The famous Pavlovian dog experiment on classical conditioning.
Overview:
Psychology, as a field, has faced unique and fascinating challenges in its growth as scientific field of research in Russia. Viewed primarily through what is now known as the Russian Psychological Society, the goal of this project is to give you a better understanding of the unique tensions facing the field of psychology throughout Russian history. You will find that by studying and examining the development and transformation of RPS, you will get a better understanding of its intricate relationship with Russian politics in a global perspective as well as a broader lesson about the transformation of the Russian psyche.
Never Just Science: Psychology in Russia
“In no other scientific field discussed in this volume does there exist an identifiably Russian tradition to the degree that there does in physiology and psychology… the already existing link between materialism in science and radical politics was strengthened and made more apparent” (Graham 355).
In many ways, the history of the scientific field of psychology in Russia is a proxy for understanding the history of modern Russia itself. Consider: one strain of a science could represent the tumult of an entire 125 years of Russian transformation and development, infusing a unique sense of “Russianness” into its very core. Although this may appear to be a robust claim, the reason this proxy is so accurate is because psychology in Russia is so uniquely Russian.
If the history of Russian psychology is an ideal proxy for many aspects of Russian history, than the history of the Russian Psychological Society (RPS) is an excellent proxy for understanding the trajectory, evolution, and sometimes devolution of psychology in Russia. When viewed through the lens of the RPS, the history of psychology in Russia reveals two sets of unique tensions and interplays on Russian psychology. These two sets of interplays reveal many uniquely Russian instances of socio-political history and tumult, particularly as understand through domestic and global perspectives: (1) the intricately interwoven relationship between psychology and Russian philosophy, politics, and ideology and (2) the slow rebuilding of the credibility of Russian psychology a respected field both in Russia and on the global stage during the post-Soviet Union era.
Early History of the RPS
Founded in the 1885 in Moscow, the goal of the organization was to further “systems of pedagogy; application of Psychological Knowledge to other sciences, such as logic, morale, philosophy, law, aesthetics, pedagogy and other; History of Psychology and its role in the old and in the new time” (RPS History; Russian Psychological Society). RPS played a major role in not only growing the academic interest of a nascent field of research seeking to spin away from philosophy but also publishing and translating international psychological research (RPS History; Epiphany). Note, however, that the relationship between psychology and other fields was set forth in the very charter of the organization what with the point about “application of Psychological Knowledge to other sciences.”
The unique relationship between Russian psychology, ideology, and politics fused closer and closer together around the turn of the century. RPS, as a leading global psychological organization, continued to grow and gather interest from its founding until the Revolution (Andreeva 11-13; RPS History). Its members and honorary members included everyone from Leo Tolstoy to Wilhelm Wundt and William James (the latter being two foreign juggernauts of the burgeoning field of psychology). Furthermore, major international players in the psychological field began to arise from within Russia during that time, with one of the best-known examples being Nobel Prize-winning Ivan Pavlov and his classical dog conditioning experiments are that still being taught in psychology classes all over the world today (Pavlov).
Major Publications and Their Significance
The Psychological Society’s flagship publication, “Problems of Philosophy and Psychology,” even had up to 2,000 subscribers at one point in 1893 (Grotto; Zakutnyaya). Furthermore, members of the Psychological Society even went on to publish the landmark “Problems of Idealism: Essays in Russian Social Philosophy” (Poole).
The context and significance of “Problems of Philosophy and Psychology” as well as “Problems of Idealism” highlight the nature of the intricately interwoven relationship between psychology and Russian philosophy, politics, and ideology. The former, a journal-type publication lasting from 1889 to the Revolution early in the 20th century, sought to provide an ideological and spiritual thought-provoking academic outlet for a variety of thinkers at the time (Epiphany; Zakutnyaya). Pre-eminent Russian thinkers (like Leo Tolstoy) and early Russian psychologists published a variety of papers on a number of subjects in that journal. All the while, the underlying liberal ideology of the publishers and of the Psychological Society were thinly veiled: “Individual articles can be seen trying to give the public the Editor sound philosophical problems, as well as indirect evidence… to the publication of the liberal trend… Writer’s work [were] evaluated in terms of philosophical coherence of his views and their social values” (Zakutnyaya).
