 Structuralism

 Functionalism
 Behaviorism
 Gestalt Psychology
 Psychodynamic
 Cognitive
 Humanistic
Origin
The first school of thought in psychology.

Developed by Wilhelm Wundt in the 1800s.

Edward B. Titchener is also strongly

associated with this school of thought

 Psychology started emerging as a scientific
discipline in 1879 when Wilhem Wundt, a
German physiologist opened the first
psychology laboratory in the University of
Leipzig, Germany.
 Wundt considered psychology as the study of
conscious experience
 So he focused on the components or
structure of the mind
 Wundt's model became known as
structuralism because it focused on the
fundamental elements that form the
foundation of thinking, consciousness,
emotions and other kinds of mental status
and activities.
 Structuralists studied the mind by bringing
people in laboratories and asking them to
respond to stimuli (for example, the sound of
a bell).
 Data was collected through a method known
as introspection, which involved observing
and analyzing ones own conscious mental
processes.
 This was done under controlled conditions
(same physical surroundings, using the same
stimulus and same verbal instructions to each
subject).
 For example people were presented with a
stimulus - such as bright green object or a
sentence printed on a card - and asked to
describe in their own words and in as much
detail as they could manage, what they
were experiencing.
 Structuralism failed to grow because
introspection was criticised as not being
scientific enough. It was difficult for other
people to accurately verify the
introspections made by other people. People
also had difficulties describing some of their
inner experiences such as thoughts and
emotional responses. Unable to apply on
abnormal, children, not valid , no objectivity
 The model that largely replaced structuralism in the evolution
of psychology was known as Functionalism.
 Author of principles of psychology
 Rather than focusing on the components of
the mind, it concentrated on what the mind
does, functionalism concentrated on what
the mind does and how behavior functions.
 Mind is fluid, not static, not stable,
consciousness is ongoing process.
 the functionalists examined how behavior allows people to satisfy their needs and how
our “stream of consciousness”
permits us to adapt to our environment.
 Mind Functioning, activities are more important than structure
 How the mind operates……how these element of mind work together, how mental
process help to adapt environment.
 He was influenced by Darwin theory
 k individaul ko apnay sourrounding k sat adjust krna parta.

 It asked what roles behaviour played in allowing people to better

adapt to their environment.
 Kia beh ny help kia hy to adapt our environment
 For example how do processes such as
emotion, motivation and perception, help us
adapt to our environment?
 Functionalists used introspection
 observation, questionnaire, mental test,
physiological test to find out how the above
processes help the individual to adapt to his
or her environment.
 In other words, it focused on how behavior
allows people to satisfy their needs.
 For example, a functionalist might examine
the function of the emotion of fear in
preparing us to deal with emergency
situations

 Also criticized
 only focus on conscious mind
 emphasizes how perception is organized.
Instead of considering the individual parts
that make up thinking,
 gestalt psychologists took the opposite tack,
studying how people consider individual
elements together as units or wholes.
 “The whole is different from the sum of its
parts,” meaning that our perception, or
understanding, of objects is greater and more
meaningful than the individual elements that
make up our perceptions.
 The approach based on the view that behavior is
motivated by unconscious inner forces over which
the individual has little control.
 Methods
 Free association
 Clinical investigation
 Dream analysis
 …… more focus on abnormal ….didnt focus positive
 And adaptive behaviuor
 By the 1920's structuralism was criticized by
John B. Watson, an American psychologist,
because of its methodology which was called
introspection.
 Watson said that introspection was invalid
and unreliable because of its subjective
nature - only the individuals can observe and
understand their mental processes.
 The behavioral perspective grew out of a
rejection of psychology’s early emphasis on
the inner workings of the mind. Instead,
behaviorists suggested that the field should
focus on observable behavior that can be
measured objectively.
 Behaviorism emphasized the role of learning
in acquiring behaviour, so it proposes that
almost all our behaviours are learned.
 Skinner cat experiment
 Punishment n rewards
 In fact, Watson believed rather optimistically
that it was possible to elicit any desired type
of behavior by controlling a person’s
environment. This philosophy is clear in his
own words: “Give me a dozen healthy
infants, well-formed, and my own specified
world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee
to take any one at random and train him to
become any type of specialist I might select—
doctor,
 lawyer, artist, merchant-chief, and yes, even
beggar-man and thief, regardless of his
talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities,
vocations and race of his ancestors” (Watson,
1924). Conclude
 Behaviorism suggests that all behavior can be
explained by environmental causes rather
than by internal forces. Behaviorism is
focused on observable behavior.
 focuses on how people think, understand,
and know about the world.
 The emphasis is on learning how people
comprehend and represent the outside world
within themselves and
 how our ways of thinking about the world
influence our behavior.
 In their view, thinking is information
processing . Like computer
 most recent approaches to psychology.
 rejected the view that predetermined,
automatic, biological forces, unconscious
processes or the environment determines
behavior
 Humanistic psychologists maintain that each
of us has the capacity to seek and reach
fulfillment. all individuals naturally strive to
grow, develop.
 people are in control of their lives and
behaviour
 On the contrary, it proposes that people
themselves decide about their lives.
 A failure in being capable of doing so leads to
psychological problems.
 It also stresses the idea that people, by
nature, tend to move towards higher levels of
maturity and maximum potential.
 humanistic perspective is on free will , the ability to freely make
decisions about one’s own behavior and life.
 The approach that suggests that all individuals naturally strive to
grow, develop, and be in control of their lives and behaviour.

 Humanistic psychology developed as a response to

psychoanalysis and behaviorism
 people strive to reach their full potential if
they are given the opportunity.
 The emphasis of the humanistic perspective
is on free will , the ability to freely make
decisions about one’s own behavior and life