Historical movements

Question 1

3 historical movements

Answer 1

Structuralism, Functionalism, Behaviorism

Question 2

What is structuralism?

Answer 2

goal of discovering elementary conscious experiences - analyzing consciousness into its component

Question 3

Theorists in structuralism

Answer 3

Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener

Question 4

Wilhelm Wundt

Answer 4

Voluntarism: experimental psychology
Analytic introspection: experimental self-observation
Apperception: how the mind organizes mental elements

Question 5

Edward Titchener

Answer 5

Periodic table of elementary sensation/inputs
Connect with physiology

Question 6

Contributions of structuralism

Answer 6

• scientific study of consciousness
• deconstructive approach
• method: analytic introspection, experimental precision & protocol, focus on sensory input systematically

Question 7

Limitations of structuralism

Answer 7

• Reductionist: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
• focus most on sensation and perception
• 3 limitations of analytic introspection

Question 8

What is functionalism?

Answer 8

studies mental operations not mental elements.
Seeks to identify fundamental utilities of consciousness
Acknowledges the significance of the mind-body relationships
study of living people as they adapt to their environment

Question 9

Theorists in functionalism

Answer 9

Charles Darwin, Francis Galton, William James

Question 10

Charles Darwin

Answer 10

natural selection: survival of the fittest (memory)
changed the focus of the new psychology - from structure to functions of the consciousness

Question 11

Francis Galton

Answer 11

Individual differences: positive eugenics (intelligence) - mental inheritance

Question 12

William James

Answer 12

Conscious is adaptive: acts on the mind (reasoning)

Question 13

Key conceptions of functionalism

Answer 13

1. mental operations not elements
2. adaptive properties through learning
3. mind-body interactoin: holistic approach

Question 14

Contributions of functionalism

Answer 14

1. focused on different topics
   - attention, decision making, non-rational & emotional
   - not just sensations and percpetion
2. used different methods
   - didn’t adhere to Titchener’s strict methods/introspection
   - comparative studies
   - observation
3. applications
   - focus on impact
   - applied psychology
   - psychology of pragmatism

Question 15

Weaknesses of functionalism

Answer 15

1. ill-defined
   - an activity or process
   - a service to other processes (usefulness of activity)
   - no one major researcher
2. not a psychological science
   - didn’t adhere to strict scientific methodology

Question 16

What is behaviourism?

Answer 16

only observable behavioral acts that could be described objectively in terms such as stimulus & response

Question 17

Contributions of behaviourism (advances)

Answer 17

• understanding of learning and others
• implications for education
• non-nativists

Question 18

Contributions of behaviourism (methodology)

Answer 18

• strict systematic testing
• objectivity
• focus on input and output

Question 19

Weaknesses of behaviourism

Answer 19

• Not all behavior is observable
• same input, different behaviours
• not all behaviour is reinforced eg; Chomsky’s refutation of Skinner’s verbal behaviour or Tolman’s maze rats

Question 20

Theorists in behaviourism

Answer 20

John Watson, Ivan Pavlov, B.F Skinner

Question 21

Analytic introspection

Answer 21

record one’s responses to the event: sensations, feelings, and thoughts in response to stimuli

Question 22

Apperception

Answer 22

the mind had the power to organize mental elements voluntarily

Question 23

Limitation of analytic introspection

Answer 23

required extensive training - difficult to describe

Question 24

Contribution of Wundt

Answer 24

commitment to study behaviour & mind under controlled conditions
shifted study of the mind from rationalist to empiricist

Question 25

Wundt’s experiment

Answer 25

participants describing a five-note chord played on the piano - could participants hear each of the individual notes that made up the chord

Question 26

Methodology of behaviourism

Answer 26

tights experimentation and objectivity