Overview
A survey of the history of modern psychology, from the 17th century to the present day. Important empirical findings in psychology and related disciplines will be examined in terms of their historical background and theoretical impact. Emphasis will be placed on understanding progress in the various subfields of psychology. In addition, the contribution of Canadian researchers to the emergence of modern day psychology will be discussed.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course students will be able to:
- Describe philosophical traditions that laid the groundwork for modern psychology.
- Identify the events in the history of scientific, applied, and professional psychology.
- Outline key perspectives in scientific, applied, and professional psychology.
- Understand how the development of psychology was shaped by external forces.
- Identify important figures in the emergence of psychology and describe their contribution to the field.
- Describe how psychology has and continues to shape society.
- Evaluate the influence of Canadian research on modern psychology.
Terms
Evaluation
20% - Quizzes (best 10 of 12)
40% - Commentaries (best 5 of 10)
40% - Proctored Final Exam
0% - Reflective Thinking Study Group Prompt (bonus mark of 2% possible)
**Evaluation Subject to Change**
This course is completed completely online, however, the course does include optional live sessions, meaning you are not required to attend.
Proctored Exams
Exam Centre Location, Eligibility, and Fees
Students enrolled exclusively in online courses may choose one of two options to write this course’s proctored assessments:
- You may choose to write the assessments online under supervision of Examity proctoring services. A $100 fee will be charged to your SOLUS account. This fee is known as the Off Campus Exam Admin Fee and is applied in SOLUS at the earlier of: term tuition posting date, or the date at which exam writing method is changed to online. The fee is assessed once per ASO course with proctored assessments.
- You may choose to write the assessments in-person on Queen’s campus in Kingston at no additional charge.
Students enrolled in at least one on-campus course are expected to write this course’s proctored assessments on-campus during the scheduled exam time. They will not be permitted to write this course’s proctored assessments online.
Students were prompted to indicate their preferred exam writing method when enrolling in the course in SOLUS. The exam writing method may be changed by contacting the ASO Exams Team at aso.exams@queensu.ca.
Information for students writing online assessments using Examity
Selected assessments in this course will be administered in onQ using online proctoring provided by Examity, a third-party, cloud-based service. This proctoring solution was chosen to support our efforts in maintaining academic integrity when online proctoring is required. Queen’s has conducted an extensive privacy and security review of Examity and has entered into a binding agreement with terms that address the appropriate collection, use and disclosure of personal information in accordance with Ontario’s privacy legislation. To learn more about online proctoring, please see the information provided by the Office of the University Registrar.
If you registered to write online with Examity, all information pertaining to the technical requirements and preparation for writing online will be posted in onQ well in advance of your exam. 
The use of Examity as described is unique to courses offered by the Faculty of Arts and Science Online. Other Faculties use online proctoring solutions in different ways under different regulations. Students should contact the appropriate Faculty examination team if they have questions.
Timing of Final Examinations
The exam period dates for each Term are listed on the Faculty of Arts and Science webpage under "Important Dates". Student exam schedules for the Fall Term are posted to SOLUS immediately prior to the Thanksgiving holiday; for the Winter Term they are posted on the Friday before Reading Week, and for the Summer Term they are individually noted on the Arts and Science Online syllabi. Students should not make any travel plans until after the examination schedule has been posted. Exams will not be moved or deferred to accommodate employment, travel/holiday plans or flight reservations. Students experiencing extenuating circumstances preventing them from writing their exams as scheduled should review the information about the Academic Consideration process.
Textbook and Materials
ASO reserves the right to make changes to the required material list as received by the instructor before the course starts. Please refer to the Campus Bookstore website at to obtain the most up-to-date list of required materials for this course before purchasing them.
Required Textbook
- Fancher, R.E., & Rutherford, A. (2017). Pioneers of Psychology. 5th edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. []
The ebook is available for 365 days through the Queen's campus bookstore.
Please note, if you wish to purchase the ebook for 180 days only, it is .
Time Commitment
Students can expect to spend, on average, about 10-12 hours per week on the course.