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Commentary 1: Functions and Trends in the History of Psychology

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Book cover Centrality of History for Theory Construction in Psychology

Part of the book series: Annals of Theoretical Psychology ((AOTP,volume 14))

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Abstract

In this chapter, I comment on the ten aspects listed by Roger Smith to show the usefulness of historical research in psychology. Thereby, I characterize and evaluate different historiographic trends. History should be seen as a way of acquiring perspective, and it should offer a conceptual tool for comparison between different epistemological approaches. It is also instrumental in analysis of the social dynamics involved in knowledge construction. In general, therefore, a connection between the history of psychology and the broader field of the history of science seems fruitful.

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Correspondence to Annette Mülberger .

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Mülberger, A. (2016). Commentary 1: Functions and Trends in the History of Psychology. In: Klempe, S., Smith, R. (eds) Centrality of History for Theory Construction in Psychology . Annals of Theoretical Psychology, vol 14. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42760-7_12

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