Consciousness

According to Structuralism, Functionalism

and Gestalt

Presented by : Anshika Priyamwada, Ritesh Rathor,

Nisha Sapra, Vani Bhardwaj, Hitarth and Lavanya Singh
Wilhelm Father of
Experimental

Wundt psychology
Structuralism
Structuralism is regarded as the first school of thought in psychology
and was founded in Germany by Wilhelm Wundt
Structuralism sought to examine the adult mind in terms of
deconstructing the fundamental components of thoughts and
sensations before figuring out how these components fit together in
complicated structures.
Consciousness ( From the perspective of Structuralism)

The structuralists defined Psychology as the science that identifies

"facts of consciousness".
Structuralism is a theory of consciousness that seeks to analyze the
elements of mental experiences, such as sensations, mental images,
and feelings, and how these elements combine to form more complex
experiences.

Goals of Structuralism
Identity elements of consciousness
Analyse how these elements are organised
Consciousness and Wudnt
Consciousness was the subject matter of Wundt’s
psychology, which according to him, consisted of several
different components. Wundt suggested that the first step in
the investigation of a fact must be a description of the
individual elements of which it consists. According to Wundt,
consciousness actively organized its content. Therefore,
merely studying the constituent components of
consciousness would provide a starting point in gaining an
understanding of psychological processes.
According to Wundt, consciousness has two elements –
sensations and feelings.

Sensation + Feelings Consciousness

Wundt suggested that sensation arises from the stimulation
in a sense organ, and the resulting impulses reach the brain of
an organism

Feelings are considered to be the subjective complements of

sensations. Sensations are accompanied by some feeling
qualities. In other words, a feeling quality will result when
sensations combine to form a more complex state.
Sensations and feelings can be thought of as the
simultaneous aspects of immediate experience.
 Tridemsional Theory of
Consciousness
Wilhelm Wundt used introspection i.e. the examination of one’s own mental state and
processes. Wundt also referred to this method as internal perception., and postulated a
tridimensional theory of feelings. By making use of a metronome (a device that produces
an audible click or other sounds at a regular interval that can be set by the user) and
experiencing a series of clicks, he reported his feelings.

As a result of varying speed of the metronome, introspecting, and reporting on his

immediate conscious experiences, Wundt came up with three independent dimensions of
feelings:
Pleasure/Displeasure
Tension/ Relaxation
Excitement/ Depression
Organisation of the elements of
conscious experience
Even though Wundt’s focus was on the elements of
conscious experience, he did recognize that perceptions
have unity in the real world.
Phenomenon of compounding unified conscious
experience from the elementary parts was explained by
Wundt through his doctrine of apperception
The process of organizing mental elements into a whole
is creative synthesis, also called the law of psychic
resultants.
Edward Bradwick Titchner
Edward Bradford Titchener was a student of
Wilhelm Wundt and is often credited with
introducing the structuralist school of thought.
While Wundt is sometimes identified as the
founder of structuralism, Titchener theories
differed in important ways from Wundt's. While
he was a dominant force in psychology during
his life, the school of thought he founded
essentially died with him.
3 elementary states
Titchener proposed 3 elementary states of consciousness:

• Sensations (sights, sounds, tastes)

• Images (components of thoughts)
• Affections (components of emotions).
 Functionalism
Functionalism, in psychology, is a broad school of thought originating in
the U.S. during the late 19th century that attempted to counter the
German school of structuralism.
William Functionalism was pioneered
by William James. The classic
James book written by James,
Principles of Psychology, was
published in 1890; and this is
Founder of often considered to be the
Functionalism beginning of Functionalism.
school of thought Functionalism emphasized
in Psychology the analysis of the processes
by which the mind works.
Consciousness ( From the perspective of Functionalism)

According to Functionalism, psychologists should focus on the

processes of thought rather than on its contents. They suggested
that, instead of studying the structural contents and elements of
the mind, it is important to study the processes of how and why the
mind works as it does.

William James emphasized the value of the psychology of

Pragmatism - the basic tenet of which is that the validity of an idea
or conception is to be tested by its practical consequences.
James opposed Wundt and his approach to the study of
consciousness, arguing that it was too artificial and
narrow.
He did not agree with the notion that conscious
experiences are made up of smaller elements. Rather, he
was of the opinion that psychologists should study
consciousness in its natural settings - the physical human
being.
This inclusion of the physical body (brain) and its role in
conscious experiences, was a distinctive aspect of
James’s approach.
Stream of Consciousness
James viewed consciousness as a continuous flow (stream
of consciousness), James believed that dividing it into
temporally separate elements will only distort it.
It suggests that consciousness is a continuous and flowing
process and any attempt to reduce it to elements will
distort it.
James placed greater emphasis on the function or
purpose rather than the structure of consciousness.
James defined psychology as the science of mental life, which is a
unit. He also coined the phrase stream of consciousness.
Consciousness, the mind is also continuous. The flow of
consciousness is continuous, not marked by any disturbances. Even
when there are gaps in time (for instance, while being asleep), it is
easy to connect with the continuing stream of consciousness upon
waking up. Besides being continuous, the mind is also selective.
The mind selectively chooses from all the stimuli that one is
exposed to. It filters, combines, separates, selects, or rejects some
experiences over others. The criteria for selecting certain
experiences over others is relevance, that is, the mind selects stimuli
that are relevant for consciousness to operate logically.
James, thus, placed greater emphasis on the function or purpose
rather than the structure of consciousness. He reasoned that since
consciousness has survived over time, it must have some biological
utility to living organisms. This utility, he believed, was its ability to
help individuals adapt to their environment by allowing them to
choose.
Elaborating on this notion of choice, James differentiated between
conscious choice and habit, out of which habit is involuntary and
therefore, non-conscious. Upon encountering a new situation,
however, it is a conscious choice that becomes operative.
 Wolfgang Köhler

GESTALT Max Wreithmier

"The Whole is greater than

the sum of its parts".

Kurt Koffka
 Phi Phenomenon

• First described by Max Wertheimer.

• When two stationary objects (lights) are flashed on the retina (at different
locations), and if one succeeds the other by a brief interval, then the subject notices
a sweeping movement in a direction from one flash of light to another.
Mind and brain- Isomorphism
Given by Wolfgang Köhler
The word isomorphism means having the same form
or appearance.
It is defined as "structural correspondence between
experience and underlying brain processes"
 Thankyou!
Content : Ritesh, Vani and Hitarth

PPT: Hitarth, Nisha, Ritesh

Presented by : Anshika Priyamwada, Nisha Sapra, Lavanya Singh