ABSTRACT
Soviet mental health facilities and psychology are inevitably related to Soviet life. And, perhaps the outstanding fact of Soviet life is that it is planned. Much has been said and written about Soviet psychology and its adherence to Pavlovian concepts of higher nervous activity and Marxist philosophy of dialectical materialism. On his 1960 visit to this country, Professor Luria defined Soviet psychology as the "science of voluntary behavior in man." Soviet clinical psychology also follows a Pavlovian orientation, which means that major interest is usually focused on studies of pathological changes in the higher nervous processes, believed to lie behind disturbances in psychic activities. The Soviet Psychological Society has 1,800 members. Basic undergraduate training requires about five years, with heavy emphasis on biological sciences, but little concern with statistics. At the American Psychological Association 1960 Convention Roundtable, other visitors to the Soviet Union indicated their esteem for the work reported.
