Functionalism

Functionalism was opposed to searching out individual elements of consciousness and focused more on understanding the function of the brain rather than its structure.

1825-----1850-----1875-----1900-----1925-----1950-----1975-----2000

 

           ------------James-----------

 

 ---Munsterberg---

 

---------------Hall---------------

 

           -----------Calkins----------

 

       --------------Dewey---------------

 

  ---------------Morgan-------------

 

        ------------Woodworth-----------

 

-------Washburn--------

 

---------Thorndike----------

 

 

William James 1842-1910

If an idea works, it is valid à pragmatism

All aspects of human experience are worthy of study

1890- published The Principles of Psychology

Against German experimental psychology

Consciousness is –personal, -continuous (must be analyzed as a whole), -constantly changing, –selective, -functional à stream of consciousness

Instinctive behavior can be modified or learned

The empirical self is material, social, and spiritual

Self-esteem is related to achievement and pretensions

Perceptions cause reactions which cause emotion à James-Lange theory

An idea of an action causes that action to occur

Any belief, behavior, or thought is to be judged by its consequences

Pragmatism is a compromise between tender and tough minds

 

Hugo Munsterberg 1863-1916

Behavior causes ideas

Applied clinical psychology to mentally ill patients

Used forensic psychology to modify interrogation tactics as well as eye-witness testimony

Also planted the seeds of industrial psychology

 

Mary Whiton Calkins 1863-1930

Used paired associations to study memory

Trained in experimental psychology but switched tacks to study self-psychology

A pioneer of personality theory

 

Granville Stanley Hall 1844-1924

First person to obtain a psychology doctorate (1878 at Harvard)

First US psychology lab in 1883

First American psychology journal in 1887

Founded the APA and was its first president in 1892

Recapitulation theory à All evolutionary phases exist in every life

Against coeducation

 

John Dewey 1859-1952

Official founder of functionalism

Behavior cannot be divided into elements

Behavior must be viewed in terms of its function

Emphasized student-oriented education

 

C. Lloyd Morgan 1852-1936

Against the idea that the cognitive processes of animals are the same as those of humans

Morgan’s Canon à explain animal behavior in the simplest terms possible

 

James McKeen Cattell 1860-1944

Followed Galton into intelligence testing

Encouraged diversity in the applications of psychology

 

Margaret Floy Washburn 1871-1939

First woman to earn a psychology doctorate

Attempted to index the consciousness of animals

 

Robert Sessions Woodworth 1869-1962

What do people do and why

Dynamic psychology à internal variables which produce motivation

Behavior is driven by internal conditions

 

Edward Lee Thorndike 1874-1949

Used the first non-human dissertation subjects

Opened the door for behaviorism

Built a puzzle box in order to systematically look at trial and error learning

-Learning is incremental

-Learning is automatic

-Learning principles apply to all animals

Law of use and law of disuse, law of effect (hedonism)

Similarity between situations is what facilitates learning transfer