Pierre Janet

Born May 30, 1859, in Paris; died there Feb. 24, 1947. French psychologist and psychopathologist.

Janet became director of the psychology laboratory at the Salpetriere Hospital in 1890 and was professor of psychology at the College de France from 1902 to 1936. Continuing the work of the French doctor J. M. Charcot, Janet developed the psychological concept of neuroses, at the basis of which, according to Janet, are disturbances of the synthetic functions of consciousness and the loss of equilibrium between higher and lower psychic functions. In contrast to psychoanalysis, Janet regards psychic conflicts not as the source of neuroses but as a secondary formation that is connected with the disturbance of higher psychic functions. He restricts the sphere of the unconscious to the simplest forms of psychic automatism.

In the 1920’s and 1930’s, Janet developed a general psychological theory, proceeding from his conception of psychology as the science of behavior. In contrast to behaviorism, however, he did not reduce behavior to elementary acts and included consciousness within the scope of psychology. Janet continued to adhere to his views on the psyche as an energy system with a number of levels of tension, each of them corresponding to the degree of complexity of the relevant psychic functions. On this basis, Janet worked out a complex hierarchical system of forms of behavior ranging from the simplest reflex action to the highest intellectual action. Janet developed the historical approach to the psychology of man, singling out in particular the social level of behavior and its derivatives—will, memory, thought, and self-consciousness. Janet related the origin of language to the development of memory and of notions of time. He held thought to be a substitute for real action, functioning in the form of internal speech.

Janet had considerable influence on the development of psychology, especially the French psychologists J. Piaget and P. Fraisse.