Functionalism PDF

Functionalism Early U.S. Psychology Psychology existed in the U.S. before Titchener (Structuralism) and William James (Functionalism) Native American views on psychology? Four Stages of Psychology o Stage one: Moral and mental philosophy (1640-1776) ✓Psychology and religion ✓Logic o Stage Two: Intel...

Functionalism Early U.S. Psychology Psychology existed in the U.S. before Titchener (Structuralism) and William James (Functionalism) Native American views on psychology? Four Stages of Psychology o Stage one: Moral and mental philosophy (1640-1776) ✓Psychology and religion ✓Logic o Stage Two: Intellectual Philosophy (1776-1886) ✓In the U.S. during this time, psychology became its own discipline ✓Moral and scientific laws were mental habits ✓Disagreement- sensory information could be accepted at face value ✓Self examination leads to valid information ✓Morality-self evident intuitions Early U.S. Psychology ✓Commonsense philosophy-nature of God does not need to be proven logically because we can trust the feelings of others ✓Psychology begins to leave the place of philosophy into its own discipline oStage Three: U.S. Renaissance (1886-1896) ✓Psychology emphasized individual differences, adaption to the environment-influenced by evolution ✓Structuralism competed with Functionalism for years Early U.S. Psychology oStage Four: U.S. Functionalism (1896 and beyond) ✓Science, concern of practicality, emphasis on the individual, and the evolution theory combined into the school of functionalism ✓Structuralism and functionalism overlapped ✓Structuralism: goal-structure of the mind- introspection was the research tool ✓Functionalism: goal- understand how the mind and behavior work in support of one adjusting to the environment-research included anything that was informative Characteristics of Functional Psychology Not a single organized thought or a single leader Common themes were identified o Rejected the search for elements of consciousness o Understand the function of the mind rather than provide description of its contents-mental processes have a function o Want psychology to be a practical science not a pure science-improve personal life, education, industry o Broaden research to include animals, children, and “abnormal humans” o The why of the mental processes and behavior led to concern with motivation o Both mental processes and behavior were legitimate subject matter in psychology o What makes organisms different rather than the same o All were influenced by William James William James (1842-1910) Transition from European psychology to U.S. psychology His ideas contained the seeds that led to the school of functionalism James’ psychology more influential that Titchener Competed with Wundt for unofficial title of the worldwide voice of psychology New York City Went to school for medicine- because of health reasons, he discovered psychology Found Wundt’s work and agreed that psychology needed to become a science William James He finished medical school Health concerns persisted- became depressed Explained the depression from Darwin’s perspective Read an essay on free will and it changed his perspective Pragmatism: the belief in that if an idea works, it is valid Both philosophical and scientific approach must be used to study human behavior and thought William James Stream of consciousness oThis opposed the elements of thought oConsciousness is personal: it reflects the experiences of an individual oConsciousness is continuous and cannot be divided up for analysis oConsciousness is constantly changing-we can never exactly have the same idea twice-stream of consciousness providing the context for idea is changing oConsciousness is selective oConsciousness is functional- aid the individual to adapt to the environment William James Habits and Instincts o Human and animal behavior governed by instinct o Instinctive behavior is modified by experience o We develop instinct-like patterns of behaviors within the lifetime called habits (activity repeated) o Habits are functional o Habits make society possible o How to encourage good habits and eliminate bad ones ✓ Put yourself in an environment that encourages good habits ✓ Don’t allow yourself to act differently to a habit you are trying to develop ✓ Do not make changes slowly, engage in positive habits completely to begin with and abstain completely from bad ones ✓ Intention vs. the doing ✓ Force yourself to engage in ways that are beneficial even if it is difficult and requires a lot of effort William James The Self o Empirical self- the “me” of personality o 3 components of the empirical self ✓Material self- anything material one could call their own-body, family, property ✓Social self: self as known by others ✓Spiritual self: states of consciousness-everything we think and emotions-subjective reality o The aspect of self that does the knowing (the I) o Struggled with the self as