Famous French Psychologists

Photo source: Waring Historical Library

Psychology Corner has started its journey presenting you with an article called “Famous Romanian Psychologists”. We have decided to make a habit out of this and once in a while to choose a nationality and dedicate an article to its most famous psychologists or contributors to the field.

This time we have focused our attention on France, for its psychologists, psychiatrists and neurologists have brought a new light upon developmental psychology, psychopathology and other significant branches.

Although far from being a full presentation of their work, this article aims towards creating a general view upon the most distinguished French scientists that have enriched the domain of psychology with their discoveries.

Armand-Marie-Jacques de Chastenet, Marquis de Puységur (1751-1825) – A French aristocrat that is now seen as a pre-scientific founder of hypnosis (along with Frantz Anton Mesmer). He called that specific modified state of consciousness “artificial somnambulism”.

Jean-Martin Charcot ( 1825-1893) – Neurologist and professor of anatomical pathology at Salpêtrière Hospital, also called “The Napoleon of neurosis”. He mainly focused on hysteria as having an hereditary neurological basis and used hypnosis to induce hysteria to his patients. Charcot was the teacher of famous psychologists, such as Sigmund Freud, Alfred Binet, Pierre Janet and William James.

Théodule-Armand Ribot ( 1839-1916 ) – The thesis for his Doctoral Degree, “Hérédité: étude psychologique” (Heredity: Psychological Study) and “Les Maladies de la mémoire” (Diseases of the memory) are some of his most known works. He has also been a teacher of Experimental Psychology at Sorbonne and his studies guided psychology towards scientific facts and data instead of spiritualism and introspection, which meant the basis of pathological psychology, including neuropsychology. Two of his students were Pierre Janet and Alfred Binet. Théodule Ribot is also known for his law of regression in the amnesias, called Ribot’s Law.

Gustave Le Bon ( 1841-1931 ) – Social psychologist, sociologist and physicist, author of “The Evolution of Matter” and “The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind” with major contribution regarding group psychology in its early form.

Alfred Binet ( 1857-1911 ) – Mostly known for creating the first intelligence test, that he also revised together with his collaborator Theodore Simon in 1908 and 1911, also naming the test Binet-Simon. Later, Lewis Terman from Standford University modified the test and changed the name into Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. The Standford-Binet stands as a basis for modern intelligence tests.

Émile Coué de Châtaigneraie ( 1857-1926) – Psychologist, pharmacist. Introduced the Coué Method of therapy and self-improvement, based on optimistic auto-suggestion.

Pierre Marie Félix Janet ( 1859-1947 ) – Janet was one of Charcot’s students and the one to introduce the terms of “subconscious” and “dissociation”. He was the first to show the connection between past traumatic events and the present psychological problems.

Paul Sollier ( 1861-1933 ) – Never actually accepted by the scientific community of his times (his opinions were in opposition with Pierre Janet’s), he developed cognitive-behavioral therapies already in the 1890s. One of his most known patients was Marcel Proust which used Sollier’s findings regarding memory as a source of inspiration for his book “In the search of lost time”.

Théodore Simon ( 1872-1961 ) – Théodore Simon’s major contribution regards the assessment of intelligence. He and Alfred Binet created the Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale.

Henri Paul Hyacinthe Wallon (1879-1962) – Philosopher, psychologist, psychiatrist, teacher and politician. Henri Wallon is best known for his theories that explained the development of child’s personality. He considered five developmental stages in which the prevalence of intelligence and affectivity changes.

Paul Diel ( 1893-1972 ) – Founder of the psychology of motivation. Diel tried to rehabilitate the introspection by making it more scientific and methodical. His work also included the study of symbolism in both Greek mythology and biblical texts.

Jacques-Marie-Émile Lacan ( 1901-1981 ) – Psychoanalyst and psychiatrist with major contributions in the fields of psychoanalysis, philosophy and literary theory. His main concepts include the return to Freud, the mirror stage, Other/other (A/a), the three orders (The imaginary, the symbolic and the real), desire and drives (different from instincts).

Françoise Dolto ( 1908–1988 ) – A psychologist with a certain type of charisma, due to her sense of humor and talent, that revolutionized the domain of child-psychotherapy and mother-baby dyad.

René Zazzo ( 1910-1995 ) – Zazzo conducted many studies regarding child psychology, especially related to dyslexia and debility. He proposed the concept of “”oligophrenic heterochrony” that referred to the speed at which development occurs (regarding children with developmental problems) in correlation with the psychobiological sector concerned.

Janine Chasseguet-Smirgel ( 1928 – 2006 ) – Psychoanalyst, that is probably most known for revising Sigmund Freud’s theory regarding the ego ideal and its connection to the primary narcissism. The extended version of the theory became a critique of utopian ideology.

