Course Summary

Psychological Science 491
Systematic Psychology
Dr. Whitley

Currently enrolled students click here for a summary of in-class announcements.

Textbook

 

Goodwin, C. J (1999). A history of modern psychology. New York: Wiley.

 

There will also be readings on course reserve at Bracken Library.

Goals

 

The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the history of psychology and main philosophical approaches (a.k.a. systems or schools) that have influenced theory, research, and application in psychology. The course will also examine some issues in the development of psychology as a field, such as how thinking about women and minority groups has changed over time, and issues that divide psychologists, such as the proper role psychology has in social advocacy.

Course Outline

• Administrative Introduction
• History: What Is It and How Is it Done
• Philosophical Roots of Psychology
• Biological Roots of Psychology
• The Origins of Experimental Psychology
• Darwinism and Psychology
• Psychology Comes to America
• Structuralism and Functionalism
• The Origins of Applied Psychology
• Gestalt Psychology
• Behaviorism
• Clinical Psychology
• The Cognitive "Revolurion" in Psychology
• Race and Gender in the History of Psychology
• Current Trends in Psychology
• Psychology in Social Context
• Psychology and Social Activism

Grading

Exams

 

There are three exams worth 40 points each and one exam worth 60 points (180 points total). Exams are a combination of multiple-choice, short answer and, sometimes, essay questions. All exams are administered in class. Exams are not cumulative. The exams are designed to test not only knowledge of the content of the course, but also understanding of it. To this end, a large proportion of the questions ask students to apply and interpret information and principles, not just feed them back.

 

Writing Assignments

 

Four short (3 to 7 pages) reports are assigned, worth a total of 110 pointspoints each. Click here to see the most recent versions of tese assignments..

 

Grades

 

I use the plus/minus grading system, but I do not assign grades of D+ or D-.

 

I use the web grade book.

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Last Modified: 25 July 2002