knower o Self esteem: James one of the first to study circumstances people feel good or bad about themselves o Self esteem is determined by ratio of things attempted to things achieved William James Emotions Reversed traditional beliefs on emotions- emotions result from perception of an event Example-bear James- perception causes bodily reactions that are then experienced as emotions- emotions we feel depend on what we do Danish physician Carl George Lange published the same theory at the same time James-Lange Theory of emotion William James Free will Without the assumption of determinism, science would be impossible If psychology is to be a science, it would need to assume determinism Science is not everything, the assumption of free will may be beneficial at times in studying humans Voluntary behavior-ideo-motor theory of behavior- in most cases, ideas of actions flowed immediately and automatically (habitually or reflexively) into behavior An idea of a certain action causes that action to occur William James Pragmatism ▪ Cornerstone of functionalism ▪ Any belief, thought, or behavior must be judged by its consequences ▪ Free will was emotionally satisfying ▪ Truth is not something “out there” in a static form waiting to be discovered ▪ Truth must be gauged on effectiveness under changing circumstances ▪ Any methods that would bring to light on the complexities of human existence William James Contributions to psychology ▪ Evolutionary theory into psychology ▪ Usefulness defines truth and value ▪ Expanded research techniques ▪ Influenced students at Harvard ▪ His ideas are seen in other areas of psychology ▪ His interest shifted back to philosophical matters and found someone to direct his lab-Hugo Musternberg Hugo Munsterberg(1863-1916) Interest in psychology after listening to one of Wundt’s lectures Wundt’s research assistant He started a psychology lab-perception, attention, learning, and memory Voluntary activities through introspection Disagreed with Wundt on the will James-ideas cause behavior Munsterberg-behavior causes ideas Did not like James accepted psychoanalysis and religious phenomenon into the realm of psychology Mysticism and mediums were one thing and psychology way another Psychologists should uncover information that could be applied in the real world Munsterberg Applied psychology ▪ Understand abnormal behavior-saw mental ill people ▪ Treatment-expecting his patients to improve-alcoholism, drug addiction, phobia, sexual dysfunction but not psychosis ▪ Psychosis was due to the deterioration of the nervous system so it could not be treated ▪ Reciprocal antagonism: strengthening the thoughts opposite to those causing problems ▪ Forensic Psychology: first to apply psychological principles to legal matters ▪ Industrial psychology: methods of personnel selection, methods of increasing work efficiency, and marketing and advertising techniques ▪ Mary Whiton Calkins- first woman to teach experimental psychology at Wellesley ✓Original research- paired associated technique-study the influence of frequency, recency, and vividness on memory Granville Stanley Hall (1844-1924) 2nd to William James He was a theorist and an organizer Studied theology First psychological dissertation in the US He studied with Wundt Set a psychology lab at John Hopkins University Became the first president of Clark University Founding of the APA-invited prominent psychologists in the US and Canada Hall elected first president of the APA Founded the 2nd psychological journal Hall Developmental psychology ▪ Significant contributions- psychology of religion and developmental psychology across lifespan ▪ We reenact evolutionary stages of the human species ▪ Hall’s Magnum Opus-discovery of adolescence (14-24) ▪ Growth norms, language development, childhood diseases, hygiene, juvenile crime, lying, showing off, bashfulness, fear, curiosity, and friendship Psychology and Religion ▪ Religious conversation during adolescence was normal ▪ Sin- not a state of evil but a sense of limitation and imperfection that should be understood psychologically rather than through theology Francis Cecil Sumner(1895-1954) Last graduate student of Hall Because he was African American, it was difficult for him to get accepted into programs- Hall accepted him in a PhD program 1st African American to obtain a PhD in psychology Worked to improve Howard psychology program Howard became influential in training African American psychologists”Black Harvard” Kenneth Bancroft Clark (1914-2005) Psychology and race ▪ One of best known products of Howard University ▪ Influenced by Sumner’s introduction to psychology class, he changed his interests from medicine to psychology ▪ Pioneered work on developmental effects on prejudice, discrimination, and segregation on children ▪ Famous study- Brown ▪ Influenced Supreme Court to rule that segregation was psychologically damaging to both minority and