Students of the Dutch bachelor’s programme, see Geschiedenis van de Psychologie
Entry requirements
None
Description
In the course History of Psychology we will study the historical roots of psychology as a science. We will discover that these roots lie in both philosophy and physiology, and that both disciplines have an impact on psychology. We will discover how important philosophical problems, such as the mind-body problem and the nature-nurture problem, have had an impact on psychology throughout its history until today.
Course objectives
The students can:
1. Characterise the most important theories on psychology from Aristotle to the cognitive turn in the twentieth century
2. Describe how historical developments continue to have an impact on current psychology
3. Analyse and evaluate fundamental psychological problems in a written and oral argument.
Timetable
For the timetable of this course please refer to MyTimetable
Registration
Education
Students must register themselves for all course components (lectures, tutorials and practicals) they wish to follow. You can register up to 5 days prior to the start of the course. The exception here is that first-year bachelor students are assigned and registered for all components in the first semester or academic year by the administration of their bachelor programme. The programme will communicate to these students for which course components and for which period the registration applies.
Exams
You must register for each exam in My Studymap at least 10 days before the exam date. Don’t forget! For more information, see the enrolment procedure.
You cannot take an exam without a valid registration in My Studymap.
Carefully read all information about the procedures and deadlines for registering for courses and exams.
Students who take this course as part of a LDE minor or a premaster programme, exchange students and external guest students will be informed by the education administration about the current registration procedure.
Mode of instruction
There are 8 lectures of two hours each and 4 work group sessions of two hours also. A work group consists of 1 instructor and a maximum of 24 students (2 tutorial groups combined). Attendance of the work groups is mandatory.
The work groups provide ample opportunity to practice and develop argumentation and discussion skills, within the context of the big issues of contemporary psychology and its history.
Assessment method
The work group grade is included in the calculation of the final grade. Assignments are used to check knowledge and understanding of the materials in the course book chapters under study. Instructors assess each assignment with a 10-point grading scheme. An overall grade is awarded for participation and assignments. For information on how this grade is calculated, please the course workbook. The examination consists of 40 multiple-choice questions (MC), which test course objectives 1 and 2. The material for the MC exam is based on the literature (reading list) and lecture material (if and as indicated by the lecturer). Course objective 3 is tested with the assignments in the practice sessions. There are assignments for each of the work group sessions. The grade for the work group sessions is included in the calculation of the final grade, with 70% weight for the MC exam and 30% weight for the final result of the practice sessions. The method for calculation of the final grade of the practice sessions is described in the workbook. However, for each (MC exam and final result of practice course) a minimum result of a 5 must be obtained.
The Institute of Psychology uses fixed rules for grade calculation and compulsory attendance. It also follows the policy of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences to systematically check student papers for plagiarism with the help of software. All students are required to take and pass the Scientific Integrity Test with a score of 100% in order to learn about the practice of integrity in scientific writing. Students are given access to the quiz via a module on Brightspace. Disciplinary measures will be taken when fraud is detected. Students are expected to be familiar with and understand the implications of these three policies.
Reading list
Prof. F. van der Velde and Dr. Sebo Uithol. Chapters on History of Psychology.
Available on Brightspace.
Contact information
- Roderik Gerritsen and Sebo Uithol historypsychology@fsw.leidenuniv.nl