Silencing the Psyche
Julien‐Ferencz Kiss
October 15, 2026 DOI: 10.1093/9780197773529.003.0004 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis |
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| Key points | Argues that Romanian psychology under communism was reduced to a politically controlled technical tool, with the 1977 abolition of psychology faculties and the 1982 'Transcendental Meditation Affair' illustrating the regime's treatment of psychological inquiry as ideologically subversive. The authors contend that psychological expertise was paradoxically both instrumentalized for economic efficiency and punished for its potential to cultivate critical consciousness. |
Abstract
Abstract This chapter offers a comprehensive examination on the ideological subjugation and institutional dismantling of Romanian psychology under the totalitarian communist regime. It reconstructs the trajectory by which psychology was reduced to a politically controlled technical tool, stripped of its scientific autonomy. The study identifies the abolition of psychology faculties (1977) and the Transcendental Meditation Affair (1982) as emblematic of broader epistemic anxieties wherein psychological inquiry was treated as ideologically subversive. Based on primary documentation, interviews, and historical analysis, the study reveals how psychological expertise was paradoxically both instrumentalized for economic efficiency and punished for its potential to cultivate critical consciousness. The regime’s fluctuating tolerance reflects a deeper conflict between scientific legitimacy and ideological control. The chapter contributes to a broader understanding of how authoritarian systems seek to engineer conformity by controlling the production of knowledge, and the enduring costs of such suppression for scientific and social development.