The Quest for a Concrete Psychology: A New Vygotskyan Way in Argentina

Abstract

The objective of this chapter is to show the importance of the project that guides Vygotsky’s work: concrete human psychology. The chapter also presents a possible way to develop cultural-historical psychology in Argentina. For this, we summarize different interpretations of the periodization of his work highlighting the importance of drama, roles, and personification. Later, a manuscript by Vygotsky referring to Politzer’s concrete psychology is analyzed focusing on Othello’s drama because it shows how social roles can change the hierarchy of functions. Politzer’s project of creating a new psychology resembled Vygotsky’s project, and it was taken in Argentina by Enrique Pichon-Riviere and Jose Bleger in the 1960s. The shift from psychoanalysis toward social psychology by the Argentinian psychiatrist had some similarities with Vygotsky’s work, but with the shortcoming that Bleger, his disciple, rejected the use of the experimental method. This Argentinian development of concrete psychology was based mainly on group interventions, such as surgical psychoprophylaxis. As a final conclusion, we consider the importance of continuing Vygotsky’s project and replicating his experiments in Argentina.