History & Methods of Psychology
Block 1.4 (2023/2024)
Course Manual
This manual contains all instructions and the important study material for the course “History and Methods of Psychology”.
Learning Objectives
The general learning goal of this course is twofold. First, students should learn that the psychology is a rather young academic disciple, but its underlying questions having a very long history that dates back in ancient Greek philosophy. Second, students should acquire the ability to critically assess the criteria of science and methods of psychology in order to address the question of whether psychology is truly a science or merely a pseudo-science. During the course we will cover therefore the following topics:
- History of Psychology: We will look on the history of psychology, how it subject evolved and how psychology established itself as an independent academic and scientific disciple.
- Philosophical Roots of Psychology: The fundamental questions of psychology have their roots in philosophy, especially philosophy of mind. A classic old philosophical problem that links to psychology is the mind-body problem.
- Philosophy of Science. What is science and can psychology really be a science? To comprehend science and determine whether psychology qualifies as one, we must dive into the fundamentals of the philosophy of science. This exploration will provide answers to these questions and foster an understanding of psychology as an academic discipline.
- Research Methods of Modern Psychology. How does psychology really work? We examine the principles empirical research and methods of quantitative psychology. We aim to develope a critical understanding of psychology as a science and identify methodological challenges and problematic research practices.
Schedule
| Week | Topic | Lecture (Mon) | Tutorial (Thu) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22/04 | 1a | Course Introduction | Establishing Academic Psychology |
| 29/04 | 1b | History of Psychology | Disciples & Schools of Psychology |
| 06/05 | 2a | — | |
| 13/05 | 2b | Philosophical Roots of Psychology | Mind-Body Problem |
| 20/05 | 3a | What is Science? | |
| 27/05 | 3b | Philosophy of Science | Philosophy of Science |
| 03/06 | 4a | Methods of Quantitative Psychology | |
| 10/06 | 4b | Research Methods & Practices of Psychology | Questionable Research Practices |
| 17/06 | Exam week with Q&A Lecture |
Learning Activities
Self-Study
The largest part of your time spent on this course will be taken up by self-study. Each week, you should be spending about twenty hours on your studies for this subject, about four of which will be so-called contact hours spent in class at the university (i.e. tutorial group and the bi-weekly lecture). The rest of your time should be used for reading and practicals. This course manual provides for each topic (or problem) the required textbook chapters and articles. The study material is available online.
The general guideline for all courses is that you should read at least 50 pages for each problem or spend at least 10 hours in self study per problem. Note: This is a general guideline and an absolute minimum. By no means should you understand this as an incentive to stop reading after 50 pages. You may need to read more depending on the problem or on your individual needs.
The topic descriptions contain a list of the required textbook chapters and articles. Please note, the exam is based on this literature.
You may to find further sources and alternative literature to aid your understanding of the complex topics. This is, of course, helpful to stimulate the discussions during the tutor group meetings. But keep in mind, a thorough understanding of the provided literature is sufficient for the exam.
Course Lectures
Every second Monday will be a lecture for this course.
The lectures are highly relevant for this course as they structure the complex subjects and provide an overview about the topics of the upcoming weeks. They play a crucial role in assisting you to navigate through the necessary materials and prepare for the exam.
There is time to address all questions that came up during the last group meetings. The final lecture of this block is entirely used for equations and answers and open issues related to the final exam.
If you want a certain topic to be addressed during the lecture a bit more elaborated, please post your question on Canvas discussions until the Thursday before the lecture.
Tutorial group meetings
Tutorial group meetings will take place every Thursday (see your timetable). This manual comprises the topics the materials for your preparation of the group meetings.
Activities for each topic such as in-depth questions and discussions are guidelines for the tutor group meetings. They will be posted on Canvas shortly before the respective meeting.
Questions via Canvas Discussions
Please use Canvas Discussions for questions. Questions requiring a bit more elaboration will be addressed during the weekly lecture. “Yes-or-no” questions or questions that can be address in a few sentences will be answered online. You get this way rather prompt feedback.
Please use for that the dedicated discussion sections. This helps others to find answers to previously asked questions.
Course Coordinator
This course is coordinated by Oliver Lindemann and Alessandra Gabbi. Contact details information about the open online office hours can be found on Canvas.