A large amount of independent study is required to successfully complete this course. Ample class time is provided for you to explore classic psychological thought, theories, and historical perspectives. Take advantage of this freedom and delve deeply into the history of psychology!
This course is a senior seminar with much online discussion between classmates, therefore it is important for you to stay attuned to the class on Canvas on a regular basis. With this class being a senior capstone, the focus is somewhat different than a standard lecture course. Much of the success of this class begins with you. In other words, you need to be online each week and prepared for meaningful class discussion so it is a beneficial experience for all of us.
Knowledge of APA style writing is expected and assumed. How to search databases and differentiate between relevant literature is a required skill. An understanding of research methods, statistics, and the importance of theory in psychology are required prerequisites.
Grading
Your performance in this course will be based on three quizzes, several written response/discussion assignments, researching and presenting information on an eminent psychologist, and several class exercises. Below is the breakdown of grading, which will be on the traditional scale (where 90%=A, 80%=B, 70%=C, 60%=D). Plus and minus grades will be used in this course.
- Eminent Psychologist Capstone Project 75 points
- Three Quizzes 60 points
- Consciousness Paper 25 points
- Weekly Reading Response and Discussion 40 points
- Additional Class Exercises 25 points
Total 225 points
Specifics on the Grading Components
Eminent Psychologist Capstone Project. For this capstone assignment, you will choose a specific psychologist who has made a major impact on the discipline. You should search out three kinds of information about this individual:
- biographical material,
- journal articles and books written by the individual, and
- work completed by others about the nature and significance of this individual's work, as well as other evidence of the person’s influence.
The paper should discuss both the life and the work of your eminent psychologist. It should be a minimum of eight (8) double-spaced pages of text, not including the title page and references.
The paper should be structured as follows:
- Biography (1-2 pages),
- Coverage of aspects of the person’s published work (5-6 pages),
- How their contributions influenced psychology (1-2 pages),
- Concluding section (1-2 pages) --apply the major theories/contributions of your eminent psychologist to the current state of their discipline (system, theoretical perspective). How would they view the discipline’s current status and future direction?
The actual text of your paper (not including title page and references) should not exceed 12 pages, so take this guide seriously and be succinct in what you cover.
Important:
- Most of the psychologists examined for this assignment will have completed far more work in their lifetime than could be described in such a brief paper, thus a focus on some small aspect of the person’s work is critical to success on this assignment.
- The capstone paper MUST be based on the eminent psychologists PRIMARY SOURCES. These sources should include peer reviewed journal articles and books in which the eminent psychologist is one of the primary authors. Papers reliant on non-primary sources will not be accepted.
- There is a tendency in writing these papers to present the individual in a largely positive light. In some cases, such an assessment may be entirely merited. However, your job as historical psychologist is to interpret the data as objectively as you can, and that means being critical when such criticism is called for.
- Knowledge of APA writing style is assumed. Referencing and grammar rules count. Writing in first person should not be avoided in this type of APA research-based paper.
Portions of this assignment will be completed throughout the semester to provide feedback and guidance. The final submission for the Eminent Psychologist paper is due December 7, 2025.
The final products of this assignment will be the completed paper and a 15-20 minute presentation. What is most relevant to realize is that your presentation does not have to include everything that will be in your paper. The presentation is limited in time, so focus on hitting several main points based on the organizational structure of the project (biography, relevant work, contributions, etc.). The presentation should include slides and narration on your part (audio, video, or both), along with relevant historical photographs, etc. Short video clips can also be included but should not be the central focus of the presentation. The completed presentation should be uploaded to Canvas and is due December 1, 2025.
You are encouraged to begin working on this project early in the semester. Papers and presentations can absolutely be turned in earlier than the due dates in December.
Quizzes
Three quizzes will be given throughout the semester. Each quiz will be worth 20 points and cover chapters from the Benjamin text. The third quiz will serve as the final exam and is not cumulative. Quizzes will consist of multiple-choice questions pulled from the readings and our weekly presentation slides and discussion.
Consciousness Paper
A short paper (5-7 pages) will be completed examining the many facets surrounding consciousness. This is a reflective paper addressing several of the major psychological issues put forth in the book Ghost Boy, the Oliver Sacks chapter, and our class discussions, all the while analyzing these issues from a historical perspective. This paper is due Oct 12, 2025.
Weekly Reading Discussion Participation
Each week the class will review a slide lecture with audio provided by the professor and complete a set of readings examining specific eras and ideas in the history of psychology. The readings for each week of class are listed in the class schedule. Class members are required to read the chapter and review the presentation slides to become familiar with the era of psychology being examined. There will be a total of 12 weeks of the semester with materials open for response and discussion. Participation entails completing a 200-250 word response that is centered on your reflections on the presentation slides and the readings for the week.
Your summary should conclude with a couple of thought-provoking, discussion oriented questions for your classmates to respond to. This summary should be posted on the course canvas site by the end of the day on Wednesday of the discussion week. This will then allow a few days for discussion of those compelling questions. In addition to completing the written response, to earn full credit students must also comment on their classmates responses and posts. There are 5 points possible each week for this assignment. A total of 40 points are possible, so you need to complete eight weeks of response/discussion (of the 12 available weeks). If you complete more than eight discussions you can earn up to 10 extra credit points. If you are really into the class and complete all discussions, you can opt out of taking the final quiz.
Class Assignments
Several assignments will be completed throughout the semester related to the topics under discussion. Each assignment will typically be worth 5 points. A total of 25 points are possible this semester through class assignments.