Introduction

This course comprises an interactive resource originally developed for the Exploring Psychology course, which was designed to provide more information about the people referred to in this Open University course, and the different perspectives that exist within psychology methods as well as the different methods used in psychological inquiry. It will help you gain a sense of the historical location of the people, the cultural influences on their thinking and how they are grouped together in terms of direct contact and influence on each other. This course is associated with another OpenLearn course ‘Psychology in the 21st century’, and if you have not studied psychology before you would be advised to first work through that course to obtain a framework from which to explore the content of this resource.

The materials that have been used to form the Exploring Psychology's Context and History: EPoCH resource associated with this course are presented using the knowledge mapping software Compendium. No prior knowledge of Compendium is required to use the resource – you may find it helpful, however, to access the Compendium maps initially by following the link to the EPoCH resource and by using the associated hints and instructions for each activity. You will examine the different methods used by psychologists to investigate human behaviour and learn to identify the different perspectives that exist in psychology.