Structuralism

Structuralism was the first school of thought in psychology. It was founded by Wilhelm Wundt, a German
professor, philosopher, and physiologist. Although it was Wundt's work that built the foundation of structuralism,
the school of thought was formally established by his student, Edward B. Titchener in the 1890s.

Structuralism gets its name from its objective, which is to explore the structure of the mind. Wundt sought to
understand the structure of the mind by using introspection as his primary tool. Events or experiences were
broken down into the smallest possible elements to be assessed, so the researcher could better understand the
contents of consciousness.

Example:

Take a table: To a structuralist, a table isn't a place to work or a surface to put things on. It is wood, metal bars,
bolts, and screws.

Though this school of thought pushed the field of psychology forward during its time, it was ultimately critiqued
for the subjective nature of introspection. Stimulus is rarely perceived the same way from one person to the next.

Functionalism

The American psychologist, historian, and philosopher William James developed the school of functionalism in the
late 19th/early 20th century, after strong criticism of the structuralist approach. Unlike structuralism, which broke
experiences down into small elements, the functionalist approach focused on the whole of an experience.
Functionalists define a mental state not by what it is made of, but by what it does. A particular mental state
depends on its function to be understood.

Example:

The example of a mousetrap is famously used to explain the functionalist theory. While not all mouse traps are
made equally - some are large and elaborate, some are a simple spring hinge on a board - they all serve the same
purpose, which is to kill mice. Regardless of what it is made of, how many parts it possesses, or even the supposed
quality of the material, it is a mousetrap if its function is to kill mice.

Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis was founded by the Austrian scholar Sigmund Freud. It focused on the workings of the unconscious
mind to explain human behavior. This school of thought holds that all people have unconscious desires, memories,
and thoughts, resulting in repressed emotions. Psychoanalysis aims to make these unconscious elements conscious
to find catharsis.

Freud developed a three-part structure of the human mind. These were the id, ego, and superego. Psychoanalysis
maintains that the interaction of these three parts explains personality and human behavior. Freud stressed the
importance of the proper development of id, ego, and superego across his five Psychosexual Stages of
Development. Unresolved conflicts during any stage of development can cause one to become fixated in that stage,
emphasizing or repressing certain behaviors or personality traits.

Behaviorism

Behaviorism was founded by John B. Watson in 1924. It emphasizes experience and one's environment over
internal or subconscious forces. Behaviorism believes that human psychology is better understood through a
subject's behavior, rather than their personal beliefs or thoughts.
According to this school of thought, behavior is learned through two types of conditioning, classical and operant. In
classical conditioning, an association is forged between two stimuli; a conditioned stimulus, and an unrelated
unconditioned stimulus, to create a behavior. A classic (and famous) example of this is Pavlov's dog.

In operant conditioning, behaviors are created or enforced through reward or punishment. Here the association is
made between behavior and consequence.

Gestalt Psychology

While some schools of thought emphasized the structure of the mind or the expression of behavior to understand
our world and human nature, Gestalt psychology believed it took both of these things to gain a true understanding
of the whole of our world. Indeed, a central tenet of Gestalt psychology is holism, which emphasizes the whole over
the sum of its parts. The term Gestalt itself is a German word loosely meaning "configuration". It is the
configuration of multiple things that give us true meaning, and this true meaning sits apart from its parts.

Example:

Think of your experience of a song. Our minds perceive a song as a meaningful whole. Every song is made up of
individual notes; however, it is the configuration of the notes that creates a meaningful experience. Upsetting or
altering one small component can result in a completely different experience.

Socio-cultural Perspective

The sociocultural perspective in psychology focuses on how situations and cultural factors affect a person's
behavior and thinking. It also considers how behavior and thinking differ from culture to culture and from one
situation to another. Culture is shared behaviors and ideas that are passed down through generations.

Example:

Think about traditions during holidays that you celebrate. In the United States, Halloween is celebrated by wearing
costumes, enjoying trick-or-treating, and eating lots of candies and chocolates. In Mexico, among other countries, it
is popular to celebrate "Dia de Los Muertos," a 2 day holiday that takes place on November 1st and 2nd each year.
It is a holiday celebrating death and life. These traditions and events are a part of culture.

Your behavior and thoughts in a specific situation are influenced by many different sociocultural factors. Here are a
few of the factors that can influence your thoughts and behaviors:

 Culture and cultural expectations

 Parental and peer influences
 Community influences
 Gender norms
 Societal norms
 Family, personal, and/or religious values
 Power dynamics
 Mainstream media and social media

Why are Schools of Thought in Psychology Less Important Today?

In the past, it was more common for psychologists to house their practice and treatment under one particular
school of thought. Today, this has changed considerably and psychologists are much less likely to align themselves
with one exclusive school of thought.
Our understanding of personality and behavior is much more nuanced. Professionals will utilize elements and
ideas from multiple theories and schools.

