Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996
Objectives On the completion of this subject students will understand the process of theory construction, and the nature of inductive and deductive theory building; have acquired a knowledge of the history of psychology, including its relationship to other fields of scientific endeavour; know the major schools of thought in contemporary psychology; use competently advanced univariate statistical methods in psychological research.
Synopsis Central theme: theory, research and experimental methods. Theory and systems in psychology: the historical development of psychological methods; schools of psychology; the philosophy of the physical sciences and its bearing on psychology; theory construction; a critical evaluation of psychology as a twentieth century behaviour science; current issues and developments. Statistical methods: sampling methods; non-parametric and parametric one-way and two-way analysis of variance; selected comparisons among multiple groups; linear regression analysis; use of SPSSx.
Assessment Three tests: 55% + Two tutorials: 25% + One essay: 20%.