General Description:

Course Objectives:

1. Knowledge of the origins of contemporary psychology, experimental and applied, and of the continuity of ideas in psychology.

2. Develop your ideas about important issues in psychology by engaging in a dialog with the important philosophers, scientists, and practitioners of the past.

3. Understanding how the historical and cultural contexts influenced people and ideas in psychology.

4. Psychological literacy, i.e., knowledge of facts, terms, and people who are considered to be important by well-educated psychologists.

5. Knowledge of methods and sources used in research on history.

6. Appreciation of the history of psychology as an exciting, active area of contemporary research.

Textbook:

On Reserve:

Hilgard, E. R. (1987). Psychology in America: A historical survey.

Guthrie, R. (1997). Even the rat was white. (2nd ed.).

Leahey, T. H. (2001). A history of modern psychology. (3rd ed.).

Reisman, J. M. (1991). A history of clinical psychology. (2nd ed.).

Scarborough, E., & Furumoto, L. (1987). Untold lives: The first generation of American women psychologists.

Simonton, D. K. (2002). Great psychologists and their times.

On the Web:

Assessment of Learning:

     A term paper will allow you to gain some sense of what it is like to do research in the history of psychology. It will emphasize putting ideas and people in historical context.

     You will give two reports, one on an article that will be assigned to you and the other a progress report on your term paper.

     Literacy assessment. This will be an ungraded test of your knowledge of terms and names that will be given on the day we do our course evaluation. You receive credit simply for taking the test.

          These assignments will be weighted as follows to determine your final grade: Course portfolio, 50%; term paper, 35% reports, 10% and literacy assessment, 5%.

Basic Expectations:

     Preparation and participation. Most of our classes will involve discussions, in which all students are expected to participate. In order to do so you will have to do the reading and think about it before class. The writing assignments will help you to do that. Late assignments will result in a 10% reduction in the grade for that assignment.

Academic Honesty:

Grading:

50 points - Course Portfolio. There will be 11 writing assignments, each worth 5 points.
     This gives you a bit of a cushion to achieve the maximum score of 50.
35 points - Term paper.
10 points - Reports; 2 at 5 points each.
  5 points - Literacy test, points assigned simply for completion of the test.

100 points total: A = 90%, B+ = 88%, B = 80%, C+ = 78%, C = 70%.

The Structure of the Course

     Our course will be organized differently from that of our primary textbook. We begin, as the book does, with general issues in the study of history (Chapter 1), followed by the origins of psychology in philosophy (2) and physiology (3).

     Experimental psychology begins in Germany, centered on Wilhelm Wundt's system and laboratory (4), and continuing to the Gestalt psychologists (9) and Wundt's student Titchener (7) who brought his version of experimental psychology to America.

     Charles Darwin (5) was one of the most influential scientists of the last millennium. His influence was particularly great on American functionalism (6 and last part of Chapter 7) and applied psychology (8 and the last part of 12).

     Developments in psychoanalysis (12) were taking place about the same time that experimental psychology was developing in Germany. Sigmund Freud worked in the neighboring country of Austria and Jung in Switzerland, so we have these two trends close together in time and place.

     Behaviorism (10 and 11) grew out of functionalism and became the dominant American psychology of the mid-twentieth century. After about 1960, however, cognitive psychology regained dominance (13), strongly influenced by computer models of the mind. It is alleged that there were behaviorist and cognitive revolutions. Not so, as we shall see.

     Our course concludes with an assessment of the current state of psychology (14) and speculation about our future. It is a safe prediction that psychology as we know it today will be different in fifty years, but will we have psychology at all?

PSY-A510: History of Psychology
Tentative Schedule for Fall 2002

August
27            Introduction.
29            Concepts, methods, and sources: G 1.

September
3            Concepts, etc., continued.
5            Philosophical context: G 2.
10          Philosophy continued.
12          Neurophysiological context: G 3.
17          Wundt and other Germans: G 4.
19          Gestalt psychology: G 9 to p.274.
24          Structuralism: G 7 to p.199.
26          Darwin's evolutionary thinking: G 5.

October
1            Darwin and Galton.
3            American pioneers: G 6.
8            Functionalism: G 7 p.199 to end.
10          Selecting a topic for your paper.
15          Applying psychology: G 8; G 12 p.386-389.
17          Application continued.  Paper proposal due.
22          Fall break.
24          Psychoanalysis: G 12.
29          Psychoanalysis continued.
31          Behaviorism, origins: G 10.

November
5            Behaviorism developed: G 11
7            Cognitive psychology: G 13
12          Cognitive continued: Leahey article.
14          Linking past and present: G 14; Cahan & White article.
19          The future of psychology.
21          Open.
25          Student reports.
28          Thanksgiving Day.

December
3            Student reports
5            Students reports.

Dec. 17    8:30AM to 9:50AM. Course evaluation, including literacy assessment.

Term Paper Assignment
PSY-A510: History of Psychology

     Use multiple sources. This is important . One major objective of this course is for you to learn what it is like to do research in history. I expect you to use at least six different kinds of sources. Three journal articles is one kind of source. You must include some original articles or books on the topic or by the person. You might also use book reviews, biographies, the Reader's Guide, “Notes and News,” and any of the other sources listed in Miriam Joseph's Resource Guide (http://www.slu.edu/colleges/AS/PSY/510Guide.html). Be sure to include references to all sources that you use, including information taken from the Internet.

     There should be a concluding section to your paper. This could be an analysis or interpretation that presents your explanations and insights, or it might be a historical critique of an area of research or a person's work.

Length: 12 page minimum, not including title page, references, pictures, tables and figures. There is no maximum length.

Deadlines:
     On or before October 17 submit a written proposal that describes your topic and explains its significance for the history of psychology, including a list of a few of the sources you may use. Do this as soon as possible so I can help you find a topic that “works.” Note that this proposal is part of your grade for the paper.

The final paper is due December 10 before noon.

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