This increasing shift toward promoting liberal ideology became more prominent after the turn of the century. As the shift toward thought change and eventual Revolution became more and more imminent, the relationship between the Psychological Society and the socio-political landscape became all too real. For example, a group of eminent members of the Psychological Society published the aforementioned collection of ideologically-charged essays, “Problems of Idealism,” in 1902. As explained by Randall Poole, “An integral part of the importance of the Psychological Society was its advancement of the theoretical foundations of liberalism… It is no exaggeration to claim that the Psychological Society was the theory center behind Russian liberalism” (1). Thus, the Psychological Society found itself gaining prominence, as well as quickly influencing and molding a significant portion of Russian liberalism at the time.
The Dark Ages
Although not much is published about the precise circumstances and conditions of the downfall of the Psychological Society, two things are confirmed: (1) the radical ideological shifts during the Revolution led to the disbanding of the Society and (2) the entire fields of psychology and psychiatry were more than just growth-stunted in the decades to follow – they were severely abused by the government. Indeed, this is one of the most jarring examples of the unique relationship between psychology and Russian politics. The “Dark Ages” of Russian psychology ironically sheds light on the unique “Russianness” to this scientific field from a global perspective.
The official RPS website only briefly mentions the 40-year long “Dark Ages” of psychology in Russia and the RPS organization from 1917 to 1957. Note that there is a juxtaposition of an ever-so-slight twinge of sadness as well as great pride in the role of the organization during that time: “National reforms and the Russian Civil War brought the official activity of the Russian Psychological Society to a hold [but] up until the last moment of its operation the Society continued to serve members, the public and the discipline” (RPS History; Russian Psychological Society).
Importantly, however, psychological and psychiatric activities were not brought to a complete halt but, rather, took a darker turn during those 40 years. Key areas of psychological research such as Gestalt psychology were indeed outlawed in Russia due to their “‘bourgeois – psychological’ thought-and practice systems” (Razran 1187). The more chilling part of this story, however, is that other closely related scientific areas – such as psychiatry – were being tremendously abused by the new government. A 2013 report issued by the European Parliament notes that in the Special Psychiatric Hospital located in Kazan during that time, half of the patients had no mental illness and were there for political reasons only (Van Voren 8).
Abuse, the Cold War, and Cosmonauts
This abuse of the field of psychology only grew darker after World War II: “the available evidence shows that in the course of the 1960s the political abuse of psychiatry in the Soviet Union became one of the main methods of repression” (Van Voren 8). Entire new categories of mental illness were being developed, what with the eventual creation of such conditions as “sluggish schizophrenia” – with main symptoms being “reform delusions, struggle for truth, and perseverance” (Van Voren 10).
Although that period was decidedly dark and unfortunate for both the RPS and for the field of psychology, the Cold War played a major role in bringing the RPS back to life. This illustrates yet another instance of just how uniquely close the relationship between psychology and the Russian political landscape really is (Kelly). The RPS was re-instated as the “Union of Psychologists of USSR” in 1957. The organization spent much of the immediate decades following that focusing on becoming more aligned and relevant to national socio-political goals, such as finding ways to apply psychology to the “newly established domain of cosmonautics” (Kelly; RPS History). Not much, however, was truly accomplished by the RPS until the fall of the Soviet Union.
