Unity and Fragmentation in Psychology The Philosophical and Methodological Roots of the Discipline

Psychology has always defined itself as a science and yet it has lacked the theoretical and methodological unity regarded as characteristic of the natural sciences. Nicolò Gaj explores the topical question of unification in psychology, setting out a conceptual framework for considerations of unity and disunity, and exploring the evidence of its fragmentation. He takes a critical look at the history of the most prominent attempts at unification, and at the desirability and feasibility of the whole project. The book represents a unique and valuable attempt to address the issue of unification from a philosophical perspective, and via a combination of theoretical and empirical research.

Chapter 1: Unity of Method

Chapter 2: Unity of Language

Chapter 3: Unity of Laws

Chapter 4: Unity of Objects

Chapter 5: Evidence of Fragmentation in Psychology

Chapters 6: Introduction to the Section

Chapter 7: Gregory Kimble’s Functional Behaviorism (FB)

Chapter 8: Arthut Staats’ Psychological Behaviorism

Chapter 9: Gregg Henriques’ Unified Theory of Psychology

Chapter 10: Norman Anderson’s Information Integration Theory

Chapter 11: Robert Sternberg and colleagues’ Unified Psychology

Chapter 12: A Fragmented Clinical Psychology

Chapter 13: Empirical Research: Psychology as a Science and as a Profession

Chapter 14: Conclusions

Nicolò Gaj is a clinical psychologist at San Raffaele Hospital, Milan and member of the Research Unit for Philosophical Psychology at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy.