James, William

US psychologist and philosopher. He was among the first to take an approach emphasizing the ends or purposes of behaviour and to advocate a scientific, experimental psychology. His Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) is one of the most important works on the psychology of religion.

In his classic Principles of Psychology (1890), James introduced the notion of the ‘stream of consciousness’ (thought, consciousness, or subjective life regarded as a flow rather than as separate bits), and propounded the theory of emotions now known as the James–Lange theory. James wrote extensively on abnormal psychology and had much to contribute to the study of the paranormal.