Vladimir Panferov’s contribution into the development of the Saint Petersburg psychological school and Boris Ananyev’s anthropo-psychological theory

Abstract

The Saint Petersburg psychological school was established more than a century ago, and Vladimir Panferov’s scientific research represents a noticeable phenomenon in its modern stage of development. The foundations of this scientific school were laid by Vladimir Bekhterev at the very beginning of the twentieth century. The central stage of its development was determined by the versatile talent and extremely productive activity of Boris Ananyev. The general ideological core of the Saint Petersburg psychological school is anthropologism, the adherence to the anthropological principle, according to which an individual’s mental and psychological content cannot be assessed without studying the whole “person” or “individuality” polysystem. Anthropologism formulated as an anthropological principle is implemented in the form of an integrated approach to the study of mental content in concrete scientific research. The idea of a comprehensive study of man and his behavior was produced by Bekhterev and embodied in the system of institutions created by him and in his generalising works on reflexology. Similar research continued at the Brain Institute after Bekhterev’s death despite a harsh criticism of his works. In the 1940–1950s the core of the Saint Petersburg psychological school moved to the Leningrad State University (now St Petersburg State University) thanks to the efforts made by Boris Ananyev and his colleagues. Here Ananyev organised first a department (1944), and later, in 1966, the Faculty of Psychology. He revived Bekhterev’s branch of psychological research, creating research programs, institutions and teams to implement an integrated approach to research in human psychology in order to develop psychological knowledge and practice. Ananyev’s anthropo-psychological theory of was further developed in the methodological works of Vladimir Panferov. He designed new schemes that systematised modern general psychology. This new systematisation created by Panferov became the foundation for education psychologists training at Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia – a training in the spirit of anthropologism established by the Saint Petersburg psychological school. Professor Panferov’s anniversary celebrated this year promotes the discussion of his research and his organisational contribution, as well as the future of this scientific school.