Ways to research psychology Flashcards
What is the main characteristic of structuralism?
It breaks down the brain into units
What does structuralism emphasize?
systematic observation
What were the criticisms of Structuralism?
- experimental methods were too subjective + not replicable
- approaches were too simplistic
What is the main focus of functionalism?
why the mind works + usefulness of knowledge
What was the main criticism of functionalism?
ideas were difficult to study
What did William James believe?
Believed that consciousness can’t be broken down into parts because it’s always changing
What is behaviourism?
focuses on what can be observed and does not consider mental processes
What are the problems of behaviourism?
- cannot account for complex human behaviour
- assumed that learning was the same for all species and individuals
What is the language limitation of behaviourism?
view is that language is learned through conditioning but this does not explain how children learn to apply new rules to situations.
