PSYCHOLOGY 461
HISTORY AND SYSTEMS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Spring, 2008  9:00 – 9:50 a.m. Daily  PsyB 256  5 Credits
AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO USEFUL DETAILS
Here's (1) your professor, Warren R. Street, Ph.D. He's sitting in (2) his office, PSY 429, where the clock (3)
shows that it’s 10:00, his office hour, and he’s waiting for someone to drop in. You can phone (4) him at
963-3674, send him e-mail at warren@cwu.edu, or browse the psychology history parts of his web page at
http://www.cwu.edu/~warren/ . To pass the time until you call, he's reading (5) your text, Hergenhahn's An
Introduction to the History of Psychology (5th ed.). This text is so exciting you will want to mummify your
copy at the end of the quarter so that your descendents will be able to read and enjoy it down through the
ages.
PSYCHOLOGY 461
HISTORY AND SYSTEMS OF PSYCHOLOGY
COMING ATTRACTIONS
WHAT ARE WE ALL DOING HERE?
Humans search out regularities in natural events. The anthropologist Richard Leakey suggested that the
single human ability that secured our survival as a species is our ability to remember regular patterns, since it
enables us to predict the future from present events. When an event doesn't seem to conform to a known
pattern, we orient toward it and talk about it, write about it, and try to repeat the event until we either fit it
into a known pattern or make it a new pattern not previously known.
When this analytic impulse is turned upon regularities in the behavior and experience of individual living
organisms, it's called psychology. The search for regularities in behavior has a long history as a subject of
philosophy, law, politics, medicine, and religion. It has only been recently that the search for regularities in
behavior has been based on systematic observations of behavior: scientific psychology. Modern scientific
psychology isn't separated from earlier approaches: Every scientific study also represents a position taken on
philosophical, legal, political, medical, educational, and even religious understandings of behavior.
PSY 461, History and Systems of Psychology, is an introduction to the development over time (history) of
coherent descriptions (systems) of the regularities of individual behavior and experience (psychology).
Across the span of history, some problematic issues have continued to confront anyone attempting to build a
system to describe, explain, predict, and control behavior. Some of these issues are described in the first
chapter of your text and we'll discuss others in class. Our class will focus on these issues, historic and
modern attempts to cope with them, and the individual people responsible for major developments in the
field.
The table of contents of your text will give you a preview of things to come. We will follow a roughly
chronological order of presentation, beginning with Greek systems of thought and continuing to
contemporary approaches. Many themes will reoccur during this survey. The goals and assessment methods
of the class include:
Goal
A, Describe major problematic themes of systems of psychology and
describe where a given system stands on these dimensions.
1. Conscious mentalism-Unconscious mentalism
2. Behaviorism – Mentalism
3. Determinism-Indeterminism
4. Empiricism-Rationalism
5. Functionalism-Structuralism
6 Mechanism - Vitalism
7. Molecularism-Molarism
8 Monism - Dualism
9 Naturalism-Supernaturalism
10. Nomotheticism-Idiographicism
11. Staticism - Dynamicism
Assessment
This goal will be assessed
by graded answers to
multiple choice and short
essay questions on the first
exam.
B. Describe common problems in historiography
C. Compare at least four views of how science makes progress
D. Describe the major figures and contributions to the history of modern
psychology made by
Early Greek philosophy, cosmology and idealism.
Post-Aristotelian worldly philosophy
The Renaissance and the beginnings of modern science and
natural philosophy.
Empiricists, sensationalists, and positivists.
E. Describe the major figures and contributions to the history of modern
psychology made by
Rationalists.
Romantics and existentialists.
Early experimental psychologists
Voluntarists, structuralists, and other early psychologists
The Darwinian influence. and the testing movement
F. Describe the major figures and contributions to the history of modern
psychology made by 20th century developments in
Functionalism.
Behaviorism.
Neobehaviorism.
Gestalt Psychology
G. Describe the major figures and contributions to the history of modern
psychology made by
Pioneers in early diagnosis, explanation, and treatment of mental
illness.
Freud, psychoanalysis and its early alternatives.
Humanistic (third-force) psychology.
Cognitive psychologists
Psychobiologists.
Contemporary professional psychologists
H. Use scholarly resources in the library and internet to write a coherent
brief history of a selected event in the history of psychology in proper
APA style.
These goals will be assessed
by graded answers to
multiple choice and short
essay questions on the first
exam.
These goals will be assessed
by graded answers to
multiple choice and short
essay questions on the
second exam.
These goals will be assessed
by graded answers to
multiple choice and short
essay questions on the third
exam.
These goals will be assessed
by graded answers to
multiple choice and short
essay questions on the
fourth exam.
This goal will be assessed
by critical evaluation of
your term paper.
There are some collateral outcomes of the class that are not learning goals, but are part of the story of
psychology: how people have tried to understand the most complex phenomenon we know of, human
thought and behavior. As part of the story, I hope you come to appreciate some of the folklore of
psychology, shared by the other psychologists you will join in your professional career. Stories will be found
in anniversary events presented each day in class and background stories of historic events presented in class.
As part of the story, I hope you develop a sense of historical perspective, humility, and scientific skepticism
regarding historic and modern developments in psychology.
Finally, one purpose of this class is to broaden your perspectives. Every person has beliefs about the causes
of their own behavior and the behavior of others; each belief reflects one historic position out of many that
could have been chosen. Not all beliefs about behavior are equally scientifically valid and this class should
give us a better understanding of where we stand and what alternatives are available.
TEXT, READING, TESTS, GRADES, AND ALL THAT
The text for the course is the 5th edition of An Introduction to the History of Psychology, by B. R.
Hergenhahn. You will come to love this book so much you will read it from cover to cover without stopping
eat, sleep, or work on your Facebook persona. Not convinced? Here's a more believable prediction: You'll
read a couple of chapters each week during the quarter, practice your understanding of the material, engage
in class discussions, and take four exams over the most recent material. Each exam will be made up of 18
multiple choice items and three 4-point essay items, for a total of 30 points per exam. In addition, there will
be an optional 30-item multiple choice comprehensive final/makeup exam that counts 30 points, the same as
a regular weekly exam. Finally, you'll write a 7 to 9 page research paper describing an event in the history of
psychology, its historical antecedents and consequences. The paper will count 30 points, the same as an
exam. The paper assignment will be described further in an attached handout.
On academic honesty: It's academically dishonest to claim that someone else's work is your own (plagiarism)
or arrange things to give the impression that you know more about the material than you really do. This
includes, but is not limited to, looking at other people's papers during an exam, altering a test after it has
been returned to you, consulting notes during a closed-book exam, and including other people’s words or
ideas in your term paper without crediting them as your source. A full statement of the university's academic
standards may be found in the current university catalog. Look up "Student Judicial Code" in the index and
see the section on "Proscribed Conduct." The consequence of one incident of academic dishonesty will be a
grade of zero on that exam that will not be replaced by the score on the comprehensive exam. The
consequence of a second incident will be a failing grade in the course.
Here's a list of exam dates and reading assignments
Date
Friday April 11
Tuesday, April 29
Wednesday, May 14
Friday, May 30
Friday, June 6, 8:00-10:00
Reading
Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 (except pp. 90-93),
5
Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14
Chapters 15, 16, 17, 18, and pages
562-566, 571-576, 579-581, 589-597,
600-604.
Comprehensive Final/Makeup Exam
Other important dates:
No Class: Monday, May 26 (Memorial Day)
Term Paper: Submit electronically on or before Friday, May 30, 5:00 p.m.
Students with disabilities who wish to set up academic adjustments should give me a copy of their
“Confirmation of Eligibility for Academic Adjustments” from the Disability Support Services Office as soon
as possible so we can meet to discuss how the approved adjustments will be implemented. Students with
disabilities without this form should contact the Disability Support Services Office, Bouillon 205 or
dssrecept@cwu.edu or 963-2171.
Now, the point of all this examining is to give both of us an idea of your progress toward some of the goals
of the class. Your final grade is based on a simple arithmetic average of the best 4 scores and the grade on
the paper. Since there are 5 exams, this gives you one exam score to discard because you had a monster
project for another class, because you were sick that week, because you were selling Tupperware for Uncle
Rico, because your cat is getting married, or whatever. Make every effort to take all 4 regular exams. You
may choose not to take the comprehensive exam if you are satisfied with the grade you've earned on the 4
regular exams. This also means that there are no "makeup" exams: The comprehensive exam serves as a
general makeup exam.
