GEORGE KELLY: Cognitive Psychologist, Humanistic Psychologist, or Something Else Entirely?

George Kelly was regarded by some of his contemporaries as a cognitive psychologist and by others as a humanistic psychologist. Kelly himself resisted being rubricized. He did, however, name several people who had been influential in his life and work, one of whom was J.F. Herbart. A comparison of Herbart and Kelly reveals several similarities. Both shared a belief that psychology was fundamentally a mathematical discipline. Both eliminated distinctions usually taken for granted in psychology, such as emotion versus cognition. Reconstructing Kelly's relation to Herbart allows one to see more clearly why Kelly was such a unique figure in 20th century psychology.