Schools of Thought - Key Takeaways

Structuralism was the first school of thought in psychology. It concerned itself with exploring the structure of the
mind through introspection.

Functionalism defined mental states by their function, or what they do.

Psychoanalysis emphasized the importance of the unconscious mind in understanding perception and behavior.

Behaviorism emphasized the importance of experience and environment to understand behavior. This school
believed behavior was learned through classical or operant conditioning.

Gestalt psychology emphasized the configuration of parts to reveal an independent and meaningful whole.

The sociocultural perspective is one way to think about what causes our behaviors and mental processes, but it is
only some of the pieces of the whole puzzle.
Structuralism
Structuralism was the first school of thought in psychology. It was founded by Wilhelm Wundt, a German
professor, philosopher, and physiologist. Although it was Wundt's work that built the foundation of
structuralism, the school of thought was formally established by his student, Edward B. Titchener in the
1890s.
Structuralism gets its name from its objective, which is to explore the structure of the mind. Wundt sought
to understand the structure of the mind by using introspection as his primary tool. Events or experiences
were broken down into the smallest possible elements to be assessed, so the researcher could better
understand the contents of consciousness.
Introspection involves asking research participants to describe exactly what they experience as they work
on mental tasks.
Wilhelm Wundt began the field known as structuralism, a school of thought whose goal was to identify the
basic elements of structures of psychological experience. Its goal was to create a periodic table of the
elements of sensations.
The structuralists used the method of introspection to attempt to create a map of the elements of
consciousness.
Edward B. Titchener and his students claimed to have identified more than 40,000 sensations including
those relating to vision, hearing, and taste.
The structuralists were the first to realize the importance of unconscious processes.

Functionalism
The American psychologist, historian, and philosopher William James developed the school of
functionalism in the late 19th/early 20th century, after strong criticism of the structuralist approach.
Unlike structuralism, which broke experiences down into small elements, the functionalist approach
focused on the whole of an experience. Functionalists define a mental state not by what it is made of, but by
what it does. A particular mental state depends on its function to be understood.

Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis was founded by the Austrian scholar Sigmund Freud. It focused on the workings of the
unconscious mind to explain human behavior. This school of thought holds that all people have
unconscious desires, memories, and thoughts, resulting in repressed emotions. Psychoanalysis aims to
make these unconscious elements conscious to find catharsis.
Freud developed a three-part structure of the human mind. These were the id, ego, and superego.
Psychoanalysis maintains that the interaction of these three parts explains personality and human
behavior. Freud stressed the importance of the proper development of id, ego, and superego across his five
Psychosexual Stages of Development. Unresolved conflicts during any stage of development can cause one
to become fixated in that stage, emphasizing or repressing certain behaviors or personality traits.

Behaviorism
Behaviorism was founded by John B. Watson in 1924. It emphasizes experience and one's environment
over internal or subconscious forces. Behaviorism believes that human psychology is better understood
through a subject's behavior, rather than their personal beliefs or thoughts.
Behavioral psychologists believed that we can study behavior objectively and scientifically and that all
behavior is acquired and maintained through conditioning.
According to this school of thought, behavior is learned through two types of conditioning, classical and
operant. In classical conditioning, an association is forged between two stimuli; a conditioned stimulus, and
an unrelated unconditioned stimulus, to create a behavior. A classic (and famous) example of this is Ivan
Pavlov's dog.
In operant conditioning, behaviors are created or enforced through reward or punishment. Here the
association is made between behavior and consequence.
Behaviorist psychologists disagreed with the scientific validity of introspection.
Gestalt Psychology
While some schools of thought emphasized the structure of the mind or the expression of behavior to
understand our world and human nature, Gestalt psychology believed it took both of these things to gain a
true understanding of the whole of our world. Indeed, a central tenet of Gestalt psychology is holism, which
emphasizes the whole over the sum of its parts. The term Gestalt itself is a German word loosely meaning
"configuration". It is the configuration of multiple things that give us true meaning, and this true meaning
sits apart from its parts.

Socio-cultural Perspective
The sociocultural perspective in psychology focuses on how situations and cultural factors affect a person's
behavior and thinking. It also considers how behavior and thinking differ from culture to culture and from
one situation to another. Culture is shared behaviors and ideas that are passed down through generations.

Your behavior and thoughts in a specific situation are influenced by many different sociocultural factors.
Here are a few of the factors that can influence your thoughts and behaviors:
o Culture and cultural expectations
o Parental and peer influences
o Community influences
o Gender norms
o Societal norms
o Family, personal, and/or religious values
o Power dynamics
o Mainstream media and social media