Undergraduate Course: History and Theory of Psychology (PSYL10163)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will cover key conceptual and historical issues in Psychology. It will provide a historical and theoretical perspective that will encourage greater critical thinking about the nature of psychological knowledge. |
| Course description |
This course will cover key conceptual and historical issues in Psychology, and explain why a historical and theoretical perspective is needed to understand the nature of psychological knowledge. It will consider what it means to define Psychology as scientific, describe the various forms that scientific Psychology has taken in practice, and explain how these have related to other kinds of psychological knowledge claims (such as pseudoscience and popular psychology). It will consider why we have asked particular psychological questions, and why we have chosen to answer them in particular ways. It will examine how we have defined psychological objects (emotions, attitudes, personality, etc.), and what, when we have made claims about these things, we have meant. In doing so, it will consider various controversies in the history of Psychology (such as those relating to phrenology, psychical research and psychoanalysis), which reveal some of the hidden aims and assumptions behind psychological knowledge claims, and discuss their implications for understanding more conventional claims. In doing so, it will encourage greater critical thinking about the nature of psychological knowledge.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Psychology 2A (PSYL08011) AND
Psychology 2B (PSYL08012)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Psychology Honours courses are strictly only available to students in Y3 or Y4 of a Single or Joint Honours Degree in Psychology, Cognitive Science students, or medical students who are intercalating at Psychology. Visiting undergraduate students should check with the Visiting Student Office. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should be studying Psychology as their degree major, and have completed at least 3 Psychology courses at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. Applicants should note that, as with other popular courses, meeting the minimum does NOT guarantee admission.
**Please note that upper level Psychology courses are high-demand, meaning that they have a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces.** These enrolments are managed strictly by the Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces.
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| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
70 %,
Coursework
30 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Written Exam 70 %, Coursework 30 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Info
Midterm: Essay, 1000 words (30%)
Final: Exam (70%) |
| Feedback |
Formative feedback will be provided on the mid-course assignment |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | History and Theory of Psychology Exam (PSYL10163) | 120 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Describe various forms that scientific Psychology has taken at different times
- Explain how and why the objects of psychological knowledge have changed over time
- Demonstrate the ability to think critically about the basis of psychological knowledge claims
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
This course will promote critical and reflective thinking about the nature of psychological knowledge. By providing a range of historical and theoretical perspectives, it will foster a broader outlook and engagement with different ways of thinking, and encourage personal and intellectual autonomy in the critical evaluation of ideas, evidence and experiences from an open-minded and reasoned point of view. Through seminar discussion and formal assessments about different perspectives, it will develop skills in oral and written communication. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Peter Lamont
Tel: (0131 6)50 3372
Email: peter.lamont@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Fiona Thomson
Tel:
Email: fthomso3@ed.ac.uk |
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