Volkerpsychologie

Folk psychology is the science of national spirit, the soul and spirit in the life of nations. It examines the psychological processes involved in folk, tribal and cultural units. Today, anthropology, ethnology and sociology of culture have taken over the investigation areas of the national psychology.

History

The term folk psychology was coined by Wilhelm von Humboldt, who was believed that thinking is based on language and other such " find world views " in every nation. Social psychology was justified, however, only by Heymann stone valley and Moritz Lazarus. It is closely connected with the name Wilhelm Wundt, who has designed the national psychology in deductive method. Wundt led - under great criticism - as a discipline of psychology continues: He had designed the national psychology as counterpart to the psychology of the individual, and they should deal with historical and social dimensions of human experience and behavior. Was considered the nation, with Lazarus and stone valley here the concept of the national spirit developed, which was defined as a structure of matching, historically formed out values. Wundt devoted himself to the development of this perspective and understood by folk psychology a cultural-historical analysis of phenomena of the spirit of the people, especially language, myth, religion and art.

Effect

The psychology of nations is also considered a forerunner of social psychology, in fact they could barely posts, not even special impulses or ideas be handed down. The psychology of peoples, already strongly criticized marginal phenomenon, played anyway after Wundt's death in psychology no longer matters. Much more influential it was indeed on the ethnology as well as on the early sociology. Important early theorists of sociology as Émile Durkheim and Georg Simmel studied the psychology of nations.

Moritz Lazarus was an academic teacher Simmel. In most biographies of Simmel is at least mentioned that he had studied the psychology of nations. The authors George Eckhardt and Uwe Laucken come further to the conclusion Wundt's folk psychology have influenced the following scientists:

• Sociologist Ch.H. Judd,
• Philosopher George Herbert Mead,
• Anthropologist Franz Boas,
• Historian Karl Lamprecht,
• Psychologist Lev Semenovich Vygotsky,
• Neurologist Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev,
• Social anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski,
• Anthropologist Edward Sapir,
• W.I. Thomas and
• Linguist Benjamin Whorf.