Serge Moscovici ( b. 1928 ) – A French psychologist of Romanian origins; Currently holds the position of director of the European Laboratory of Social Psychology (which he co-founded in 1975). His major works regarded the field of social psychology where he also provided a new view upon the influence of the minority.

The list of famous French psychologists also includes the following: François Simonet de Coulmier/ Abbé de Coulmier (psychotherapy; the director of the asylum in which Marquis de Sade has been institutionalized), Jean-Gabriel De Tarde (social psychologist, sociologist, criminalist), Georges Dumas (wrote “The Treatise of Psychology”), Robert Desoille (studies on waking dreams), Rudolph Loewenstein (Ego psychology), Éliane Amado Levy-Valensi, Jean-Charles Gille, Michel Gauquelin (psychologist, statistician who tried to appoint a scientific basis for astrology), Juan-David Nasio (first psychoanalyst inducted into the French Legion of Honor), Joseph Doucé (the psychology of sexual minorities), Jacques Fradin, Odile Jacob, Christian Lujan and Jacques-Alain Miller.

Article by Lucia Grosaru

Psychologist and Psychiatrist : Who is who?

Photo @ Chris Williams

Many people still have problems telling the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist. The result of that is often the confusion or inability to go to the right place and ask for help.

Let’s take this step by step. The criterions we can consider when comparing these two roles are: education and training, prescribing medication and the services provided.

Education and training

A psychologist’s training includes college,a Masters and a Doctoral degree, along with associated trainings in different branches of psychology and psychotherapy. The PhD or PsyD Doctoral degree is what makes a psychologist a “doctor”, which is different from M.D., a medical doctor. The psychologist is commited to a life-long learning process, always ready to gain new information regarding methods of therapy, discoveries in the field, personal development, etc. The psychologist will work either in a private practice, an organization, school or his work can be included in the services provided by some hospitals.

The psychiatrist has graduated the medical school and has been trained in general medicine. Four years of residency training in psychiatry are needed after obtaining the MD title. Psychiatrists work in hospitals and are called “doctors” because they have graduated medical school and own the MD title.

Both psychologists and psychiatrists go through a period of supervision provided by senior psychologists or psychiatrists.

Prescribing medication

The psychiatrist is the only one that can use medication in the treatments he provides. The psychologist will only use psychotherapy techniques in order to help his clients.

Services provided

A psychiatrist will work with mentally ill patients that require medication during their treatments. The psychiatrist will help the person recover from such illness or will suggest treatment that will ameliorate the symptoms. If the psychiatrist has also been trained for some psychotherapy techniques, he may also use them in the treatment. Psychiatrists will treat patients in hospitals.

The psychologist can provide a wide range of services, from psychotherapy in order to re-establish the psychological equilibrum, to self-discovery and self-development techniques. The psychologist can help you optimize your life, understand yourself and others better, change views regarding life, gain more confidence and optimism, transform irrational thoughts into rational ones, etc. Psychologists can asses personality traits or psychological abilities with a variety of well-researched tests, while the psychiatrists don’t usually use such instruments. Psychotherapy usually applies to normal subjects, but can also be used with efficacy in the treatment of mental illness. Psychologists are paid by the client after every session, whereas the psychiatrist is receiving his wage as a hospital employee.

The psychologist and the psychiatrist can also form a therapeutical team if both their services are required. For example, the treatment of eating disorders might need a theraputical team consisting of a psychiatrist (to provide medication), a psychotherapist (to provide moral support and therapy) and a nutritionist (to help the patient with a healthy eating schedule). Also, regarding patients with suicidal attempts, both psychiatric and psychotherapeutic approaches are needed.

I believe that by now you have a clearer view upon these two fields of profession, so I will only give you one last tip related to the differences between psychologists and psychiatrists : Note that people under a psychiatrist’s care are called patients, whereas those that go through a therapeutical cure with a psychologist are called clients.

Article by Lucia Grosaru

Famous Romanian Psychologists

Photo © Razvan Tulai

Psychology, as a distinct scientific field, has been introduced to Romania in 1893 by Eduard Gruber, but what seemed to be a promising start has been cut short in the 1970s by the former politic regime. For almost 20 years, romanian psychologists had to choose between giving up psychology (and perhaps reorient towards philosophy and educational sciences) and practicing it in an underground manner. Psychology was re-instituted as an academic discipline in 1990 and step by step recovered. Nowadays, the new generations of psychologists are ready to take over and complete the works of their predecessors and also open new directions of research.

