History of Psychology
Course objectives
Main objective of this course is to inform students about the development of psychology throughout history. Additionally, other objectives are to understand the basis for different areas of psychology in the context of their development with special emphasis on the development of methodology, area of research and methods used in psychology.
Learning outcomes
After the completion of the course students will be able to:
- Explain various concepts in the development of psychology, its timeframe and the area of research
- Compare the developmental context of various areas of psychology
- Explain the occurrence of methodology in psychology and the metalanguage of psychology
- Analyse classical and contemporary approaches to psychology
- Explain the development of different approaches to psychology with regards to cultural differences
Course content with literature broken down in detail by weekly class schedule (syllabus)
Introduction to History of psychology: (Why History of Psychology, Roots of Psychology, Problems in historiography, Discipline methods, Critical issues in historical studies, Can history be objective…) - Chapter 1 in King, Viney & Woody (2006)
Philosophical Issues (Epistemology, The Problem of Causality, Free Will and Determinism, The Mind-Body Problem, The Problem of Explanation) - Chapter 2 in King, Viney & Woody (2006)
Early Psychological Thought (Ancient Psychological Thought, The Roman Period and the Middle Ages) - Chapter 3 and 4 in King, Viney & Woody (2006)
Touchstones: The Origins of Psychological Thought (from Plato, Aristotle to St Thomas Aquinas) - Chapter 2 in Benjafield (2015)
Lost Millenium (Misunderstanding the Middle Ages) - Henley & Thorne (2005).
Chapters 1 - 5 from Pickren (2010) (A history of modern psychology in context.)
The Century of the Self (2002., BBC documentary series by Adam Curtis) - Part 1: “Happiness Machines” - https://youtu.be/DnPmg0R1M04
Lectures
Introduction to History of psychology
Books, chapters
Pickren - History of Modern Psychology
Benjafield - History of Psychology - chapter 3
Student presentations
The Roman Period and the Middle Ages
The Roman Period and the Middle Ages
Origins of the science of mind, ch1 from Pickren
Everyday life and psychological practices, ch2 from Pickren
Subject matter, methods, and the making of a new science
From periphery to center: Creating an American psychology, ch4 from Pickren
The practice of psychology at the interface with medicine, ch5 from Pickren
Literature
Benjafield, J. G. (2015). A History of Psychology (4th ed.). Oxford University Press Canada.
King, D. B., Viney, W., & Woody, W. D. (2016). A history of psychology: Ideas and context (Fifth edition.). Psychology Press.
Henley, T. B., & Thorne, B. M. (2005). The Lost Millennium: Psychology During the Middle Ages. The Psychological Record, 55(1), 103–113. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395500
Pickren, W.E. & Rutherford, A. (2010). A history of modern psychology in context. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2011). A History of Modern Psychology (10th ed.). Wadsworth Publishing, Wadsworth, CA, USA.
Valsiner, J. & Brinkmann, S. (2016). Beyond the “Variables”: Developing Metalanguage for Psychology. In S. H. Klempe & R. Smith (ed.), Centrality of History for Theory Construction in Psychology. Springer International Publishing.
Vidal, F. (2011). The sciences of the soul: the early modern origins of psychology. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA.
Optional literature
Brett, G. S. (2013). A history of psychology. Ancient and Patristic (Vol. I). London & New York: Routledge.
Brett, G. S. (2013). A history of psychology. Mediaeval and Early Modern Period (Vol. II). London & New York: Routledge.
Brett, G. S. (2013). A history of psychology. Modern Psychology (Vol. III). London & New York: Routledge.