The Rebirth of Hungarian Psychology in the 1960s: The Charm of a Fresh Start

The 1960s were an exciting era of innovation in Hungarian psychology. Hungarian psychologists during the difficult ‘crossing-of-thedesert’ decade of the 1950as tried to maintain some level of professionalism through a sort of ‘subterfuge’ and camouflage. The central Pavlov Committee implemented by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in the 1950s played a dual role in this process: it restrained research but at the same time preserved the scientific spirit in contrast to the dominance of voluntaristic pedagogy. It fostered learning research and helped to save the Institute of Child psychology, initiated by Paul Ranschburg in 1906. This committee eventually became the Psychological Committee of the presidium of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1958. As this official Psychological Committee substantiated itself, it became a network of esteemed medical doctors interested in psychology, artists, and a small number of psychologists. This respected network allowed the burgeoning organization to quickly validate its credibility. This large committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (roughly with 100 members) presided over the relaunch of the Psychological Association and the Hungarian Review of Psychology. It also fostered ambitious research projects and the relaunch of university training of psychologists.

The first general assemblies of the Hungarian Psychological Association played a pivotal role in (re)establishing the identity of Hungarian psychology in the 1960s. They published research pertaining to a wide array of topics. The status of the Psychological Association was promoted by the visits of some leading figures of international psychology, such as Paul Fraisse and Henri Tajfel. The message brought by them was a move forward towards the reintegration of Hungarian psychology with the Western tradition.