Psychological Schools of Thought

 Psychological Schools of Thought

By Jake Kohl

      

     Three of the major schools of thoughts in Psychology are Structuralism, Functionalism and Behaviorism.  Structuralism was the first school of thought and consisted of a basic breakdown of the mind using an introspection method.  It involved taking sensory objects, and breaking down how we react internally to each object, done by sight, sound, taste and scent. Then asking how each case study experienced each item.  Structuralism was later found to be ineffective because of the variance of each person’s experiences. 

 

    Functionalism, the second school of thought formed thereafter, influenced by William James, who was also “under the influence of Charles Darwin” (Myers, David, & Reviews, Cram101. (2009). Outlines and highlights for psychology by david g myers, isbn. Worth Pub.) Functionalism was focused on how our minds worked with how we acted. Functionalism was thought as an adaptive means to live from our past to our present and to use this for our future.  Functionalism is based on theory, that we act the way we feel. 

    Behaviorism is the final school of thought and is based on external observations, rather than internal emotions or feelings. Behaviorism is thought to be explained through watching the reactions of someone to different life circumstances. You cannot observe the emotions or the thinking process to determine how a person reacts to different situations, and it is best observed in watching the reactions. Behaviorism is focused on the behavior that can be seen and recorded.

Reference

Myers, David, & Reviews, Cram101. (2009). Outlines and highlights for psychology by david g myers, isbn. Worth Pub