History of Psychotechnics in Italy: Application without theorization? (1920s-1940s)

This paper analyzes the development of psychotechnics in Italy between the 1920s and 1940s, highlighting how the fascist regime and the hegemony of neo-idealism shaped the discipline. The study demonstrates that during this period, the survival of psychology as a discipline depended on its practical utility, particularly in education, labor organization, and the military contexts. Applications ranged from vocational guidance and worker selection to research on fatigue and efficiency. However, this success came at the expense of theoretical consolidation, producing a “praxis without theory.” Italian psychology underwent a profound transformation described as a crisis. This crisis took concrete form in a shift from experimental research to applied practices. Psychotechnics assumed a central role in Italy during the Fascist period, practiced by the two leading figures of psychology at the time: Agostino Gemelli (1878- 1959) and Mario Ponzo (1882-1960). Our study highlights the fragmentation within Italian psychology. It reveals how political and philosophical pressures constrained the scientific development of the discipline, confining it within an autarchic framework and isolating it from the theoretical advances occurring in the Anglo-American world.