Rebirth on the Global Stage
As with Russia as a whole, major changes have taken place within the RPS as well as the field of psychology in the decades following the fall of the Soviet Union. The national focus has since shifted to addressing newfound psychological needs as well as re-establishing Russian psychology as credible and academically rigorous – especially on the global stage (Daw). As Daw explains in “Psychology Around the World”: “Life has been bleak for many Russians since the breakup of the Soviet Union… areas that demand psychologists’ intervention include: divorce, [rising] alcoholism and drug addiction” and many others.
The RPS has also played a major role in transforming the global perspective on psychology in Russia, particularly with the 2008 launch of its annual, rigorously peer-reviewed journal, “Psychology in Russia: State of the Art.” Not surprisingly, the very name of the journal is ambitious! The editors of “State of the Art” acknowledge the importance of the academic work being done by Russian psychologists from a domestic perspective (see item on this subject) and continue to try to increase the growth and visibility of Russian psychological work in the context of global credibility as well as a domestically-applied sense (Zinchenko & Petrenko 6-12). The editors even admit that psychology in Russia has recently “made a miraculous transformation from a rather exotic – if not marginal – academic discipline to almost a mass occupation” (Zinchenko & Petrenko 6-12).
Thus, the history of the RPS and of psychology in Russia during the last 125 years has been wrought with broadstrokes political tension and upheaval, very much reflecting the history of Russia itself during the same timespan. This unique Russian psychology highlights the certain “Russianness” that is now so deeply rooted in the history of the discipline. Most importantly, from a global perspective, the rebuilding of the RPS and of Russian psychology is a wonderful proxy for understanding the rebuilding of Russia itself – both now and far into the future.
Works Cited
Andreeva, Galina. "The Difficult Way of Social Psychology in Russia." Psychology in Russia: State of Art 5.1 (2009): 11. Print.
Daw, Jennifer. "Psychology Around the World." Monitor June 2002: n. pag. APA. Web. 1 May 2014.
Epiphany, Diana. "Moscow Psychological Society Late XIX - Early XX Century." Development of Personality 1 (2005): 26-33. RL Online. Web. 1 May 2014.
Graham, Loren. Science and Philosophy in the Soviet Union. New York: Knopf, 1972. Print.
Grotto, Nikolai. Questions of Philosophy and Psychology: Book 1. Runivers. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://www.runivers.ru/lib/book3201/10269/>.
"Ivan Pavlov - Biographical". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1904/pavlov-bio.html>
Kelly, Katie. "Psychology and the Soviet." Guided History. Boston University, n.d. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://blogs.bu.edu/guidedhistory/moderneurope/katie-k-2/>.
Poole, Randall. Neo-Idealist Philosophy in the Russian Liberation Movement: The Moscow Psychological Society and Its Symposium, "Problems of Idealism". Washington, D.C.: Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies, 1996. Print.
Poole, Randall Allen. Problems of Idealism: Essays in Russian Social Philosophy. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. Print.
Razran, Gregory. "Soviet Psychology and Psychophysiology: How successful are the two sciences in the Soviet Union? Are the Russians able to synthesize them?" Science 128.3333 (1958): 1187-1194. Print.
"RPS History." The Russian Psychological Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://www.psyrus.ru/en/about>.
"Russian Psychological Society (RPS)." Russia - Russian Psychological Society (RPS). N.p., n.d. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://resources.iupsys.net/iupsys/index.php/iupsysresources/239-russia-articles/3823-russia-russian-psychological-society>.
"Russian Psychological Society." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Apr. 2014. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Psychological_Society>.
Van Voren, Robert. "European Parliament." Psychiatry as a Tool For Coercion in Post-Soviet Countries. Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union, n.d. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/etudes/join/2013/433723/EXPO-DROI_ET(2013)433723_EN.pdf>.
Zakutnyaya, OV. "Journal: Problems of Philosophy and Psychology": The Early Years of Publication (1889-1895)." Dissertation (2008). Mediascope. Web. 1 May 2014.
Zinchenko, Yury & Petrenko, Viktor. "Introduction." Psychology in Russia: State of the Art 4 (2011): 6-12. Online.