Psychology in History: Comment on Henley (2020)

This comment engages with Henley's (2020) proposal for a history of psychology that addresses important transformations in mind and behavior across all periods of humanity's deep history. To the extent that the history of psychology pays attention to the human past, Henley observes, that history is dominated by evolutionary perspectives focused on the biological changes that took place in the Pleistocene. Using the recent archaeological site of Göbekli Tepe as a case study, his article draws attention to important psychological changes that have taken place in the more recent past and have unfolded over shorter time scales. This comment seeks to amplify some of Henley's claims and, by advocating for a historical metanarrative described here as "psychology in history," proposes an alternative framework for achieving some of the goals that Henley has articulated.