Nikolai dobrynin biography books

1. Early Life and Education
2. Military Service and Postgraduate Studies
3. Academic Career
4. Professorship at Moscow State Pedagogical Institute
5. Contributions to Psychology
6. Death and Legacy

Early Life and Education

Nikolay Fyodorovich Dobrynin was born on May 18, 1890, in Bobruisk, Belarus, to a priest's family. He completed high school in 1908 and enrolled in the natural sciences faculty at Moscow University. Later, he transferred to the history and philology faculty, where he conducted his first research on attention fluctuations. He graduated in 1915 with a degree in psychology.

Military Service and Postgraduate Studies

Dobrynin was drafted into military service and served in the Red Army from 1919 to 1920. Upon his demobilization in 1922, he joined the postgraduate program at the Scientific Research Institute of Psychology. He played an active role in combating Georgy Chelpanov's idealistic psychology.

Academic Career

In 1925, Dobrynin defended his doctoral dissertation on "Attention Fluctuations." He worked as a docent and later a professor of psychology at the Moscow State Industrial Pedagogical Institute named after Karl Liebknecht from 1922 to 1941. Concurrently, he served as a docent at the pedagogical faculty of the Second Moscow State University (1922-1930) and as a research associate at the Institute of Psychology (1925-1935). In 1937, he defended his doctoral dissertation on "Psychology of Attention."

Professorship at Moscow State Pedagogical Institute

From 1941, Dobrynin worked at the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute (now Moscow City University) named after V.I. Lenin. He became head of the psychology department (1941-1966), professor (1966-1969), and professor-consultant. He was also a member of the editorial board of the journal "Questions of Psychology."

Contributions to Psychology

Dobrynin was a prominent representative of Marxist psychology and a vocal opponent of idealistic psychology. He specialized in cognitive processes, particularly attention, and the development of personality. He introduced the "principle of significance," which posits that cognitive processes are closely linked to motivation and personal activity. Dobrynin was also known for his efforts to popularize psychological knowledge.

Death and Legacy

Nikolay Fyodorovich Dobrynin died on March 18, 1981. His contributions to psychology, particularly his work on attention, had a significant impact on the field. He played a crucial role in defending Marxist psychology against idealist theories and advancing a scientific understanding of mental processes.