Constructiveness in the history of psychology
Frederic Bartlett from past to future
pp. 151-166
in: Sven Hroar Klempe, Roger Smith (eds), Centrality of history for theory construction in psychology, Berlin, Springer, 2016Abstract
This chapter explores the issue of constructiveness in the history of psychology through the work of Frederic Bartlett and his legacy. First, key themes of Bartlett's constructionist approach are outlined, showing how they apply to both individual and group processes. Second, the chapter looks at how Bartlett's ideas have been reconstructed by others using Bartlett's analytic framework for studying cultural transmission and transformation. An argument is made for the need to see constructiveness as more than a reconfiguration of elements already given, but instead as a creative response to new circumstances. In this way, a true constructive approach aims to overcome the one-sided focus on human reactivity by including people's history, material and social environment, wider experiences, aspirations for the future, and, most of all, the constructive ways in which humans live and are forward oriented.
