Historical Development of Modern Psychology in Iran

More than eight decades have gone by since the founding of modern psychology in Iran and now it seems necessary to peruse an overall review of the trend of this science and form a sounder understanding regarding its past developments. Therefore, in an attempt to rebuild the past of psychological science in Iran, senior university professors and active persons in this field of science were interviewed, filled out questionnaires, and the results were subjected to historical method. It can be structurally and organizationally said that modern psychology in Iran has evolved through four stages: The “beginning” or“entrance” period, from teaching of the first psychology course by Dr. Siyasi in 1925 until the establishment of the department of psychology in 1963; The second or “establishment” period from 1963 to the beginning of the Islamic Revolution; The “Latent or crisis” period from the initial sparks that led to the Islamic Revolution until the reopening of universities in 1982-83 academic year; and finally the “explosive development” of psychology, the period from 1983 onwards. Since the foundation of the Islamic Azad University and the proliferation in universities and governmental higher educational centers to the present. Nonetheless, Iranian psychology has not achieved any theoretical and ideological success, and still remains in the imitation stage. However, a few ideological and theoretical movements can be singled out which are discussed in detail in this article.