| Course | PS210 History of Psychology |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion board post |
| Length | About 430 words, 2 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 discussion post |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Psychology |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PS210 Unit 1
A Boy Named Peter and a Rabbit: A PS210 Unit 1 Discussion Post on a Surprise From Psychology's Past
PS210 · Unit 1 Discussion Board Post
Posted by [Student Name]
The writer and classmates are composite; the historical study described is real.
Initial Post
The idea that surprised me most in our first reading is how old my sister's therapy is. Last year she was treated for a fear of driving on highways that had kept her off the interstate for six years. Her therapist had her start by sitting in a parked car near an on-ramp, then riding as a passenger, then driving one exit in light traffic, each step repeated until it felt boring. I thought this was modern science.
Then I read the 1924 report by the psychologist Mary Cover Jones (Jones, 1924). Working with Peter, a boy of almost three who was terrified of a white rabbit, she brought the rabbit gradually closer while Peter ate a snack he liked, over many sessions, until he could hold it and play with it. She also noticed that watching other children handle the rabbit calmly helped. Her report described the procedure in steps very close to my sister's, a hundred years earlier.
My sister's highway exposure plan and Peter's rabbit sessions follow the same logic a century apart.
What surprised me most is that Jones's work was overlooked for decades. A few years earlier, Watson and Rayner (1920) had conditioned a fear in a baby known as Little Albert and never reversed it. Jones showed how a fear could be undone, but it was not until the 1950s, when Joseph Wolpe developed systematic desensitization, that the approach became widely used in therapy.
I want to follow this thread through the course: which parts of modern therapy are much older than they look, and why did good ideas like Jones's wait so long to be used?
My question for the class: did anything in the first reading make a practice you know feel older or stranger than you expected?
Reply to Grace
Grace, you were surprised that early psychologists measured reaction times to the thousandth of a second. That precision came from physiology labs; Wundt trained in medicine before he opened his psychology laboratory, so the habit of measurement came with him.
Reply to Andre
Andre, I agree that phrenology sounds absurd now. Still, it was one of the first claims that different mental abilities depend on different parts of the brain, which turned out to be partly right even though bumps on the skull were the wrong evidence.
References
Jones, M. C. (1924). A laboratory study of fear: The case of Peter. The Pedagogical Seminary, 31(4), 308-315. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856559.1924.9944851
Watson, J. B., & Rayner, R. (1920). Conditioned emotional reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0069608
The Purdue Global PS210 Unit 1 instructions
PS210's first board asks you to share an idea, study or figure from psychology's past that surprised you and to explain why. Choose something specific enough to describe, a single study or a person's contribution, rather than a whole school. Explain what you expected and what you found, and connect the surprise to something in psychology today, ideally something you have seen. A primary source or a history text gives the post weight. Ending with a question you want to follow through the course turns one surprise into a thread. Replies should add historical context to a classmate's example, such as where an idea came from or what happened to it later, rather than simply agreeing that it is surprising.
How this PS210 Unit 1 example is built
The post begins with the sister's driving fear and her therapist's graded steps, from a parked car near an on-ramp to one exit in light traffic. It then describes Jones's work with Peter, the snack, the gradually closer rabbit and the calm children he watched, under a highlighted line pairing the highway plan with the rabbit sessions. A paragraph contrasts Watson and Rayner's unreversed conditioning and notes Wolpe's later desensitization. The writer names a course thread, which parts of modern therapy are older than they look. Grace's reply explains that Wundt's precision came from physiology, and Andre's argues that phrenology was wrong in method but partly right about specialized brain regions.
Reading the PS210 Unit 1 grading rubric
On PS210's opening board, the strongest posts pin down one study or person and say exactly what was unexpected about it. Posts that name a famous figure with no detail earn less than posts that describe one study's method and finding. Connecting the past to present practice shows the kind of thinking the course rewards throughout. A source, preferably a primary one or a history text, adds credibility. A question carried forward into the term signals engagement beyond the assignment. Replies earn their share by adding context a classmate did not have, a date, an origin or an outcome. Accuracy matters even here, since famous studies like Little Albert are often retold with errors.
PS210 Unit 1 help from the desk
The commonest slip is choosing something too broad, such as Freud or behaviorism, which leaves the post as a summary rather than a reaction. Another is retelling a famous study from memory and getting details wrong, such as what happened to Little Albert afterward. Students sometimes judge a historical figure harshly or admiringly without explaining the context of the time. Connections to the present are often left out, which makes the post read like a trivia fact. Replies tend to repeat that a classmate's choice is interesting. Before posting, check the study's details against a reliable source, write one sentence linking it to something current, and add a question you could pursue in later units.
Get a PS210 Unit 1 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 1 prompt and the rubric. A custom post explains a historical surprise and connects it to psychology today. It arrives within 24-48h, and the first is free. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More PS210 papers and BS in Psychology samples
- PS210 Unit 2: Philosophical Roots Paper
- PS210 Unit 3: Founding of Experimental Psychology Paper
- PS210 Unit 4: Psychoanalysis and Its Critics Paper
- PS210 Unit 5: Behaviorism Paper
- PS210 Unit 6: Seminar Reflection
- PS210 Unit 7: Gestalt and Cognitive Revolution Paper
- PS210 Unit 8: Humanistic Psychology Paper
- PS210 Unit 9: History and Modern Practice Paper
- PS210 Unit 10: Historical Roots Paper
- PS115 Unit 1: Psychology Introduction Board Post
- PS200 Unit 1: Cognitive Slip Board Post
PS210 Unit 1 questions, answered
What kind of surprise works for the PS210 opening post?
A practice that seems strange now, a forgotten founder or a modern idea older than you expected.
Does the post need a source?
One source, ideally a history text or a primary source, strengthens it.
How long are replies?
A few sentences adding context to a classmate's example.
Where can I find a free PS210 Unit 1 sample paper?
This page holds the complete PS210 Unit 1 post on Mary Cover Jones's 1924 study of Peter and its link to a composite student's sister's exposure therapy.
Why does the PS210 Unit 1 sample contrast Jones with Little Albert?
Watson and Rayner showed a fear could be conditioned and left it; Jones showed one could be undone, the outline of later exposure therapy.