PS210

History of Psychology

Unit 1

Nichola Cohen Ph.D.

Overview

Get to know each other

Class expectations and the syllabus

Why is the history of psychology important?

Questions

Syllabus

Please read it!

Reading: History of Psychology by Schultz & Schultz Each week 1-2 chapters from this book Sometimes additional readings – check the

reading tab for each unit

Flex seminars

Choice of seminars Wednesday 10PM EST – Karen Shockley Thursday 3PM EST – Nichola Cohen Sunday 8PM EST – Tim Littell

You only need to attend 1 seminar!

Or, you can complete seminar option 2

Discussion board

Most units have 2 discussion board threads

You should post 1 primary response and 2 peer responses to each thread Primary post = 175 words Peer responses = 50 words

Posts must be substantial

You must make reference to the reading 4 points for this! E.g. It is sometimes said that Psychology is one of

the oldest as well as one of the newest scientific disciplines (Schultz and Schultz, 2008)

Deadlines

All assignments and DB posts are due by 11.59 PM EST Tuesday I do accept late work BUT you will lose 1 letter

grade per week for late submission Extensions can be granted for extenuating

circumstances Email me and let me know before the deadline is

missed

Projects: Weeks 4, 7 and 9 Start thinking about them early Read the rubric!

Questions

Course questions section

Email me

Discussion board

Seminar

One final thing….

Be nice!

What sorts of Psychologists are there?

What sorts of Psychologists are there?

Applied Psychologists Clinical psychologists School/Child psychologists Organizational psychologists

What sorts of Psychologists are there?

Applied Psychologists Clinical psychologists School/Child psychologists Organizational psychologists

Experimental Psychologists Sensation and Perception Learning and Memory

Why is it important to study the history of Psychology?

Why is it important to study the history of Psychology?

We don’t want to repeat past mistakes

To understand where we are now we need to see how we got here

What disciplines did Psychology evolve from?

What disciplines did Psychology evolve from?

Philosophy

Physiology

What disciplines did Psychology evolve from?

Philosophy Asked similar questions to Psychologists BUT did

not experimentally test them

Physiology Relied on controlled experimental observation

and experimentation which became the methodology for Psychology

Why might historical information not always be

accurate?

Why might historical information not always be

accurate? Information is sometimes lost or destroyed

Information may be deliberately or accidentally biased, altered or hidden by the subject or the historian

Inaccurate translation from 1 language into another

What is the Zeitgeist?

What is the Zeitgeist?

The climate or spirit of the times

What is the Zeitgeist?

The climate or spirit of the times

What factors might influence the Zeitgeist?

What is the Zeitgeist?

The climate or spirit of the times

What factors might influence the Zeitgeist?

Economy

War

Prejudice and discrimination

Historical approaches

Personalistic approach Development is attributable to a particular

person E.g. Freud is the only person who could have

developed psychoanalysis

Naturalistic approach Development is attributable to the times or the

Zeitgeist E.g. Many people could have come up with the

theory of evolution, but the timing was right for Darwin

Why do some people consider Psychology to be one of the oldest as well as one of the newest scientific discipline?

Why do some people consider Psychology to be one of the oldest as well as one of the newest scientific discipline?

The subject matter of Psychology can be traced back to the 5th century philosophers

However Psychology in it’s current form, based on observation and controlled experimentation did not start until the late 1800’s

That’s all for now!