Here's a table of letter grades and the total points, percentages, and average test score equivalent of each. To
find your grade at any time during the quarter, divide the number of points you've earned by the total
available and compare your percentage to the table below:
Perfect score: Total = 150 points (100%) [30 points per exam]
A = 132 (87.5%) [26.4]
A- = 128 (85%) [25.6]
B+ = 124 (82.5%) [24.8]
B = 117 (77.5%) [23.4]
B- = 113 (75%) [22.6]
C+ = 109 (72.5%) [21.8]
C = 94 (62.5%) [18.8]
C- = 90 (60%) [18.0]
D+ = 87 (57.5%) [17.4]
D = 79 (52.5%) [15.5]
D- = 75 (50%) [15.0]
PSYCHOLOGY 461 HISTORY AND SYSTEMS OF PSYCHOLOGY
TERM PAPER ASSIGNMENT
The goals of this assignment are to familiarize you with library resources in the history of psychology, to
make you an expert in at least one passage in psychological history, and to write a coherent description of it.
A coherent description is one in which the events all relate to some common theme. In most successful
papers, one event is the focus of the paper and other events help us to understand its importance.
For this assignment, you will receive an icon, a picture that represents an important event in the history of
psychology. Protect your icon from damage. Don't write on it, punch holes in it, or staple it to things. Don't
fold it up. Don’t feed it to indiscriminate omnivores. Some icons are copied from books that are not easily
accessible and will be difficult to replace. These are well-known people and events and many of them appear
in textbooks of psychology. Some icons represent events that took place over a long period of time, for
example, E. L. Thorndike's entire research career. Some are more restricted in time, such as the Boulder,
Colorado conference on graduate education in clinical psychology. Your job is to write a brief history in
which your icon has a prominent place.
The story should have three parts: the history of events that led up to your icon event, the event in your icon
itself, and related events that happened after your icon. All three phases of the history are necessary to
understand the significance of your icon. I want you to enjoy telling the story of your icon and the more you
know about it, the easier it will be. Please don't hesitate to see me for advice about sources related to your
icon.
Your final paper should be written in APA style, as described in the Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (5th ed.). You need to follow instructions for applying APA style to term papers,
reviews of the literature, or theoretical papers. Your paper will not have the methods, results, and discussion
sections that APA experimental report articles have. Most of you will not have any tables or figures.
You should submit your paper electronically, using a commonly-available word processor, such as Microsoft
Word, to create it. I expect your final paper to be composed of:
1. A cover page, including title, author, institution, short title, and running head.
2. An abstract page.
3. The body of your paper, no less than 7 pages and no more than 9 pages in length. This means that the body
of your paper will end on page 9, 10, or 11.
4. A list of references consulted.
5. Any tables or figures.
Your reference list must have at least five references listed. That’s the minimum, not the maximum. At least
three of them must be journal articles, not books. Don’t cite material found on the web or use it as primary
source material in your paper. Use internet resources only to lead you to published books and articles. This is
because many internet resources are not reviewed for accuracy and change frequently. Their best use is to
guide you to books and journal articles reviewed by other scientists and historians (“juried” articles). Online
“full text” versions of peer-reviewed journals and books, however, are the same as the published versions
and will count as valid references for your paper.
I'll read and comment on preliminary drafts of your paper submitted to me at least two weeks before the due
date. The more you hand in, the more I will be able to advise you about. The final copy of the paper must be
submitted in an electronic version by email by 5:00 p.m. on the last regular day of class before finals week
and the icon must be returned by that day as well. Up to 5 points will be deducted for late submission.
Attached are the rubrics I use to grade your term paper, to help you anticipate what I’m looking for in the
best papers.
PSYCHOLOGY 461
HISTORY AND SYSTEMS OF PSYCHOLOGY
COURSE PAPER RUBRIC
Below Expectations (1)
(2)
Meets Expectations (3)
(4)
I.
Reasoning
1. Presentation is illogical,
disordered.
2. Inferences are unsupported by
evidence.
3. Disconnected facts are
presented without attention to
synthesis.
II.
1. Word choice is inappropriate.
Communication Informal, stilted, arcane, or
idiosyncratic.
2. Incoherent organization fails to
lead to the intended conclusion.
3. Lack of awareness of reader’s
perspective.
4. Poorly formed sentences and
paragraphs, with many awkward
passages.
