History and Philosophy of Modern Psychology

Curriculum Guideline

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Course
PSYC 3308
Discontinued
No
Course Code
PSYC 3308
Descriptive
History and Philosophy of Modern Psychology
Department
Psychology
Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Credits
3.00
Start Date
End Term
Not Specified
PLAR
No
Semester Length
15
Max Class Size
35
Contact Hours
Lecture: 4 hours per week
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Learning Activities

The course will involve a number of instructional methods, such as the following:

 

  1. Lectures, audio visual presentations and demonstrations.
  2. Structured student presentations.
  3. Small group discussion on assigned topics.

 

Course Description
This course examines the development of modern psychology from its founding to the present. Attention will be paid to the work of philosophers, physiologists, and physicists of the 17th to 19th centuries who influenced the beginnings of psychology in the late 19th century. The growth of psychology will be traced from its early focus on the study of sensation and human conscious experience, through the proliferation of schools, up to today’s diverse and complex discipline.
Course Content
  1. The Study of the History of Psychology
    • Overview
    • Evolution of psychology: the ancient world to the present
    • Schools of thought: important landmarks
    • Major issues in psychology (mind/body, nature/nurture)
  2. Philosophical Influences on Psychology
    • The beginnings of modern science.  Rene Descartes: the mind/body issue
    • British empiricism and associationism.  Knowledge through experience: John Locke, George            Berkeley, David Hume, David Hartley, James Mill
    • Contributions of empiricism
  3. Physiological Influence on Psychology
    • Development of early physiology
    • The beginnings of experimental psychology: Helmholtz, Weber, Fechner
    • The formal founding of the new science
  4. The New Psychology
    • Wilhelm Wundt
      • The nature of conscious experience
      • The method of introspection
      • The elements of experience
      • Research topics at Leipzig
    • Other early psychologists: Ebbinghaus, Muller, Brentano, Stumpf, Kulpa  
  5. Structuralism
    • Titchener
      • The content of conscious experience
      • The method of study: introspection
      • Elements of consciousness
    • The fate of structuralism
      • Criticisms and contributions
  6. Functionalism
    • Antecedent Influences
      • Charles Darwin, Sir Francis Galton
      • Animal psychology
    • American Pioneers
      • Spencer, James, Hall, Cattell
    • Formal Development
      • The Chicago School
      • Dewey, Angell, Carr
      • Columbia University
      • R. S. Woodsworth
    • Criticisms and contributions of functionalism
  7. Behaviourism
    • Antecedent Influences
      • Animal psychology
      • Thorndike, Pavlov, Bekhterev
    • The Influence of Functionalism
      • Forming the bridge between structuralism and behaviour
    • The Founding of Behaviourism
      • John B. Watson
      • Methods
      • Subject matter
      • Criticism and contributions of Watsonian behaviourism
  8. Gestalt Psychology
    • Antecedent influences
    • Founding of Gestalt psychology: Wertheimer, Koffka, Kohler
      • Principles of perceptual organization
      • Principles of learning and isomorphism
      • The mentality of apes
      • Kurt Lewin
    • Contributions
  9. Psychoanalysis
    • Antecedent influences
      • Early theories of the unconscious
    • Sigmund Freud
      • Therapy
      • Research
      • Theory of personality
      • Stages of development
    • Criticisms and contributions
    • Dissenters and Descendants
      • Jung, Adler, Horney, Allport, Murray, Erikson
  10. Recent Development in Psychology
    • Applied psychology
      • Psychology testing
      • Industrial/organizational psychology
      • Clinical psychology
    • Women in the history of psychology
      • Hollingsworth, Washburn, Calkins, Zeigarnik, Anna Freud, Horney
    • Humanistic psychology: The third force
      • Maslow, Rogers
      • Humanistic psychotherapies
    • The cognitive movement in psychology
      • Influence of the Zeitgeist
      • Role of computers and artificial intelligence

 

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:

 

  1. List the major influential figures in the history of modern psychology and describe their contributions to the development of psychology.
  2. Discuss the philosophical and scientific origins of research methodology and theoretical formulations in  contemporary psychology and critically analyze the underlying assumptions.
  3. Explain how present day psychology became such a diverse and complex discipline.  List the major perspectives that exist in psychology today and analyze their philosophical and historical origins.
  4. List, discuss and critically analyze major issues in psychology (eg. The mind/body issue, free will/determinism, nature/nurture, objectivity/subjectivity) and explain how past and present psychologists have dealt with these issues.
  5. Discuss the relative merits of the personalistic and naturalistic (or Zeitgeist) approaches to the study of history and more specifically the history of psychology.
  6. Describe the major schools that have evolved in the history of psychology, name their main leader of proponents and discuss the criticisms and contributions to psychology of each school.
  7. Demonstrate an ability to research a relevant topic in the history of psychology and organize and present the information in a systematic and coherent manner.

 

Means of Assessment

The course evaluation will be in accordance with Douglas College and Psychology Department Policy.  Evaluations will be based on the course objectives.  Specific evaluation criteria will be provided by the instructor at the beginning of the semester.

An example of a possible evaluation scheme would be:

Five quizzes 50%
Term paper 20%
Oral presentation 5%
Seminar attendance and participation 5%
Final exam 20%
  100%
Textbook Materials

Textbook(s) such as the following, the list to be updated periodically:

Benjamin, L.T., Jr. (2009). A history of psychology: Original sources and contemporary research (5th Ed.). Oxford, England:

Blackwell.

 

Prerequisites

PSYC 1100 AND PSYC 1200