majority children ▪ APA was not accepting of his work ▪ First African American president of the APA (1971) ▪ Challenged because his work was not considered science (neutral objective) John Dewey (1859-1952) First interested in philosophy He taught at secondary school level before attending John Hopkins Dewy was taught by Hall Prior to accepting an appointment as department chair of philosophy at the University of Chicago he attended the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota Some believed that his ideas influenced the development of the school of functionalism He is know for his analysis of behavior in terms of reflexes Dewey Dividing elements of a reflex into sensory processes, brain processes, and motor responses for analysis was artificial and misleading Dividing behavior into elements was no more justifiable than dividing consciousness into elements There is a stream of behavior just like there is a stream of consciousness 3 elements of a reflex need to be viewed as a coordinated system directed toward a goal-the goal is usually related to survival of an organism Child touching a candle-example Stimuli –responses are not separate but form an interrelated sequence of functional events All behavior needs to be viewed in terms of function Studying the elements or sequence in isolation we miss important information-the purpose Influential in the creation of “progressive” education in the USA Education should be student-oriented rather than subject-oriented Best way to learn is by doing Harvey Carr (1873-1954) Mental activity: “concerned with the acquisition, fixation, retention, organization, and evaluation of experiences and their subsequent utilization in the guidance of conduct” (Carr, 1925). Functionalism-the learning process-this is how we adjust to our environment Adaptive act: 3 components ▪ A motive that acts as a stimulus for behavior ▪ The environment setting or situation one is in ▪ The response that satisfies the motive Evolutionary theory and functionalism Carr Both perception and behavior are necessary to adapt to environmenthow the environment is perceived demines how one responds to it Contributions: human nervous system, sense organs, learning, perceiving, reasoning, affection, power of the will, individual differences, and measurement of intelligence Space perception-he promoted maze studies Accepted both introspection and experimentation as legitimate methods in research- he favored experimentation because of animal research James McKeen Cattell (1860-1944) Professor at Columbia University Research on reaction time, psychophysics, and mental testing Intelligence could be measured by studying sensory motor abilities Applied Psychology ▪ Almost everyone attempts to apply psychological principles in what they do ▪ Examples: education, government, churches are applied psychology ▪ Using the most valid knowledge of psychological principles in exercising control of behavior ▪ 4th president of the APA ▪ Founded the 3rd US psychology journal Edward Lee Thorndike(1874-1949) Went to Wesleyan and Harvard His first research idea is now known as the theory of the mind-how children make deductions about the beliefs of others Raised chicks in his room-used as experimental subjects for maze learning studies First dissertation with nonhumans as the subjects He taught at the College for Women Areas he pioneered: educational practices, psychometrics, verbal behavior, comparative psychology, intelligence testing, transfer of training, measuring sociology phenomena Intelligence is highly heritable Educational experiences classified according to student’s intellectual ability Thorndike Interested in the differentiation of the curriculum and methods of teaching over the gender differences in intelligence His work began to shift psychology from the school of functionalism to the school of behaviorism Thorndike’s puzzle box-study systemically the trial and error learning Results from multiple puzzle-box experiments ▪ Learning is incremental ▪ Learning occurs automatically ▪ Same learning principles apply to all mammals Thorndike Connectionism- learn through association between stimulus and responses-trial and error The law of exercise: connection between stimuli and response can be strengthened and weakened The law of effect: behaviors followed by mostly satisfying results were most likely to establish patterns and happen again when presented with the same stimulus The transfer of training: applying knowledge and skills acquired during training to a targeted job or role Margaret Flow Washburn Comparative psychology Study of animals to learn about humans First woman to receive a doctoral degree in 1894 2nd female president of the APA An advocate for equal educational opportunities for women Motor theory of consciousness: a thought or consciousness could be seen in bodily movements Consciousness is a result of sensations and motions