Encyclopedia of the History of Psychological Theories

This work will survey the entire range of thinking in psychology, from ancient times to the present, encompassing philosophies and theories of mind that pre-date our modern conception of psychology as a science, and extending to the current findings of neuroscience. It will set the theories into their historical context and cross-reference key influences, such as Darwin’s on Freud. Fifteen hundred entries will comprise key figures, theoretical concepts, false theories, historical events, and seminal writings. International in scope, this project will involve history of psychology experts from around the world and the coverage of topics will be set in global context. The aim will be to provide a reference work of more depth than discussions that are currently available in textbooks, with the ability to connect to a multitude of relevant topics. This work will provide a picture of psychology as it has emerged into the present time and position it among other related fields such as anthropology, sociology, philosophy, and medicine.

• Aristotle
• Freud
• Galton
• James
• Jung
• Werner
• animal magnetism
• behaviorism
• cognition
• evolution
• genetics
• hypnotism
• hysteria
• mesmerism
• operant conditioning
• phobia
• psychoanalysis

From the reviews:

“The work under review … promising access to information about theories, the persons responsible for them, and society’s reaction to both. … there is an education being offered, one that is accurate, often charming; one replete with delicate asides that offer you, along with the pleasure of reading the excellent histories on the development of theories and those who promoted them, the opportunity to think far more deeply about what we thought we knew about psychological theories … .” (Douglas K. Candland, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 57 (33), August, 2012)

“A handsomely-bound assortment of articles related to the history of psychology, containing some material not readily available from any one single alternative source and some contributions of a high quality … . There is a very strong academic interest in the history of psychology, so university libraries that do not already possess … might wish to consider this for acquisition to fill up the gap.” (Martin Guha, Reference Reviews, Vol. 26 (6), 2012)

• Department of Psychology, Fordham University, New York, USA

  Robert W. Rieber

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