Theory and History of Psychology

Using perspectives from the history, philosophy, and sociology of science, this master encourages students to study the field of psychology itself, and to explore its relations with other parts of science and society. Students of Reflecting on Psychology will study topics such as the the role of fMRI scans in public debates, the replication crisis and other past crises, the limits and boundaries of psychology as a science, the potential of new digital tools for studying psychology and its history, and the reasons for the dominance of experimental and quantitative methods in psychology.

This programme aims to attract a select group of students who will be supervised individually and encouraged to come up with their own research topics. Students from Reflecting on Psychology will become skilled in writing, qualitative analysis and reflection. They will learn how to write essays, participate in discussions, and give lectures. By examining psychology's past and its present, as well as its issues and its boundaries, we aim to give students access to its future.