From Hysteria to Humour: Wild Theories from the Past

Psychology, as any developing science, has a rich history with imagination, sweeping assumptions, and at times just plain bizarre thinking. Well before the discipline came to embrace empirical research and standards of ethics, early theorists attempted to explain human behaviour using the cultural resources and scientific knowledge of their time. The outcome is an amusing and sometimes unintentionally laughable history of theories that are now a reminder of how far we've advanced. This piece embarks on a tour of some of the weirdness of history's most bizarre psychology theories.

The Wandering Womb: Hysteria in the Ancient World

The term “hysteria” comes from the Greek word hysteria, meaning womb. Ancient Greek physicians, including Hippocrates, theorized that a woman’s uterus could literally travel around her body, causing physical and emotional disturbances. Symptoms varied from dizziness and fainting to choking and seizures. Treatments included Sweet-smelling ointments over near the vagina to entice the uterus back, or foul odours at the nose or mouth to scare it downward. Dancing, marriage, and giving birth were also remedies to keep the womb quiet.

For centuries, medical literature invoked the errant womb as proof of "female frailty," solidifying a sexist myth that held sway deep into the 19th century. Without scientific evidence to support it, "hysteria" was regarded as an actual disease, with "hysterical" women sometimes institutionalized or bizarrely treated.

Flash forward to 19th-century Europe, where psychology converged with the period's fascination with cataloguing and measurement. Introducing phrenology, the theory that bumps and indentations in one's head disclosed one's personality, intelligence, and moral calibre. Phrenology was created by Franz Joseph Gall. The public was fascinated by phrenology. Phrenologists developed complex maps correlating dots on the head to everything from benevolence to combativeness.

In spite of its absence of empirical support, phrenology salons opened on every corner. The heads of prominent individuals such as Walt Whitman and Queen Victoria were allegedly examined. It became such a common practice that sometimes even employment and marriage were determined through readings of phrenology. Phrenology is now known to be pseudoscience, but it did popularize the study of the brain to some extent and it did instigate arguments regarding localization of mental functions.

Demonic Possession and Trepanation: The Spirits Within

During the Middle Ages, irregular behaviour like having visions, convulsing, mania was usually explained as demonic possession or evil spirits. Church domination implied the cure was frequently religious like exorcism rituals, prayer, or torture. In extreme instances, a procedure known as trepanation was employed where drilling holes in the head was done in an attempt to "release" evil spirits.

Amazingly, archaeological findings reveal trepanned skulls all around the globe, from ancient Peru to Stone Age Europe. Occasionally, patients recovered, as indicated by bone regrowth. Though trepanation might have alleviated some physical conditions (such as swelling in the brain), the phenomenon of spirits behind every unusual behaviour translated into centuries of horrific, and occasionally deadly, "treatments."

Animal Magnetism: Mesmer's Magnetic Mystique

Franz Mesmer in 18th-century France theorized that an invisible natural energy "animal magnetism" ran through all living organisms, affecting mental and physical wellbeing. Using sweeping hand gestures and magnetized rods, Mesmer asserted that he could divert the fluids, treating everything from nervousness to paralysis. Patients would faint, convulse, or fall into trances, which Mesmer took as proof of the effectiveness of his method.

The "mesmerizing" show became a huge sensation but split the scientific community. In 1784, a commission that included Benjamin Franklin tested Mesmer's claims. Performing double-blind tests some of the earliest known to date, they concluded that patients' responses were caused by suggestion, not magnetism. While Mesmer's theory was discredited, hypnosis and the power of suggestion remain in modern psychology.

Lobotomies and Other Curious Cures

Not all past theories were humorous in application. The early 20th century saw the boom of the lobotomy, a treatment where portions of the brain's frontal lobe were cut in the belief of curing mental illness. Popularized by António Egas Moniz, who was awarded a Nobel Prize for it in 1949, the lobotomy was adopted globally. Easy to perform but catastrophic in impact, the treatment disabled many patients severely. Thousands were lobotomized, sometimes on a mere whim.

The mass application of lobotomies was eventually ended as evidence grew of its damage and better alternatives, such as anti-psychotic drugs, became available.

The history of psychology is a proof of human error and curiosity. Every strange theory once represented an honest effort to map the workings of the mind using whatever tools and assumptions were then available. They may seem laughable now, but these ideas are a valuable reminder that Science is not fixed. It develops, sometimes clumsily, through experiment and guesswork. 

As we continue to untangle the mysteries of human behaviour, we need to remain humble, doubting even our most dearly held beliefs. For what makes sense now may one day be merely another bizarre page in the history of psychology.