, C. James. A History of Modern Psychology. New York: John Wiley, 1999.

Thorne, B. Michael (Billy Michael) & Henley, Tracy B. Connections in the History and Systems of Psychology. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001.

Jones, Dai & Elcock, Jonathan. History and Theories of Psychology: A Critical Perspective. London: Arnold; New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Leahey, Thomas H. A History of Modern Psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001.

-- Hendrika Vande Kemp (hendrika@earthlink.net), March 13, 2002.

I am currently studing the history of psychology, our recommended textbook is

Hergenhahn, B.R., (2001). An introduction to the history of Psychology (4th edition). Belmont, California: Wadsworth

Not only is it a recent publication, it also has links to associated topics on the internet

-- Bianca Park (moon_goddess333@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.

I think this two will help -Leahey, T. A History of Modern Psychology and

-Hothersall,D. History of Psychology (the author not only provides the facts, but the story behind it. It is a good book to begin with an build from there).

-- Hector L. Morey (bookbeetles@worldnet.att.net), March 25, 2002.