Read more
When psychologists speak of human memory as a matter of "retrieving" earlier "input" from "storage, " they are basing their discussion on a series of metaphors drawn from cybernetic theory (the science of communication and control). Similarly, when clinical psychologists try to "relieve" the "pressure" that someone "represses" inside, their actions are directed by the metaphors that have shaped their understanding of the "inner workings" of "psychodynamics." The contributors to this volume argue that psychologists have turned to metaphor to articulate their theories regarding psychological functioning. By specifying major metaphors in the history of psychology, the contributors offer a "key" to understanding this area of knowledge. Metaphors in the History of Psychology describes and analyzes the ways psychological accounts of brain functioning, consciousness, cognition, emotion, motivation, and behavior have been, and are still being shaped from metaphors used by contemporary psychologists. Focusing on an issue of concern in disciplines ranging from linguistics and literary studies to cognitive science, this work provides a useful guide to the history, current orientations, and future prospects of modern psychology.
List of contents
Preface; 1. Psyche's music: the role of metaphor in the history of psychology David E. Leary; 2. From metaphors to models: the use of analogy in neuropsychology Karl H. Pribram; 3. Inner feelings, works of the flesh, the beast within, diseases of the mind, driving force, and putting on a show: six metaphors of emotion and their theoretical extensions James R. Averill; 4. Motives metaphors: a study in scientific creativity Paul McReynolds; 5. Cognitive metaphors in experimental psychology Robert R. Hoffman, Edward L. Cochran and James M. Nead; 6. Metaphors of consciousness and cognition in the history of psychology Jerome Bruner and Carol Fleisher Feldman; 7. Metaphors of knowledge and behaviour in the behaviorist tradition Laurence D. Smith; 8. Metaphor, metatheory, and the social world Kenneth J. Gergen; 9. Metaphors of unwanted conduct: a historical sketch Theodore R. Sarbin; 10. Generative metaphor and the history of psychological discourse Kurt Danziger; 11. Metaphor, theory, and practice in the history of psychology David E. Levy; Name index; Subject index.
Summary
Metaphors in the History of Psychology describes and analyses the ways in which psychological accounts of brain functioning, consciousness, cognition, emotion, motivation, learning, and behaviour have been shaped - and are still being shaped - by the central metaphors used by contemporary psychologists and their predecessors.
