French Perspectives in Work Psychology: Analysis of Appropriation Processes in Brazil

Abstract

The Psychodynamics of Work and Ergology, as well as disciplines adhering to Work Clinics, have been appropriated as a recurring reference by Brazilian researchers. Therefore, this article intends to analyze the historical-social developments of the relationship between center and periphery, France and Brazil, considering that such appropriation must be critically evaluated. Thus, aiming to analyze the relations between the French perspectives of Work Psychology and the historicity of the processes of appropriation of such ideas in Brazil, the scenario of the emergence of French studies and their paths in Brazil were evaluated, as from the dissemination of the Psychotechnics. The study showed the importance of historically identifying the asymmetrical way in which the French perspectives of Work Psychology were appropriated, either in consonance with liberal ideas (in the 1920s-1940s), either in opposition to neo-liberal currents (from the 1980s/1990s).