Psychological science at St. Petersburg University: on the 80th anniversary of the department of general psychology

The article is dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Department of General Psychology of St. Petersburg University, which made a huge contribution to the formation of the scientific school of psychology in Leningrad and St. Petersburg. The purpose of this article is to examine the scientific and theoretical prerequisites for the creation of the Department of Psychology at Leningrad University and the work of this department during the USSR and post-Soviet times, including the current stage. Scientific, scientific-methodological and autobiographical publications were analyzed to solve the problems of this theoretical review. The traditions of studying mental phenomena and teaching psychology that were formed at St. Petersburg University from the second quarter of the 19th century to the second quarter of the 20th century can be considered as the prerequisites for the creation of the Department of Psychology. The Department of Psychology was formed as part of the Psychology Department at the Philosophy Faculty of Leningrad University. During this period, traditions of research work and training of students and postgraduates were established, and laboratories in various areas of psychology were opened and highly qualified staff was trained (1944–1966). The further development of the Department of General Psychology took place as part of the Faculty of Psychology of the Leningrad/Saint Petersburg University. It was closely connected with the position of domestic psychological science in different periods of the history of our state.

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