Psychology and the fall of Communism: The special case of (East) Germany

Ash, Mitchell G.

doi:10.1002/jhbs.22238

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Within the academic psychology community, Party members formed a minority. Moreover, only a few of them were sincerely committed to their ideology and actively promoted narrow-minded Marxist-Leninist doctrines (compare the situation in the former German Democratic Republic, Ash, 2023). Those who joined the Party not out of ideological conviction but for pragmatic and careerist reasons and held professional leadership positions often exhibited rational and decent behavior.…”

Section: Academic Psychology Psychological Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between conformity and individuality: Psychologists in Czechoslovakia during normalization (1968–1989).

Šikl,

Preiss,

Hoskovcová

2024

History of Psychology

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The study examines the development of psychology in former Czechoslovakia during the period of "normalization" and the challenges it faced under the communist regime. The restricted connection to Western psychology and the regime's control over all aspects of human activity negatively influenced the continuity of development in psychology. The regime demanded conformity, leaving individuals, including psychologists, in recurring states of internal conflict and intellectual discomfort when deciding how much to compromise in their personal and professional lives. The study identifies three groups of psychologists based on their adaptability to regime demands. The first group consists of those who aligned themselves with the regime, allowing them to hold positions of leadership and shape the conceptualization of the field. The second group comprises individuals who actively opposed the regime, facing significant limitations in their educational and career opportunities, and mostly being forced to leave the profession. The third group of psychologists belongs to the apolitical gray zone. A significant portion of individuals in this largest group passively complied with established norms and constraints, accepting the restrictions imposed on the development of Czechoslovak psychology. Fortunately, thanks to the persistent efforts of the proactive members of the gray zone and their willingness to endure significant discomfort, an even deeper decline of psychology during the normalization period was prevented. The study provides insights into the topics of education, research, Western influences, and adaptation to the communist regime within Czechoslovak psychology, illuminating the intricacies of living in that historical period.

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Section: Academic Psychology Psychological Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between conformity and individuality: Psychologists in Czechoslovakia during normalization (1968–1989).

Šikl,

Preiss,

Hoskovcová

2024

History of Psychology

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“…Some emigrated to the USA or the UK, but their programmes clashed with structuralism, functionalism, and above all, with behaviourism and reductionism. After 1945, the Soviet policy in Eastern Europe also played a major role, including Leipzig, Berlin, Lvov, Warsaw, Dorpat (Ash, 2023;Citlak, 2022;Lück, 2002).…”

Section: The Brentano School and Its Inspirations For Psychologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Qualitative psychology of the Brentano school and its inspirations (another look at empirical qualitative research)

Citlak

2023

Theory & Psychology

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This article explores a psychological tradition inspired by or originating from Franz Brentano and which played a vital role in the development of qualitative empirical psychology. This was the psychology of acts with a focus on the analysis of mental phenomena and a first-person perspective. Brentano’s psychology directly influenced the emergence of the main schools of European psychology in the first half of the 20th century: the Würzburg School, Gestalt psychology, phenomenological psychology, the Dorpat School, and the Lvov–Warsaw School. These schools cultivated a psychology of mind and consciousness par excellence, the theoretical and methodological assumptions of which effectively inhibited reductionist tendencies. The aim of this article, however, is not so much to reconstruct the historical achievements but rather to indicate their relevance for contemporary qualitative psychology, which can be seen in a broader perspective than simply as an alternative to quantitative research.

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