The Legacy of Daniel E. Berlyne

Abstract

Daniel Berlyne was a respected researcher and founder of modern experimental aesthetics who died in 1976 at the age of fifty-two. This article examines his intellectual development in the context of reminiscences about childhood and educational experiences in England. His first publication, “‘Interest’ as a psychological concept” [1], is compared with one of his last publications, “Behaviourism? Cognitive Theory? Humanistic Psychology?—To Hull with Them All!” [2]. Consistent themes and attitudes which emerge are historical erudition, a preference for thought over observation, and for integrative theories about motivational issues. Paradoxically, Berlyne expressed a concern for “ordinary phenomena” but rejected some topics as inappropriate to scientific study and opted for operational definitions. The foundation of these diverse attitudes and themes are sought in an interview which Berlyne gave in 1973. His erudition, intellectual independence and work skills are traced to childhood experiences. Of special importance was the conflict between idealistic humanism and science which was resolved at Cambridge in a radical “conversion” to positivist methodology and behaviorism. This helps to account for some of Berlyne's narrow ideas about science and psychology.