THE CONCEPTUALIZATION OF THE AFFECTION-COGNITION UNIT IN HISTORICAL-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH

• Grant number: 24/20803-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2025
• End date: August 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Human Development Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Flavia da Silva Ferreira Asbahr
• Grantee: Caio Lima Borges
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências (FC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Bauru. Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The discussion regarding the relationship between affection and cognition, reason and emotion, has emerged in different contexts and theoretical perspectives within philosophy and psychology, often reproducing reductionist and dualist interpretations of this relationship. However, Historical-Cultural Psychology, as a proposal for a psychology based on historical-dialectical materialism, emphasizes the need for a comprehensive understanding of phenomena, which implies the conception that the affective and cognitive dimensions of human beings must be considered as a unity. This position was primarily defended by Vygotsky, who was dedicated to writing a "Theory of Emotions," a manuscript that remained unfinished due to his passing. Therefore, in the absence of a well-defined theory regarding the human affective dimension, as well as the neglect of the topic in a Stalinist context, it is necessary to deepen the studies on human affective and cognitive formation. Thus, the objective of this research is to locate and analyze Brazilian productions on the theme "Unity of Affect and Cognition" by psychology researchers. The texts will be sought in databases and scientific journals and analyzed through an initial unsystematic reading, followed by a second guided by the completion of an analysis sheet, which will provide data for the elaboration of meaningful cores, allowing for a more complex analysis of how the concept in question has been formulated and discussed by different authors. It is hoped, therefore, to systematize a general overview of Brazilian productions on "Unity of Affect and Cognition" in order to expand the understanding of the topic and promote the continuity and deepening of knowledge production. (AU)