5. Heavy reliance on quotations
or paraphrasing.
III.
1. Inappropriately chooses lay
Technical
terminology when technical
Usage
terminology is appropriate.
2. Uses technical terminology
incorrectly.
IV.
1. Grammatical errors
Grammar
substantially detract from the
communication.
V.
1. Many features of APA style are
APA Style
ignored.
VI.
Mechanics
VII.
Content/Focus
VIII.
References
1. Logical, orderly presentation is
apparent.
2. Inferences are supported by
evidence.
3. Effort is made to synthesize facts
and ideas from different sources.
1. Word choice is acceptable for the
intended audience.
2. Generally good although obvious
organization.
3. Shows awareness of reader’s
perspective.
4. Sentences and paragraphs relate to
each other, though connections are
occasionally remote or obscure.
5. Original writing supported with
occasional quotations, paraphrasing.
Exceeds Expectations (5)
1. The writing is logical, orderly,
internally consistent, and well
developed. Elegant.
2. Inferences are well supported by
evidence.
3. Facts and ideas are well synthesized,
forming a coherent whole.
1. Words are well chosen. Scholarly
expository style
2. Organization is so excellent as to be
unnoticed.
3. Appreciation of reader’s perspective
is obvious.
4. Writing is flowing and easy to
follow.
5. Limited quotations and paraphrasing
well integrated with original writing.
1. Generally makes the appropriate
choice of lay language or technical
language.
2. Uses technical terminology
correctly.
1. Grammatical errors are minimal and
do not detract from the
communication.
1. Few errors in APA style and most
are inconsequential.
1. Technical language or lay language
is appropriately selected.
2. Usage is precise, appropriate,
parsimonious and enlightening.
1. Spelling, punctuation, or
format errors are abundant.
1. Minimal spelling, punctuation, or
format errors.
1. No spelling, punctuation, or format
errors.
1. Sources of ideas are
inadequately documented.
2. No evidence of purpose or
direction. Unclear theme.
3. Excessive reliance on
biography of historical figures.
4. Scant or no coverage of events
preceding icon, or those
following icon, or those in the
icon itself.
1. Inappropriate references.
Fewer than 5 sources or fewer
than 3 journal articles. Reliance
on web sources.
2.. Many errors in the form of
citations in either the body or the
reference section.
3. Many references in the body
not cited in the reference section
and vice versa.
1. Sources of ideas are mostly
documented, some inferences needed.
2. Purpose and direction discernable.
Theme is clear and partially limited.
3. Biographical details are subordinate
to the psychological contributions of
historical figures
4. Events preceding icon, following
icon, and the icon itself are all clearly
represented.
1. Citations are appropriate, although
not ideally matched to the content of
the paper. Five sources and at least
three journal articles.
2. A few incorrect citations are noted
in either the body or the reference
section.
3. A few citations in the body do not
match those in the reference section.
1. Sources of ideas clearly documented
for further research.
2. Clear purpose and direction. Theme
captures reader’s attention and sustains
the paper.
3. Focus is clearly on the psychological
contributions of historical figures.
4. Events preceding icon, following
icon, and the icon itself are well
balanced in an engaging story.
1. Citations are appropriate to the
content of the paper in breadth, depth,
and currency. Many more than the
minimum number of sources.
2. Citations are correctly cited in both
the body and the reference section.
3. Citations match in the body and in
the reference section.
1. The document is free of grammatical
errors.
1. APA style is employed perfectly.
Psychology 461 Term Paper Grading Checklist
Name
.
Below (1)
(2)
Summary Of Course Paper Rubric
Exceeds
Meets (3)
(4)
(5)
Comments
I. Reasoning
II. Communication
III. Technical Usage
IV. Grammar
V. APA Style
VI. Mechanics
VII. Content, Focus
VIII. References
Additional Comments: Coverage of the history of events that led up your icon
Additional Comments: Coverage of events in your icon itself
Additional Comments: Coverage of events related events that happened after icon
_____ Icon attached
_____ Text ends on page 9, 10, or 11.
_____ Cover page format OK
_____ Abstract summarizes in 150 words.
_____ Overall Rating
Excellent Range
Superior Range
Good Range
Deficient Range
Inadequate
30
25
22
17
14 and
below
29
24
21
16
Up to 5 points subtracted for late submission of paper
28
23
20
15
27
26
19
18