Psychological Science ›› 2013, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (6): 1510-1516.

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The essential and resolution of the Crisis in Psychology

SHU YueYu   

  • Received:2013-01-13 Revised:2013-06-03 Online:2013-11-20 Published:2013-12-11
  • Contact: SHU YueYu

心理学危机的实质与解决方案

舒跃育   

  1. 西北师范大学
  • 通讯作者: 舒跃育

Abstract: Psychology is a confusing subject: First of all, if the subjects’ split is taken as a crisis, then there is no doubt, psychology is in crisis at the beginning of its birth. However, this crisis is actually accompanied psychology for more than 100 years of its development history. The crisis of psychology’s split has not been eliminated until now, but getting more serious. The separation of psychology hampers the development of this discipline seriously. The crisis of psychology is discussed in different levels. However, most people believe that this crisis is rooted in the lack of a unified methodological basis, which is resulted in disciplinary split. They did not recognize the underlying causes of the lack of a unified methodology. Therefore, the current understanding about psychology crisis is deviate. And this deviation from the crisis is not only helpless in resolving the problem, but also further-strengthening this discipline’s split. By drawing on the experience of the natural sciences history, and investigating the relationship between psychology with neighboring disciplines as well as the motivation of psychology’s birth, in the summary of the previous understanding about the crisis in psychology, results showed that, the crisis is psychology’s self identity crisis in this discipline’s development process. Self identity crisis is due to a lack of discipline identity in psychology, which roots from psychology’s theoretical basis. In particular, the development of any subject firstly based on its solid ontological foundation, and established on the basis of epistemological and methodological theory according to its body features. Then the applicative technology can be developed. However, Psychology’s development did not follow this rule: before its ontology established, the methodology has been formed and taken the place of ontology to become the standard to examine whether the disciplines develop well or not. This abnormal concept of development constitutes unreasonable theoretical basis of psychology. And in later development of psychology, this mode has seriously misled the development of this discipline. Further analysis showed that, the psychology’s separation resulted from the lack of its unified ontology - object concept. The researchers did not widely recognize the particularity of human nature, which was regarded as a research object of unique psychology discipline. Therefore the methodology consistent with its objects concept did not establish which led to the division of the discipline. Psychology, as a science to explore human nature, did not reach consensus in the view of human nature by the researchers. Therefore, without a view of human nature that most of researchers accepted, a methodological basis different from other disciplines can not be established on this basis, then psychology can not develop itself in accordance with the laws of its own. Finally, psychology put itself into a self-identity crisis. Without a unified object concept and methodology, psychology inevitably falls apart. Therefore, the solution to the crisis of psychology depends on the establishment of its disciplinary identity. In other words, a unified methodology is establish on the basis of a unified view of human nature, and then psychology can develop as the way it is as a science of human nature.

Key words: Crisis of Psychology, Fragment, Discipline identity

摘要: 人们曾在不同层面上讨论心理学的危机,而这种对危机认识的偏离本身又进一步加强了学科本身的分裂。在总结前人对危机认识的基础上,通过分析表明,心理学危机是心理学学科发展中自我同一性危机的表现,其实质在于心理学学科同一性的缺乏,而根源来自于心理学建立之初的理论基础。因此,心理学危机的解决有待于其学科同一性的确立,心理学学科的发展则有待于其学科同一性的展开。

关键词: 心理学危机, 分裂, 学科同一性

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