Psychology 399: Junior Thesis

The History and Philosophy of Psychological Science

Spring 1999

Instructor: Dr. Scott T. Allison

Office: 121 Richmond Hall

Phone: 289-8127

Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday 2:30 - 3:30 or by appointment

Course Readings

1) Benjamin, L. T. (1997). A History of Psychology: Original Sources and Contemporary Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.

2) Primary source articles and chapters on reserve at Boatwright Library.

Course Objectives

1. To develop a familiarity with and appreciation for the history of psychological science through careful reading of primary source texts of enduring historical significance.

2. To develop a familiarity with and appreciation for the philosophy of science through careful reading of primary source texts of enduring significance in the history and philosophy of science.

3. To engage in active and collaborative learning with fellow psychology majors and with members of the psychology faculty.

4. To prepare for a rigorous senior research experience as a psychology major.

Paper Assignments

1. John Neasmith Dickinson Award Proposal. This research proposal should be developed in consultation with a faculty member in the psychology department and should serve as the basis for your senior research or senior honors thesis next year. First drafts of this proposal are due on February 23, 1999, and final drafts are due on March 5, 1999.

2. Historical Analysis. This paper is a comprehensive analysis of the historical and philosophical roots of your Dickinson research topic. First drafts are due on April 2, 1999, and final drafts are due on April 16, 1999.

Course Grading

Your final grade will be based on the following criteria:

1. In-class participation--includes class attendance,

discussion questions, oral participation,

and performance as discussion leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5% of your grade

2. Out-of-class participation--defined as attendance and

participation at various Departmental and University

intellectual events, such as (a) departmental colloquia;

(b) departmental super-colloquium & dinner banquet;

(c) Psi-Chi cultural gatherings; (d) UR Student Research

Symposium; and (e) any other University intellectual or

cultural event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5% of your grade

3. Dickinson Proposal: First Draft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5% of your grade

Final Draft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10% of your grade

Web Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10% of your grade

PowerPoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5% of your grade

4. Historical Analysis: First Draft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5% of your grade Final Draft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10% of your grade

PDF Version. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10% of your grade

5. Mid-term Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15% of your grade

6. Final Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20% of your grade

Class Attendance Policy

Your attendance is required at every class session, due to (a) the voluminous amount of material covered in the course; (b) the rapid pace at which the course proceeds through this material; and (c) the fact that oral participation is weighed so heavily into your final grade.

Course Schedule

Date Topic Presenter

T 1-12 Introduction to the Course Scott

TR 1-14 Overview of the Philosophy of Science Scott

Part I: The Philosophy of Psychological Science: During the first half of the course, we shall explore the philosophy underlying the scientific enterprise. How should science proceed ideally? How closely does reality mimic the ideal? What is the role of metaphor in science and in the genesis of knowledge? What philosophical traditions guide psychological scientists in posing questions, constructing theories, developing methodologies, and interpreting empirical data? How does progress in psychological science compare to progress in other sciences? Is science compatible with religion? How should scientists disseminate their findings to the general public?

T 1-19 The History of Science Scott

TR 1-21 Modes of Scientific Progress (Part 1) Scott

T 1-26 Modes of Scientific Progress (Part II) Scott

TR 1-28 Scientific Progress in Psychology (Part I) ________

T 2-2 Scientific Progress in Psychology (Part II) ________

TR 2-4 Women, Science, and Objectivity ________

T 2-9 Science and Religion ________

TR 2-11 Approaches to Theory in Psychology ________

T 2-16 Approaches to Data in Psychology ________

TR 2-18 Psychology’s Status as Science ________

T 2-23 Levels of Explanation in Psychology Scott

TR 2-25 Disseminating Psychology & Science to the Public ________

T 3-2 MIDTERM EXAM

II. The History of Psychological Science: During the second half of the course,

we explore the long and storied history of psychological thought. How did the ancients view the problems of mind, body, and behavior? How have these ideas evolved over time? What are the historical and philosophical roots of biopsychology, neuroendocrinology, perception, behaviorism, psychodynamic psychology, personality psychology, cognitive psychology, and social psychology? How have cultural forces and technological advances shaped psychology as a science? Where do psychological scientists go from here?

