Psychology 571 –
Pioneers of Psychology
Summer 2009
John Sparrow, Ph.D.
Office: University Center Room 351
Phone: 641-4151 (e-mail: john.sparrow@unh.edu; Web: pubpages.unh.edu/~jes1)
Office hours:
Monday - 5:00 – 5:45
Wednesday - 5:00 – 5:45
Thursday - 5:00 – 5:45
Other times are available by appointment.
Course
Syllabus
Required Books:
Gay, P. (ed.) (1989). The Freud reader. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ["F"]
James, W. (1985, originally published in 1892). Psychology: The Briefer Course. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press. ["J"]
Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers. ["M"]
All three of these books are available at the UNHM Bookstore.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
This course is designed to give the student an overview of some of the "key players" in the field of psychology. Of course, given the short time frame within which we are working, we can only hope to discuss a very few of the many individuals involved in the progression of psychology as a science. Hence, I have chosen three individuals to study: William James, Sigmund Freud, and Stanley Milgram. Please understand that this course is not meant to serve as a generic history of psychology course -- instead, our job is to examine several individuals, study some of their great works, and try to put this information into some sort of historical context. Please note that PSYC 571 is one of the General Education offerings (Group 8) so students are expected (and encouraged) to bring different perspectives to the course content! Further note that Psyc 571: Pioneers of Psychology was formerly known as Psyc 571: The Great Psychologists (and you canÕt receive credit for taking both!).
TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES
The primary class format will consist of lectures, discussions, debates, videos, exams, writing assignments, and individual presentations. This course, perhaps more than any other that I teach, demands active participation on the part of the enrolled students. I plan on spending minimal time lecturing in the traditional sense -- instead, I hope we can engage in some intelligent discussion relating "the pioneers of psychology" to our own lives, the field of psychology, and the evolution of science, in general. I have tried to select individuals whom I feel contributed to psychology in unique, and sometimes controversial, ways. Please get involved in what is going on -- this will make your experience a much more positive one!
READING ASSIGNMENTS
On the course calendar I have outlined the specific reading assignments for this course. Please try to have the readings done by the dates listed. You will note after looking at the calendar that there is a lot of reading to get through in this course! You should consider your primary task in this course as one of reading, reading, reading! I can almost guarantee that you will not be able to successfully get through this course by skimming through the readings the night before the exams. Prior to reading through each selection, I will be giving you some questions to consider in terms of how they relate to the selected portions of text.
GROUP EXERCISES/DEBATES
One to two days prior to each exam, after I have lectured on the appropriate background material for each theorist, you will be getting into small groups to discuss the nature of your responses to the assigned reading questions and other relevant issues. These are the times when we will be concentrating on the nature of the assigned readings and when we will attempt to put the readings into a meaningful context. As I mentioned above, your involvement in these sessions is essential for an enjoyable and fruitful class environment. As you are discussing these questions in the group setting, I will be walking around and checking to make sure that individuals have completed the assigned reading questions (i.e., make sure you have completed the assigned questions before coming to class!). Consequently, please make sure that you hand-in a copy of your written/word-processed responses prior to the first ÒGroup DiscussionÓ session before each exam (designated as such on the course calendar). Please note that credit for completed questions will not be given following the first day of group discussions!
EXAMS
There will be three exams throughout the course (as listed on the course calendar). The exams may consist of a mixture of short-answer, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and essay type questions. Material from the class lectures/discussions as well as the outside-of-the-class reading assignments will be fair game for the exams. I will tell you more about each exam as we approach the different exam dates. Please note that, as a general rule, there will be no make-up exams given. Extenuating circumstances may require the approval of the Dean along with supporting paperwork. Problems meeting these guidelines should be brought to my attention at least five days before scheduled exams.
PAPER ASSIGNMENT/CLASS PRESENTATIONS
As an ongoing project throughout the course, you will be expected to conduct your own research on a different "pioneer of psychology" You will be picking your person out of a hat and conducting a historical search of the person's work, contributions to the discipline, individual personality patterns, and anything else that you find interesting/relevant to the person's role in the field of psychology. I will tell you more about this assignment in one of the upcoming class meetings. Rough drafts of papers are due, in class, on June 15; the finished papers are due, in class, on June 24. Late papers will be penalized by dropping the paper grade by one level for every day the paper is handed in late (e.g., if you hand in the paper two days late and your paper was assigned a grade of "B," the grade will be dropped to a grade of "C+."). In addition, the last class meeting has been reserved for individual student presentations. In these short presentations (~15 minutes each), you are expected to summarize the results of your research. I will elaborate on this, too, at a later date. Please note that attendance at the class presentations is mandatory for everyone!
