Functionalism

1
Functionalism

• Background
• Evolution
• Individual differences
• American
• Pragmatic
• Practical
• Major themes
• How do mental processes help organism to adapt
• Operations and processes versus
• Application of science to real word
• Development
• General orientation
• Formalized
• Titchener, Baldwin, Angell reaction time dispute
• Ttichener structural versus functional psychology
• Angell links between Psychology, philosophy, and
  physiology

2
The Chicago School

• John Dewey (18591952)
• U of Chicago (1894-1904)
• The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology (1896)
• Unified
• Adaptiveend and means
• Application of psychology to education
• Learning central
• Philosophical
• Progressivism
• Psychology as social consciousness

3
Chicago Philosophy Club(John Deweysixth from
left)
4

• James Rowland Angell (18691949)
• Reaction time controversy
• Defined functional psychology
• Themes
• Mental operations rather than structures
• Fundamental utilities of consciousnessmediates
  between organisms needs and the environment
• Part of evolutionary process
• Appears in novel creative actions
• Definition
• How and why processes are what they are
• The role of the mind in adaptation to the
  environment
• A form of psychophysicsrelation of the physical
  and mental portions of the organism
• Defined functionalism and broadened psychology

5

• Harvey Carr (18731954)
• Chicago chair (19141938)
• Study of mental activity
• Adaptive act (similar to operant)
• Internal motivation
• Drive associated with
• Sensory, external situation
• Behavior altering the situation
• May be conscious or unconscious/automatic
• Experimenter
• Growth of group studies

6
Columbia Functionalism

• Robert Sessions Woodworth (18691962)
• Fiend of Thorndike (transfer of training)
• James and Cattell
• S-O-R Stimulus-organism-response
• Organism supplies motivation
• Affects response to stimulus
• Mechanism
• Can become self-sustaining
• Drive broader than instinct

7

• Edward Lee Thorndike (18741949)
• American trained James and Cattell
• Teachers Collegelearning, education, mental
  testing
• Associationistconnectionism
• Situations and responses
• S-R chains
• Adaptive

8
Criticisms and Contributions

• Criticisms
• Unclear
• Function activity and utility of activity
• Eclectic
• Abstract
• Contributions
• Mainstream of American psychology
• Broadened subject matter and methods
• Animals, children, mentally ill
• Mental tests, questionnaires, group experiments
• Social activism
• Emancipation of psychology
• Women in psychology