History of Psychology - Session 1: Introduction

History of Psychology - Session 1: Introduction

• The presentation covered the introduction to a course on the history of psychology
• Lecturers are Loreen Tisdall and Rui Mata
• Date of the session: September 23, 2024
• The course utilizes word clouds and various visualizations to represent the frequency of key terms
• Keywords associated with the time period from 1950 to 1999: student, intelligence, teacher, grade, experimental, psychology, psychoanalysis, curriculum, discipline, discuss, reading, neuropsychology, english, classroom
• Word clouds from different periods indicate significant shifts in focus and research areas within psychology
• Problems in studying history: Causality and not being value-free
• Different historiographic approaches to understand the history of psychology were discussed

Course Overview

• Course materials include slides, available from the course website, and readings.
• Readings are linked to the slides
• The course was introduced with an overview of sessions' materials, and exam details
• Online resources: specific links to slides and ADAM (a learning platform) were provided.
• The course website provides course materials, sessions, and slides
• The course's session outline with dates, topics and instructors was shown
• In-person exam details were indicated. There is a mock exam scheduled for later

Learning Outcomes

• Learning how the course works, where to find materials
• Understanding the pros and cons of studying the history of psychology
• Recognizing problems with the history of psychology
• Gaining knowledge about historiographic methods
• Critically reflecting on different historiographic approaches to a discipline. For example, the Great Man vs. psychological factories approach.

Why Study History of Psychology?

• "What's past is prologue" is a quote used to emphasize the importance of knowing the past to understand the present and future
• Other quotes related to the need for the study of history in the context of psychology were included.
• History repeats itself, and past mistakes are crucial to avoid in modern psychology.

9 Great Reasons to Study the History of Psychology

• Understanding the origins and progression of psychological concepts and theories.
• Contextualizing current theories by recognizing influences from the past (social, cultural, and technological advancements) to understand the present.
• Avoiding repeating past mistakes in psychology.
• Understanding the evolution and diversification of ethical standards.
• Recognizing contributions of diverse figures (from women and marginalized groups)
• Recognizing the interdisciplinary nature of psychology (connections to other fields like philosophy, biology, economics)
• Encouraging critical thinking and fostering a culture of questioning existing theories.
• Inspiring new research based on historical trends.
• Helping in building a sense of professional identity within the field of Psychology.

3 Major Problems for Studying History of Psychology

• Determining causality in psychological history
• Avoiding value-free judgements of historical narratives
• Understanding and appreciating diversity in psychology's historical narratives.

Course Materials Details

• Relevant links to website, course materials, and resources were provided
• Links to online resources and lecture materials were shown

Exam Information

• Exams will be in person, multiple-choice.
• Mock exam scheduled for a later date
• Q&A session using course forum

Instructions and Exercise

• A brief exercise was assigned to the audience
• Participants were asked to write down 3 events or individuals that significantly shaped psychology
• Participants were given ~1 minute to respond.