BERGAMO
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students possess a critical understanding of the main stages, schools, and figures in the history of psychology, from its philosophical and physiological roots to the establishment of the major twentieth-century schools, with a monographic focus on Freudian thought and the history of the psychoanalytic movement. This knowledge provides the foundation for developing the ability to critically contextualise theories and concepts in contemporary psychology, recognising their historical origins and epistemological assumptions.
In particular, students acquire:
- knowledge of the philosophical and scientific currents that made possible the birth of psychology as an autonomous science, and of the major twentieth-century psychological schools within their respective historical and cultural contexts;
- in-depth knowledge of the birth of Freudian psychoanalysis and the history of the psychoanalytic movement;
- critical reasoning skills in reading historiographical sources;
- contextualisation skills applied to the main epistemological debates in psychology (nature/culture, mind/body, consciousness/unconscious) in light of their historical genesis;
- communication skills in the critical presentation, both oral and written, of historiographical issues relevant to the discipline.
The course contributes to the educational objectives of the Degree Programme in Psychological Sciences by providing the theoretical and methodological foundations for a critical understanding of psychological phenomena, in line with the interdisciplinary approach of the programme.
Course Prerequisites
Teaching Methods
The course consists of lectures (48 hours), organised according to the eight thematic modules of the programme. Lectures are accompanied by the critical reading and discussion of texts and primary sources, in order to encourage students' direct engagement with historiographical sources and to develop critical text-analysis skills.
Assessment Methods
The exam consists of a written test comprising 4 open-ended questions, to be completed within a maximum time of two hours. Each answer is awarded a maximum of 7.5 points, according to the following criteria: a) relevance of the answer to the question; b) analytical and synthetic ability; c) appropriateness of language. The final grade, expressed out of thirty, corresponds to the sum of the points obtained in the four answers.
The exam covers the entire programme, in order to verify students' knowledge of the topics covered. Examples of the specific format of the written test will be provided during lectures. Results will be published on the University's Sportello Internet.
Contents
The course traces the history of psychology from its philosophical origins to the establishment of the main twentieth-century schools, with a monographic focus on the birth of Freudian psychoanalysis.
1. The origins of psychology: from Greek thought to the birth of scientific psychology, through the contribution of modern philosophy, empiricism, physiology, and the natural sciences, up to the founding of Wundt's laboratory in Leipzig (1879)
2. Wundt, Structuralism, and Functionalism: the birth of experimental psychology and the first American psychological schools
3. Gestalt psychology: origins, fundamental principles, and developments (perception, learning, social psychology)
4. Behaviourism: from Watson to the great theories of learning (Thorndike, Tolman, Hull, Skinner, Bandura)
5. The origins of modern psychopathology: from madness as a moral disorder to the birth of scientific psychiatry
6. Freud and psychoanalysis (monographic section): from the first clinical research to metapsychology, with an in-depth study of Freudian thought and the history of the psychoanalytic movement
7. The cognitivist movement: from the crisis of behaviourism to the birth of Cognitive Science
8. Russian psychology, Pavlov, and Vygotsky**: reflexology, the historical-cultural perspective, and higher psychical processes
The programme is identical for attending and non-attending students.
Online Resources
More information
Non-attending students are encouraged to register on the course Moodle platform, within the e-learning section, to access the materials discussed during lectures and to participate in the learning activities.