As a graduate student in psychology, it is highly important to recognize the historical roots of your field. As we learn in the course, the creative and bold ideas of psychology have evolved through the centuries as a function of several factors.

More specifically, as you think about your chosen area or specialization within psychology (such as clinical, developmental, organizational, or educational), describe the origins of your particular area in the context of the history of psychology. Include not only the most obvious theorists and concepts, but expand your thinking to include other topics and areas we have covered in the course. For example, a developmental psychologist might naturally think of Piaget, Kohlberg, and Erikson as major thinkers within the developmental domain. While this is certainly true, how could ideas and concepts such as those from perception, introspection, or Gestalt psychology also have impacted modern developmental psychology?

Cite experiments, movements, or other major events (such as child labor laws or the advent of testing) that might have had an influence upon the field. Using a minimum of eight sources, your assignment is to look at traditional names and concepts that led up to the modern conceptualization of your specialization, and to use your critical thinking skills to speculate how other, less-obvious people and ideas might also have contributed to the field.

To successfully complete this project, you will be expected to: 1.Use critical thinking to speculate how events might have impacted the life of a major theorist OR might have led to the foundation of a theoretical perspective.
2.Synthesize the ideas within psychology to follow the course of development within a particular psychological specialization.
3.Describe the impact of the major names and schools of thought that have emerged within psychology.
4.Think proactively and ethically about the future of the psychology field.