Regardless of the gap in the study of psychology in Romania, many romanian psychologists and interdisciplinary scientists have contributed with their researches to the development of psychology as a stand-alone field. Here is a list* of such scientists and their contributions:

Eduard Gruber (1861-1896) – He has studied psychology with W. Wundt, in Leipzig, and returned to his native country to found the first romanian laboratory for experimental psychology (1893). One of the firsts to study synesthesia (chromatic hearing).

Nicolae Vaschide (1874-1907) – Psychologist and psychiatrist, Nicolae Vaschide has done most of his research work in France, collaborating with A. Binet, Ed. Toulouse, H. Pieron and R. Meunier. Vaschide, Toulouse and Pieron wrote “The technique of experimental psychology”. The romanian psychologist researched dreams, sleep, attention, sensorial processes and the psychophysic functions of the hand.

Constantin Ion Parhon (1874-1969) – Endocrinologist and neuropsychiatrist, wrote the very first treatise on endocrinology in 1909 in collaboration with M Goldstein. Both scientists are seen as the fathers of endocrinology worldwide. He also showed that the way endocrine glands function influence the speed and intensity of psychic processes.

Florian Stefanescu-Goanga (1881-1958) – He studied psychology in Leipzig, with W. Wundt and his research on the affective tonality of colors has been published and translated for readers in Germany, France, former U.S.S.R. and U.S.A. Stefanescu-Goanga has recenced, completed and conformed the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale for the romanian population.

Constantin Rădulescu-Motru (1892-1957) – Philosopher, psychologist, sociologist, dialectician, academician, playwright. Trained by W. Wundt and influenced by his theories on introspection, Radulescu-Motru developed his own version of personalism, in which the human being and its personality are seen as the goal of evolution in nature (the theory is called Energetic Personalism). Opened the Experimental Psychology course in Bucharest in 1897.

David Wechsler (1896-1981) – Although known as an american psychologist, David Wechsler was born in Romania, in Lespezi, and immigrated with his parents to the United States, where he studied at the City College of New York and Columbia University. He developed the well-known intelligence scales, such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC).

Mihai Ralea (1896-1964) – A scientist with activities in fields like psychology, sociology, esthetics and history of universal literature. He founded the Romanian Psychologists’ Association.

Gheorghe Zapan (1897-1976)- An interdisciplinary scientist, former student of Albert Einstein. He conceived the objective estimation of personality.

Vasile Pavelcu (1900-1991) – Studied at Sorbonne and became the mentor of a distinct psychology school.

Liviu Rusu(1901-1985) – Psychologist, researcher, important figure in the field of esthetics and history of literature.

Ştefan Odobleja (1902 – 1978) – Romanian scientist, one of the precursors of cybernetics. In 1938, he published Psychologie consonantiste (Paris), describing many cybernetic principles.

Nicolae Margineanu (1905 -1980) – He studied many fields of psychology, including psychometrics, the psychology of mathematics and science, and the link between literature and psychology. He used to discuss matters of psychology with important psychologists of the 20th century, such as Gordon Allport.

Alexandru Rosca (1906 -1996) – Psychologist, academician and psychology teacher at the University in Cluj.

Paul Popescu-Neveanu (1921-1994) – Psychologist and psychopedagogist, wrote the romanian “Psychology dictionary”.

Mircea Miclea (1963) – Former Minister of Education and Research (2004 – 2005 ), Mircea Miclea has coordinated many important researches in the field of cognitive psychology.

Daniel David (1972) – The only romanian accepted as a “Fellow” by the Academy of Cognitive Therapy (USA) . He has been awarded the “Henry Guze Award” for the best clinical research in 2003, by the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. Daniel David has founded a therapy school in Romania, in collaboration with the Albert Ellis Institute in New York. The first to introduce to Romania evidence-based psychodiagnosis/psychotherapy, evolutionary psychology, genetic counseling and wrote the first romanian treatise on cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy(CBT).

Other romanian psychologists that contributed to the development of psychology in Romania and not only: Dumitru Ivana (founder of Szondi School in Romania), Aurel Romila (scientific coordinator of the “Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders”), Mielu Zlate, Mihai Golu (established the basic principles of cybernetic psychology), Nicolae Mitrofan, Ruxandra Rascanu, Irina Holdevici, Vasile Dem. Zamfirescu, Eugen Papadima (first romanian psychoanalist ), Vera Sandor (first romanian psychoanalist to be a member of International Psychoanalytical Association), Stefan Zweig, Constantin Enachescu, Leon Danaila (neurosurgeon), B. Zorgo, Eduard Pamfil (researches in the field of mental psychopathology), G. C.Bontila, G. Marinescu, etc.

*Chronological and to be completed in time.

Article by Lucia Grosaru