Can Psychohistory Explain Socio-Historical Development A Critical Investigation

Psychohistory is a sub-branch of psychological research that seeks to explore human motivation and behavior in specifically defined historical contexts. Psychohistorians are usually interested in discovering the latent causes of behavior exhibited by a significant historical figure or by a community of people. Given this particular purpose, psychohistorical theories are influenced by the postulates of psychoanalysis. Yet, despite the important purposes that psychohistory follows, this line of studies has been seriously criticized. The present study focuses on two major purposes: first it unifies the major criticisms on psychohistory, from the perspective of empirical research and epistemology, and second it suggests a socio-historical framework that can better explain human conduct in time. The study emphasizes that the borders distinguishing psychological motivation and social action are blurred, and that what is realized as behavior is always mediated by circumstantial determinants that define the quality of behavior.

Keywords:

transformation , narrative , psychopathology , social action , identity