Mentalism in Psychology and the belief in the soul

Allan Paivio coined the concept of mentalism in the 1970s to refer to the use of the introspective method as a basic technique of scientific psychology. Later the term would be applied to any current of this discipline that focused on in the analysis of mental processes that are not objectively observable, such as traditional cognitivism.

In this article we will talk about the origins and historical development of mentalistic psychology, including its most recent manifestations. As we will see, in this sense it is essential to understand the central role that the behavioral paradigm played throughout the 20th century.

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Defining the concept of mentalism

The term "mentalism" is used in psychology to refer to the branches of this science that focus their efforts on the analysis of mental processes such as thought, sensation, perception, or emotion. In this sense, mentalism is opposed to the trends that primarily study the relationships between observable behaviors.

In this way we could include very diverse theoretical orientations within mentalism. Those most commonly associated with the term are the structuralism of Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener, the functionalism of William James and contemporary cognitivism, but psychoanalysis or humanism could also be seen as mentalism.

The word was popularized by the cognitive psychologist Allan Paivio, known above all for his contributions in the field of information coding. This author used the concept "Classical mentalism" to refer to structuralist and functionalist psychology, who studied consciousness through the introspective method and subjectivity.

One of the most characteristic aspects of the proposals that are classified as mentalist is that they oppose the understanding of psychological phenomena as a pure by-product of physiological processes, considering that this vision has a reductionist character and obvious relevant aspects of reality.

For most mentalists, thought, emotions, sensations, and other mental content are in some way tangible. In this sense, we could understand mentalist perspectives as successors to Cartesian philosophical dualism, which is related in turn to the concept of the soul and which has influenced Western thought in a key way.

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From the introspective method to cognitivism

In its beginnings as a scientific discipline (in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries) psychology oscillated between the mentalist and the behaviorist pole. Most of the proposals of the time were situated at one or the other of the extremes, whether or not their authors identified with the aforementioned perspectives; in this sense the hegemony of the introspective method was key.

The birth of behaviorism as we understand it today is attributed to the publication of the book "Psychology as seen by the behaviorist", by John B. Watson, which took place in 1913. The father of behavioral orientation defended the need to study exclusively the observable and objective aspects of human behavior.

In this way, Watson and other classical authors such as Ivan Pavlov, Burrhus F. Skinner and Jacob R. Kantoropposed those who conceptualized psychology as the study of consciousness. Within this category we find both structuralists and functionalists and followers of psychoanalysis, who dominated psychology for decades.

The rise of behaviorism led to a reduction in interest in psychological processes, and in particular in consciousness. However, from the 1960s onwards, what we now call "Cognitive Revolution", and which consisted simply in a return to the study of the mind through more objective.

In the second half of the 20th century, cognitivism coexisted with radical Skinnerian behaviorism, the most successful variant of this perspective; however, it is clear that the “new mentalism” was much more concerned than the classic with objectivity. This trend towards integration with scientific evidence as a basis has been maintained to this day.

Mentalism today

Despite the apparent opposition between mentalist and behavioral perspectives, today we very commonly find combinations between the two types of approach. As they have developed and obtained solid empirical bases, the two theoretical currents have approached more or less spontaneously.

The most characteristic manifestation of modern mentalism is probably cognitive neuroscience. The object of study of this discipline are the mental processes (including, of course, the own conscience); however, it relies on much more advanced and reliable techniques than introspection, such as brain mapping and computational modeling.

In any case, it is a debate that it will not be resolved in the near future because it responds to a nuclear dichotomy: the one that occurs among psychologists who believe that this science should be devoted above all to the study of observable behaviors and those that highlight the role of mental processes as entities susceptible of analysis in themselves.