TR 3-4 Review of Midterm Scott

T 3-9 SPRING BREAK !!

TR 3-11 SPRING BREAK !!

T 3-16 Student Presentations of Dickinson Proposals N/A

TR 3-18 Student Presentations of Dickinson Proposals N/A

T 3-23 The Founding of Scientific Psychology ________

TR 3-25 Major Paradigms in Psychology’s History ________

T 3-30 The History & Philosophy of Neuroscience Dr. Kinsley

TR 4-1 The History & Philosophy of Connectionism Dr. Li

T 4-6 The History & Philosophy of Child Development Dr. Newcomb

TR 4-8 The History & Philosophy of Child Development Dr. Schmidt

T 4-13 The History & Philosophy of Social Psychology Scott

TR 4-15 The History & Philosophy of Applied Psych TBA

T 4-20 Psychology in the 21st Century ________

TR 4-22 Reprise: Psychology and Science Scott

Readings

Overview of Philosophy of Science

Harris, B. (1979). Whatever happened to Little Albert? In L. T. Benjamin (Ed.), A History of Psychology: Original Sources and Contemporary Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.

The History of Science

Galileo, G. (1623). Il siggiatore. Excerpted in R. I. Watson’s (1979) Basic Writings in the History of Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.

Bacon, F. (1620). Novum organum. Excerpted in R. I. Watson’s (1979) Basic Writings in the History of Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.

Descartes, R. (1641). The existence of material things: The real distinction of mind and body. In L. T. Benjamin (Ed.), A History of Psychology: Original Sources and Contemporary Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Petryszak, P. (1981). Tabula Rasa — It’s origins and implications. In L. T. Benjamin (Ed.), A History of Psychology: Original Sources and Contemporary Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Popper, K. (1959). The Logic of Scientific Discovery. New York: Basic Books, Inc. (Excerpts)

Modes of Scientific Progress (Part 1)

Leary, D. E. (1990). Psyche’s muse: The role of metaphor in the history of psychology. In D. E. Leary (Ed.), Metaphors in the history of psychology. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Kuhn, T. S. (1970). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. (Excerpts)

Modes of Scientific Progress (Part II)

Toulmin, S. (1972). Human understanding. Princeton: Princeton University Press. (Excerpts)

Leahey, T. H. (1992). The mythical revolutions of American Psychology. American Psychologist, 47, 308-318.

Leary, D. E. (1992). William James and the art of human understanding. In L. T. Benjamin (Ed.), A History of Psychology: Original Sources and Contemporary Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Sternberg, R. J., & Lubart, T. I. (1996). Investing in creativity. American Psychologist, 31, 677-688.

Feist, G. J. (1998). A meta-analysis of personality in scientific and artistic creativity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2, 290-309.

 

Scientific Progress in Psychology (Part II)

Gardner, H. (1992). Scientific psychology: Should we bury it or praise it? New Ideas in Psychology, 10, 179-190.

Sternberg, R. J. (1992). Too young to die: Let’s not bury psychology alive. A reply to Gardner. New Ideas in Psychology, 10, 195-205.

Meehl, P. E. (1978). Theoretical risks and tabular asterisks: Sir Karl, Sir Ronald, and the slow progress of soft psychology. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, 806-834.

Kingsley, R. (1995). Women, science, and objectivity. The Faculty Exchange, 9, 5-10.

Faculty Forum, The Faculty Exchange, 9, 11-22.

Tice, D. (1995). New Pitfalls for women faculty. Personality and Social Psychology Dialogue, March 1995.

Shields, S. (1975). Functionalism, Darwinism, and the Psychology of Women.

In L. T. Benjamin (Ed.), A History of Psychology: Original Sources and Contemporary Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Davies, P. (1998). Is the universe absurd? In T. Peters (Ed.), Science and theology. Boulder, Co: Westview Press.

Peacocke, A. (1998). A map of scientific knowledge: Genetics, evolution, and theology. In T. Peters (Ed.), Science and theology. Boulder, Co: Westview Press.

