Podcast
Questions and Answers
Match the following psychologists with their associated concepts or theories:
Match the following psychologists with their associated concepts or theories:
William James = Functionalism Edward Titchener = Structuralism Wilhelm Wundt = Elemental approach to psychology B.F. Skinner = Behaviorism
Match the following terms related to functionalism with their descriptions:
Match the following terms related to functionalism with their descriptions:
Consciousness = Everyday occurrences in an indirect contrast to elemental approaches Mental states = Constituted by their causal relationships Software programs = Organization of the brain's functions Active engagement = Importance in understanding mental processes
Match the following concepts with their definitions related to functionalism:
Match the following concepts with their definitions related to functionalism:
Learning = Usefulness of mental abilities in functionalism Perception = Focus of psychology as proposed by James Computation = Brain's processing of inputs to produce behaviors Thwarting = External forces that provoke thought
Match the following contributions to psychology with their originators:
Match the following contributions to psychology with their originators:
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Match the following principles of functionalism with their implications:
Match the following principles of functionalism with their implications:
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Study Notes
Structuralism
- Edward B. Titchener (1867-1927) is attributed with developing structuralism as an approach to study internal mental processes.
- Titchener defined psychology as the analytic study of the generalized adult normal human mind through introspection.
- To him, the subject of psychology is immediate human experiences, and the main occupation of practicing psychologists is to discover the elements and how they are compounded.
- Structuralism became popular in Germany in the 1890s among young psychologists, who sought to explain mental processes by studying elements.
- Titchener argued that psychology and consciousness can be studied by breaking them down into minute parts and then systematically studying them.
Consciousness and the Human Mind
- To Titchener, consciousness is the sum total of a person's experiences at any given time.
- The mental elements are the focus of any study.
- Titchener later divided psychology into various areas, including child, animal, abnormal, and human psychology.
- He believed that the main objective of psychology is to study and understand the human mind and structure by isolating elemental processes from the complexity of consciousness.
Functionalism
- William James (1842-1910) led the development of functionalism as an approach to understanding internal mental processes at Harvard University.
- Functionalism advocates that engagement with activity is important for explaining what goes on in mental processes.
- Thinking takes place when an organism is thwarted by some external force or obstacle, such as in a problematic situation.
- Functionalism views the brain as a physical device with mental substrates that perform computations on inputs, producing behaviors.
- William James was concerned with the effective functions of the brain through its organization, or 'software programs'.
- He argued that mental states are constituted by their casual relationships to one another and to sensory inputs and behavioral outputs.
Key Points of Functionalism
- Psychology as a science should focus on the usefulness of mental abilities, such as learning or perception.
- Consciousness is an everyday occurrence, in contrast to the elemental approach of Wundt.
- William James' publications on functionalism opened up more opportunities for other psychologists interested in mental processes, particularly human behavior.
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Description
Learn about the structuralism approach in psychology, its founder Edward B. Titchener, and his definition of psychology as the analytic study of the adult human mind through introspection.
