The Psychology Book

IN CONTEXT

APPROACH

Existentialism

BEFORE

5th century BCE Socrates states the key to happiness is discovering the “true self.”

AFTER

1879 Wilhelm Wundt uses self-analysis as an approach to psychological research.

1913 John B. Watson denounces self-analysis in psychology, stating that “introspection forms no essential part of its methods.”

1951 Carl Rogers publishes Client-centered Therapy, and in 1961 On Becoming a Person.

1960 R.D. Laing’s The Divided Self redefines “madness,” offering existential analysis of inner conflict as therapy.

1996 Rollo May bases his book, The Meaning of Anxiety, on Kierkegaard’s The Concept of Anxiety.

The fundamental question, ...