Mike Palij wrote: > I was wondering if anyone knew of any articles or writings on the > history of teaching of experimental psychology, particularly as a > laboratory course, over the course of the past century. I'm > interested in what was covered is such courses, the target enrollment > size, and the "mission" of such courses. Any help would be > appreciated. TIA. > > Mike,
There have been a number of "classic" textbooks on experimental psychology over the decades. They will give you some idea of how the course was taught historically. Of course student numbers, exact assignments, orientations, etc. would have varied widely from school to school over the decades. You'd have to dig into the archives at several places to get a good handle on that. First (in English) was E. C. Sanford's textbook (first issued in a series of articles in /Am J Psych/, 1891-1893). Titchener's "Manuals" were the "gold standard" in the early 20th century (even among many who rejected Titchener's specific theoretical perspective). Henry Garrett (the avowed segregationist, eugenicist, white supremacist, and -- oh yes! -- APA President) wrote a "Great Experiments" book in the 1930s that was well known. The experimental psychology text first written in 1938 by R. S. Woodworth (& H. Schlosberg, in later editions) came to be so widely used that it was known informally as "The Columbia Bible." B. J. Underwood's had a popular textbook in the 1950s (orig ed. 1949) that came to be preferred (as I understand it) by those who thought Woodworth to be not rigorously behavioristic enough to suit their taste. And allow me to put in a good word for fellow-TIPSter Stuart McKelvie's course on human experimental psychology as, perhaps, the single best-designed and information-rich course I took in my more-than-a decade as a course-taking psychology student. (Fortunately for me, it came near the start of my psych student career.) Hope this helps. Best, Chris -- Christopher D. Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada 416-736-2100 ex. 66164 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.yorku.ca/christo/ ========================== --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