Approaches to Theory in Psychology

McGuire, W. (1992). Toward social psychology’s second century. In Koch, S., & Leary, D. E. (Eds.), A century of psychology as science. Washington, D. C.: American Psychological Association.

Greenwald, A. G., Pratkanis, A. R., Leippe, M. R., & Baumgardner, M. (1986). Under what conditions does theory obstruct research progress? Psychological Review, 93, 216-229.

Shrout, P. E. (1997). Should significance tests be banned? Introduction to a special section exploring the pros and cons. Psychological Science, 8, 1-2.

Hunter, J. E. (1997). Needed: A ban on the significance test. Psychological Science, 8, 3-7.

Harris, R. J. (1997). Significance tests have their place. Psychological Science, 8, 8-11.

Abelson, R. P. (1997). On the surprising longevity of flogged horses: Why there is a case for the significance test. Psychological Science, 8, 12-15.

Scarr, S. (1997). Rules of evidence: A larger context for the statistical debate. Psychological Science, 8, 16-17.

Estes, W. K. (1997). Significance testing in psychological research: Some persisting issues. Psychological Science, 8, 18-20.

Psychology’s Status as Science

Koch, S. (1992). The nature and limits of psychological knowledge: Lessons of a century qua "science". In Koch, S., & Leary, D. E. (Eds.), A century of psychology as science. Washington, D. C.: American Psychological Association.

Miller, G. A. (1992). The constitutive problem of psychology. In Koch, S., & Leary, D. E. (Eds.), A century of psychology as science. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Kruglanski, A. (1997). Psychology’s house of intersecting dialogues. The APS Observer, January 1997.

 

 

Simon, H. A. (1992). What is an "explanation" of behavior? Psychological Science, 3, 150-161.

Cacioppo, J. T., & Berntson, G. G. (1992). Social psychological contributions to the decade of the brain. American Psychologist, 47, 1019-1028.

Smith, A. (1997). APA responds to New York Times attack against the behavioral sciences. Psychological Science Agenda, March 1997

Diamond, J. (1997). Kinship with the stars: Carl Sagan blacklisted. Discover, 1422, 44-49.

Ruksznis, E. (1999). Giving psychology away. The APS Observer, January 1999.

 

Fechner, G. (1860). Psychophysics and mind-body relations. In L. T. Benjamin (Ed.), A History of Psychology: Original Sources and Contemporary Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Wundt, W. (1896). Psychical elements and compounds. In L. T. Benjamin (Ed.), A History of Psychology: Original Sources and Contemporary Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Blumenthal, A. (1975). A reappraisal of Wilhelm Wundt. In L. T. Benjamin (Ed.), A History of Psychology: Original Sources and Contemporary Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Tichener, E. (1910). The method and scope of psychology. In L. T. Benjamin (Ed.), A History of Psychology: Original Sources and Contemporary Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Watson, J. (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it. In L. T. Benjamin (Ed.), A History of Psychology: Original Sources and Contemporary Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Samelson, F. (1981). Struggle for scientific authority: The reception of Watson’s behaviorism. In L. T. Benjamin (Ed.), A History of Psychology: Original Sources and Contemporary Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Skinner, B. F. (1938). A system of behavior. In L. T. Benjamin (Ed.), A History of Psychology: Original Sources and Contemporary Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Freud, S. (1910). First lecture on psychoanalysis at Clark University: Breuer and the treatment of hysteria. In L. T. Benjamin (Ed.), A History of Psychology: Original Sources and Contemporary Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Kohler, W. (1967). Gestalt psychology. In L. T. Benjamin (Ed.), A History of Psychology: Original Sources and Contemporary Research. New York: McGraw-Hill.

 

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Scott, T. R. (1991). A personal view of the future of psychology departments. American Psychologist, 46, 975-976.

Fowler, R. D. (1990). Psychology: The core discipline. American Psychologist, 45, 1-6.

Rice, C. (1997). Scenarios: The scientist-practitioner split and the future of psychology. American Psychologist, 52, 1173-1181.