Tag Archives: Psychologia Latina

New Issue: Psychologia Latina

The May 2012 issue of Psychologia Latina is now online. Included in this issue are four new articles on the history of psychology. In the issue’s three Spanish language articles the work of William James (right) on brain plasticity and habit is explored, the founding of the Interamerican Society of Psychology in the mid-twentieth century is described, and the history of the Freudian concept of “track switch” is discussed. In an English language article, the 1903 meeting at which both Pavlov introduced conditioned reflexes and Ramón y Cajal introduced the neuron theory is discussed. Full titles, authors, and abstracts, in both Spanish and English, follow below.

“Plasticidad Cerebral y Hábito en William James: un Antecedente para la Neurociencia Social,” (or, “Brain Plasticity and Habit in William James: an Antecedent for Social Neuroscience”) by Carlos María Alcover and Fernando Rodríguez Mazo. The abstract reads,

William James, in the chapter on the habits of “The Principles of Psychology” (1890) introduced as a key concept of plasticity of brain and nervous system. James could not study this phenomenon experimentally, but his proposal was derived from the results of contemporary research in different fields of Biology and Physiology. Plasticity refers to how learning, skill acquisition, interpersonal and social influences and other contextual variables can influence on the physical structure of the brain, modifying and establishing new relationships and neural circuits that in turn can impair their functioning. This concept was studied experimentally in the late Twentieth Century, and it’s a key concept in the current Social Neuroscience, a discipline that seeks to combine and integrate different conceptual and methodological elements from Neuroscience and Social Psychology. This analysis has allowed us, first, to emphasize the meaning and value that James gave to the concept of plasticity in its analysis of habit, and second, to review the meaning of this concept in modern Social Neuroscience, stressing background of the James’ hypotheses in the current concept of brain plasticity. Continue reading New Issue: Psychologia Latina

New Issue: Psychologia Latina

The November 2011 issue of Psychologia Latina has just been released online. Included in this issue are five all new Spanish language articles on prison psychology in Spain, Radical Behaviorism, the unconscious, and the work of a student of Luis Simarro (left). Full titles, authors, and abstracts, in both Spanish and English, follow below.

“El Psicólogo de Prisiones en España” (“The Prison Psychologist in Spain,”) by Francisco Pérez Fernández, Joanne Mampaso Desbrow, and Nereida Bueno Guerra.

In this article, we make an analysis by historical and political landmarks of the various laws and regulations that have affected, modulated and modified the psychologists’ participation in Spanish jails and other similar facilities since the General Prison Law 1/1979 was approved. In this way, we will provide a historical overview of their activities, functions, their role in the field of legal penitentiary psychology and the value of their social contribution over the last thirty years.

En este artículo se procede a un análisis por hitos históricos y políticos de las diferentes legislaciones y reglamentos que han afectado, modulado y modificado la participación del psicólogo en las cárceles españolas y otros centros de cumplimiento de condena partir de la aprobación de la Ley Orgánica General Penitenciaria 1/1979. De este modo, ofreceremos una panorámica histórica de su actividad, sus funciones, su papel en el ámbito de la psicología jurídico-penitenciaria y el valor de su aportación social a lo largo de los últimos treinta años.

“El Conductismo en la Historia de la Psicología: Una Crítica de la Filosofía del Conductismo Radical” (“Behaviorism in the History of Psychology: A Critique of the Radical Behaviorism Philosophy”,) by Juan Bautista Fuentes. Continue reading New Issue: Psychologia Latina

New Issue: Psychologia Latina

The May 2011 issue of Psychologia Latina, an e-supplement of The Spanish Journal of Psychology, devoted to the Theory and History of Psychology in Spain, Portugal and Latin America, has just been released. The issue includes five articles, all of which are freely available online. Among the topics addressed in the issue are the development of comparative psychology in the Hispanic world, the development of the biopsychopedagogic card, and the correspondence of Adolf Meyer (right) with Spanish psychologists. Titles, authors, and English language abstracts follow below.

“Naturalistic Observation in the Hispanic World and its Contribution to the Development of Comparative Psychology,” by Javier Campos Bueno, Pedro Montoya, and Niels Birbaumer. The abstract reads,

The observation and descriptions of animal’s behavior and emotions from the New World began shortly after the arrival of Spaniards in America. The discovery of the Indian natives and completely unknown species in Europe sparked a great interest in pioneers like Álvarez Chanca, Fernández de Oviedo, Cieza de León, Sahagún, Francisco Hernández, Acosta, Cobo or much later by Azara. In our opinion, these studies provided the basis for the study of animal behavior and emotions in the New and the Old World and allowed a new understanding of the Natural History and the relationship between structure and function. It is likely that these findings were crucial for the work of Charles Darwin three Centuries later. Moreover, it is suggested that the future development of Comparative Psychology based on Darwin and Romanes work, based its roots in the work and observations of these early pioneers. Continue reading New Issue: Psychologia Latina