A Brief History of Psychology

Citation

Wertheimer, M., & Puente, A. E. (2020). A Brief History of Psychology (6th ed.). Routledge.

Chapter Summary

The sixth edition has a preface and sixteen chapters in four parts, in about 270 pages with 33 black-and-white illustrations. Routledge describes it as a brief text offering flexibility for teaching the history of psychology, noted for its analysis of the scientific and philosophical emergence of the field and its coverage of contemporary psychology, with balanced treatment of experimental, applied and clinical psychology and a clear, succinct presentation of major events and schools of thought. The sixth edition adds an expanded pedagogical programme (bolded terms, a full glossary, more illustrations and web materials), special emphasis on the role of the American Psychological Association (APA), a revised final chapter, and discussion of women and ethnic minorities in psychology, neuroscience, cognitive science, artificial intelligence and the diversification and internationalisation of the discipline. The chapter titles below come from the publisher's contents list; the comments rest on the publisher's description.

Preface and Chapter 1: Introduction

The preface and opening chapter set out the purpose and scope of the book and prepare for the historical sequence.

Part I: Preexperimental Psychology (Chapters 2–4)

• Chapter 2: Early Developments. The first chapter of the historical account deals with early developments in thinking about mind and behaviour.
• Chapter 3: The Lines of Development from Science. This chapter follows the scientific strand of psychology's emergence.
• Chapter 4: The Lines of Development from Philosophy. The philosophical strand is treated separately. The publisher's emphasis on the "scientific and philosophical emergence of the field" matches the pairing of Chapters 3 and 4.

Part II: The Rise of Experimental Psychology (Chapters 5–8)

• Chapter 5: Wundt's Immediate Predecessors. The chapter introduces the work leading up to Wundt.
• Chapter 6: Wilhelm Wundt. Wundt receives a chapter of his own.
• Chapter 7: The Contemporary Scene in the Age of Wundt. The chapter surveys what others were doing in Wundt's time.
• Chapter 8: William James and Psychology in the United States. The focus moves to James and to American psychology.

Part III: Psychology in the 20th Century (Chapters 9–15)

• Chapter 9: The Age of Schools. This chapter introduces the period of competing schools.
• Chapters 10–13: Structuralism and Functionalism; Behaviorism; Gestalt Psychology; Psychoanalysis. One chapter each, with structuralism and functionalism paired. The publisher mentions the schools of thought as a strength of the book, and one of the authors is the son of the Gestalt theorist Max Wertheimer.
• Chapter 14: The Immediate Postschools Era. The period after the schools' dominance.
• Chapter 15: The Last Half of the 20th Century. The late twentieth century, bridging to the contemporary scene. The publisher highlights recent developments in neuroscience, cognitive science and artificial intelligence.

Part IV: Psychology's Promising Past and Enigmatic Future (Chapter 16)

• Chapter 16: An Evaluation: Psychology's Promising Past and Enigmatic Future. The final chapter was revised for the sixth edition and gives a current analysis of the state of the field, including the growth of the APA and of specialised organisations, and the push to influence policies on global challenges such as environmental sustainability, intergroup conflict, health disparities and population growth.

Key Concepts

Parts I–II: Origins and the rise of experiment

• Scientific and philosophical lines of development: the two strands treated in Chapters 3 and 4.
• Wundt and experimental psychology: the founding of the experimental approach (Chapters 5–7).
• James and American psychology: Chapter 8.

Part III: The twentieth century

• Schools of psychology: structuralism, functionalism, behaviorism, Gestalt psychology and psychoanalysis (Chapters 9–13).
• Postschools era: developments after the schools (Chapters 14–15), including neuroscience and cognitive science.

Part IV: Evaluation

• The state and future of the field: organisations, policy aims and diversity (Chapter 16).

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• Clear four-part design. The contents list moves from preexperimental psychology through the rise of experimental psychology and the twentieth century to an evaluation, so a reader can see the arc at a glance.
• Breadth in a short book. At about 270 pages it covers the scientific and philosophical origins, the founding period, the major schools and the late twentieth century, and the publisher adds that experimental, applied and clinical psychology are all covered.
• Student aids. The sixth edition has bolded terms, a complete glossary, more illustrations, and web-based materials including slides, a test bank and discussion questions, and the publisher notes a large index that makes it usable as a desk reference.
• Author expertise. The publisher's biographies state that Wertheimer has taught and published in the history of psychology for seventy years and that Puente has done so for over forty and served as APA president.

Limitations

• An American and organisational emphasis. The publisher gives special emphasis to the APA's role, and the contents list has a chapter on James and psychology in the United States. The publisher also mentions the internationalisation of psychology, but readers wanting a more critical or non-American history may need another book.
• Brevity. Sixteen chapters in about 270 pages mean limited space for primary sources or detailed argument. The publisher says it can be used on its own or with readers.
• Thin on recent decades. The contents give the twentieth-century schools seven chapters, while the last half of the century, with the neuroscience, cognitive science and artificial intelligence developments the publisher highlights, gets one chapter plus the closing evaluation.

Where It Fits in the Course

This is the briefest of the history texts in the course and the one with the most organisational, APA-centred perspective. Schultz and Schultz's A History of Modern Psychology is also a concise history built around schools of thought, using biography and excerpts from original writings. Fancher and Rutherford's Pioneers of Psychology tells the history through the lives of figures. Leahey's A Critical History of Psychology: From Antiquity to Modernity is a longer history that places psychology's arguments alongside social, economic and political forces.

At a more specialised level, Danziger's Constructing the Subject examines the historical origins of psychological research practices, and Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams is a primary source related to the psychoanalysis chapter. The Wertheimer and Puente book is a good first history before these.

How to Use This Book

The book is for undergraduate or graduate courses in the history of psychology and for introductory students who want historical orientation. An introductory psychology course helps but is not essential.

A practical plan:

• Read Parts I and II first to understand where experimental psychology came from, treating the scientific and philosophical lines (Chapters 3 and 4) as a pair.
• Read Part III as the core, with one chapter per school (Chapters 10–13). Use the glossary to keep the schools distinct, and note what each school was reacting against.
• Use Chapters 15 and 16 to connect history to the present, reading the evaluation critically as one view of the field.
• Pair with primary readings if the course provides them, since the publisher describes the book as brief and flexible enough to be used with readers, and use the index and glossary for quick reference.