Knowledge

The student can...

give an account of the history of psychology with regard to important developmental aspects, philosophical roots, historical schools of thought, and influential figures
describe the main arguments in key controversies and changes in the history of psychology
give an account of psychology as a social science and natural science in a historical perspective
explain qualitative and quantitative research methods
discuss important ethical considerations in various methodologies used in psychology, especially experiments
explain problems involved in different research methods and the concepts of causality, correlation and probability in psychology
explain what is meant by a literature search, hypothesis/research problem, operationalization, variables, measurement scales, reliability and validity
describe non-experimental methods (observation, case studies, archive studies, survey methods, field methodology and interviews)
explain the main differences between experimental and non-experimental design
explain the relationship between a sample and a population
explain what a scientific paradigm is

Skills

The student can...

place recent psychological theories and schools of thought in a historical perspective
explain how scientific work leads to scientific articles
provide a general overview of ethical dilemmas in research
discuss advantages and disadvantages of case studies, tests and experiments
discuss advantages and disadvantages of qualitative methods

General competence

The student can...

discuss and reflect on key issues in psychology
reflect on how important topics from the history of psychology has shaped the subject field and related fields
discuss how qualitative and quantitative approaches can be integrated into the design of a research study
reflect on ethical issues in human and animal research

Subject description 7101

Psychological Research and History