Developmental Psychology

Hall was appreciated for his intellect and his indus- try, though many of his contemporaries questioned his character (Pruette, 1926). He had many interests, even the histories of philosophy and psychology, to which he made significant contributions. Still, his legacy then and now was primarily in two areas— the psychology of religion and developmental psychology across the life span.

Hall was enamored with evolutionary theory. He said in his autobiography, “As soon as I first heard it in my youth I think I must have been almost hyp- notized by the word ‘evolution,’ which was music to my ear and seemed to fit my mouth better than any other” (1923). So strongly did Hall feel about evolutionary theory that he believed that it, instead of physics, should act as a model for sci- ence. He believed that evolution explained not only the phylogenetic development of the human spe- cies but also the development of each individual. That is, he believed that each individual in his or her lifetime reenacted all evolutionary stages of the

human species. This idea, most associated with Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919), is called the recapitulation theory of development: “Every child, from the moment of conception to maturity, recapitulates, very rapidly at first, and then more slowly every stage of development through which the human race from its lowest beginnings has passed” (Hall, 1923). Haeckel, the premier proponent of evolution in Germany, was part of the Zeitgeist Hall had encountered during his studies there.

During prenatal development, a single-celled organism develops into a newborn child whose capabilities are equal to a number of mammals lower than humans on the phylogenetic scale. In childhood, there is still evidence of the impulsive- ness, cruelty, and immorality that characterized earlier, less civilized stages of human development. Hall’s view was that if these primitive impulses were not given expression in childhood, they would be carried into adulthood. Hall, therefore, encouraged parents and teachers to create situations in which these primitive impulses could be given outlets.