ATTENDANCE/CLASS PARTICIPATION
You are expected to be in attendance every class meeting. In addition, I expect all students to actively participate in the "goings on" of the class. To clarify, I do not want people talking for the sake of talking -- that is, I am not saying that the more you talk, the better off you are. However, I do expect students to be engaged and active in the class assignments, group activities, and other related tasks. You will note that a portion of your final class grade is dedicated to attendance and class participation. Try to imagine yourself as a historian trying to unravel the works of some great thinkers in the field of psychology!
STUDENT EVALUATION
Final grades will consist of all of the elements outlined above. Specifically:
Group Exercises (including reading questions)/Debates: 10%
Exam 1: 20%
Exam 2: 20%
Exam 3: 20%
Paper Assignment/Class Presentation: 20%
Attendance/Class Participation: 10%
-----------------
Total 100%
Grades will be calculated based on the following percentage cutoff points:
A = 93 - 100% A- = 90 - 92%
B+ = 87 - 89% B = 83 - 86% B- = 80 - 82%
C+ = 77 - 79% C = 73 - 76% C- = 70 - 72%
D+ = 67 - 69% D = 63 - 66% D- = 60 - 62%
F = 0 - 59%
CHEATING
Cheating will not be tolerated in this class. Students caught cheating on exams or writing assignments (e.g., plagiarism) will automatically receive a course grade of "F" and his/her name will be forwarded to the dean's office in accordance with university policy. Hopefully, this information goes without saying.
A FEW FINAL WORDS...
If you have taken other classes with me in the past you know that I expect a great deal from my students. You should take your work very seriously and make a strong attempt at keeping up with the reading assignments, paper assignments, etc. Keep in mind that the general rule-of-thumb for attending college at UNHM is that for every hour of in-class meeting time, the student ought to be spending 2-3 hours outside of class time preparing for the class meetings. I do not mean to scare you off by stating this policy, but I do want my students to know this fact up front. Also, you should be aware that I keep all student examinations on file; hence, you will not be able to keep your examinations after I return them for your perusal. I will spend some time in class going over the exams after they have been graded. If you would like to go over your examination in more detail, you are welcome (and encouraged!) to come see me during office hours. This policy is a strict one and is non-negotiable. As a final note, please turn off all cell phones during class time! If you must leave the phone on for critical reasons, please set the ringer to Òvibration mode,Ó if possible, or, at the very least, make sure the phone is easily accessible so that youÕre not digging around trying to find the phone while itÕs disturbing the class. Please note that all of the information outlined in this syllabus is subject to slight modification throughout the course. If any substantive changes in the syllabus are warranted, I will let you know well ahead of time. Let's work on having both an educational and enjoyable summer of "Pioneers of Psychology"!
Date Topic Reading
May 27 Introduction
/ Nature of Science & Psyc J:
pp. xi, xiii, xxv,Chs. 1,2,4
28 Roots
of Psychology J:
Chs. 7,9,11
June 1 Discussion:
William James J:
Chs. 15,17,Epilogue
3 ***************
EXAM #1 ***************
4 Historical
Roots of Psychoanalysis F:
pp. xi,xiii,xxxi,3,45,48,60,78,86,96,111,129,239
8 Role
of Sigmund Freud F:
pp. 309,356,363,378,481
10 Discussion:
Sigmund Freud F:
pp. 562,568,572,628,661,666,670,796
11 ***************
EXAM #2 ***************
15 Psychology's
Broadening Base / M:
pp. xi,xv, Chs. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
& Rough
Draft of Papers Due
17 Social
Phenomena M:
Chs. 9,10,11,12,13
18 Broad
Range of Milgram's Work M:
Chs. 14,15,Appendixes I-II
22 Discussion:
Stanley Milgram
24 Student
Presentations AND Papers Due In Class
25 ***************
EXAM #3 ***************
Within a few days, a copy of this syllabus will appear
on my web page: http://pubpages.unh.edu/~jes1