Which school of psychology considers behaviors in terms of active adaptation?

The analysis of four major classical schools of psychology is done in this chapter: (1) structuralism, a subjective epistemological system, (2) functionalism, a quasi-objective action system, (3) Gestalt psychology, both a subjective and quasi-objective cognitive system, and (4) classical Watsonian behaviorism, an objective action system. The historical importance of structuralism derives from the fact that it is now recognized as the first institutionalized system of academic/experimental psychology: it serves as a case study for why the initial academic/experimental system had to be an epistemological, as opposed to action, psychology. Functionalism indigenously evolved in a cultural milieu that prized pragmatism and an action focus under the guide of consciousness. Gestalt psychology shook the conceptual and philosophical foundations of structuralism and fundamentally altered the focus of epistemological psychology. Under classical Watsonian behaviorism, Watson distinguished among four types of responses: (1) explicit (external) learned, (2) implicit (internal) learned, (3) explicit unlearned (innate), and (4) implicit unlearned.

Cognitive Psychology: Attention · Decision making · Learning · Judgement · Memory · Motivation · Perception · Reasoning · Thinking  - Cognitive processes Cognition - Outline Index

Functional psychology or functionalism refers to a general psychological philosophy that considers mental life and behavior in terms of active adaptation to the person's environment. As such, it provides the general basis for developing psychological theories not readily testable by controlled experiments and for applied psychology.

Contents

History

See also:

Functionalism was a philosophy opposing the prevailing of psychology of the late 19th century. Edward Titchener, the main structuralist, gave psychology its first definition as a science as the study of mental experience, of consciousness, to be studied by trained introspection.

William James founded this psychology. John Dewey, George Herbert Mead, Harvey A. Carr, and especially James Rowland Angell were the main proponents of functionalism at the University of Chicago. Another group at Columbia, including notably James McKeen Cattell, Edward L. Thorndike, and Robert S. Woodworth, were also considered functionalists and shared some of the opinions of Chicago's professors. Egon Brunswik represents a more recent, but Continental, version. The functionalists retained an emphasis on conscious experience.

Behaviorists also rejected the method of introspection but criticized functionalism because it was not based on controlled experiments and its theories provided little predictive ability. B. F. Skinner was a developer of behaviorism. He did not think that considering how the mind affects behavior was worth while, for he considered behavior simply as a learned response to an external stimulus.

Contemporary descendants

Evolutionary psychology is based on the idea that knowledge concerning the function of the psychological phenomena (e)affecting human evolution is necessary for a complete understanding of the human psyche. Even the project of studying the evolutionary is now an active topic of study.

Further reading

• John R. Shook and Andrew Backe (eds.) The Chicago School of Functionalism Thoemmes Press, 2003 - facsimiles of source documents in Functional Psychology (3 vols.) ISBN 1855068648

See also

• Functionalism (philosophy of mind)

References

1. Gary R. VandenBos, ed., APA Dictionary of Psychology (2006). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association

   Functional psychology or functionalism refers to a psychological philosophy that considers mental life and behavior in terms of active adaptation to the person's environment. William James (1842-1910) was a functionalist, someone who studies how mental processes helps animals and people adapt to their environment. James focused on the functions or purposes of the conscious mind and the goals or purposes of behaviors. James studied the functions (rather the structures) of the conscious.

2. Jan 1, 1879

   Structuralism

   Structuralism in psychology is a theory of consciousness developed by Wilhelm Wundt and his mentee Edward Bradford Titchener. Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) was a structuralist, which means that he was interested in the basic elements of human experience. He developed a method of self-observation called introspection to collect information about the mind. Wundt's experiments were important because advanced our understanding of the mind.

3. Jan 1, 1883

   Inheritable Traits

   Sir Francis Galton (1822-1911) wanted to understand how heredity influences a persons abilities, character, and behavior. Galton's studies focused on how genius or eminence is a hereditary trait. He did not consider that distinguished families may also have exceptional environments and socioeconomic advantages.

4. Jan 1, 1890

   Behavioral Psychology

   Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) was behaviorist, a psychologist who analyzes how organisms learn or modify their behavior based on their responses to events in the environment. Pavlov is known for his salivating dog experiment. This experiment enabled him to explain how certain acts and differences among individuals were the result of learning. John B. Watson (1878-1958) further maintained that all behavior is the result of conditioning and occurs because the appropriate stimulus is present.

5. Jan 1, 1900

   Psychoanalytic Psychology

   Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was a psychoanalyst, someone who studies how unconscious motives and conflicts determine human behavior.Freud believed unconscious motivations and conflicts are responsible for most human behavior. He developed free association, which is the technique of having a patient say everything that comes to mind. He also used dream analysis and believed that dreams are expressions of the most primitive unconscious urges.

6. Jan 1, 1910

   Gestalt Psychology

   A group of German psychologists, Max Wertheimer (1880-1943), Wolfgang Kohler(1887-1967), and Kurt Koffka(1886-1941), disagreed with structuralism and behaviorism. They believed that perception is more than the sum of its parts-it involves a "whole pattern" or, in German, a "Gestalt". They studied how sensations are assembled into perceptual experiences.

7. Jan 1, 1914

   Biological Psychology

   Biological psychology is known today as behavioral neuroscience. Pyschobiologists study how the brain, nervous, hormones and genetics influence our behavior. They have found that genetic factors influence our behavior. Also discovering a link between chemicals in the human brain and human behavior.

8. Jan 1, 1948

   Behavioral Psychology p.2

   B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) introduced the concept of reinforcement, which is a response to a behavior that increases the likelihood the behavior will be repeated.

9. Jan 1, 1950

   Cognitive Psychology

   Cognitivists, such as Jean Piaget, Noam Chomsky, and Leon Festinger, focus on how humans process, store, and use information and how the information influences our thinking,language,creativity, and problem solving. They believe that behavior is more than a simple response to a stimulus. Cognitivists favor that behavior is influenced by a variety of mental processes.

10. Jan 1, 1960

    Humanistic Psychology

    In the 1960s, humanists such as Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Rollo May described human nature as evolving and self-directed.It does not view humans as being controlled by events in the environment or by unconscious forces. instead those factors serve as a background to our own internal growth.The humanistic approach emphasized how each person is unique and has a self-concept.

11. Jan 1, 1998

    Socioclutural Psychology

    Socioclutural psychology involves studying the influence of cultural and ethnic similarities and differences on behavior and social functioning. Sociocultural psychologists consider how our knowledge and ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving are dependent on the culture to which we belong. They study attitudes,values,beliefs, social norms, and norms of various racial and ethnic groups. They also study the impact and integration of the millions of immigrants who come to the U.S. each year.

    Which school of psychology considers behavior in terms of active adaptation?

    Functionalism considers mental life and behaviour in terms of active adaptation to the person's environment. As such, it provides the general basis for developing psychological theories not readily testable by controlled experiments such as applied psychology.

    What school of psychology focused attention on the adaptive value of thoughts and behaviors?

    Functionalism was a school of psychology that focused attention on the A. adaptive value of conscious thoughts and emotions.

    What does the school of Behaviorism defined psychology as?

    It is a systematic approach to understand behavior of both human being and animal. For behaviorists, psychology is the science of behavior; and by behavior they mean observable and measurable aspects of behavior only.

    Which school of psychology focuses on how mental processes help organisms adapt to their environment?

    Functionalism focused on how mental activities helped an organism fit into its environment. Functionalism has a second, more subtle meaning in that functionalists were more interested in the operation of the whole mind rather than of its individual parts, which were the focus of structuralism.