| Abstract: | Discusses the influence of Donald Olding Hebb (1904–1985) on the discipline of psychology. The author notes that Hebb's principled opposition to radical behaviourism and emphasis on understanding what goes on between stimulus and response (perception, learning, thinking) helped clear the way for the cognitive revolution. His view of psychology as a biological science and his neuropsychological cell-assembly proposal rejuvenated interest in physiological psychology. Since his death, Hebb's seminal ideas exert an ever-growing influence on those interested in mind (cognitive science), brain (neuroscience), and how brains implement mind (cognitive neuroscience). Specific events in Hebb's career are outlined, with particular attention to the influence on psychology of his book The Organization of Behavior: A Neuropsychological Theory (1949). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
