Concept Questions
owilliams
8.AntecedentsandFunctionalism-class.pptx
“The year had not been marked by any of those striking discoveries which at once revolutionize, so to speak, the department of science on which they bear”
- President of the Linnean Society, Annual report of the year Darwin presented the theory of evolution.
Antecedents of Functionalism
Darwin’s Life
Feb. 12, 1809
Erasmus Darwin
Zoonomia
Religious views
H.M.S. Beagle
Later life
H.M.S. Beagle
Offered position as a naturalist
2 year voyage (became 5)
Captain Robert FitzRoy
Intentions for the trip
“The Philosopher”
The questions led to his keen observations
The Galapagos Islands
Study of the differences between species
Food supply?
Adopted 2 lines of thought:
What are the possible functions of characteristics?
How is the geographical distribution important?
Beginning of his 3 assumptions of evolution:
World is ever-changing
Process of change is slow but continuous
Process results in different manifestations of traits
6
Theory of Evolution
What is the point of species changing?
Malthus & food shortages
Presented with Wallace July 1, 1858
Other points of the theory:
Contiguity: no differences in mental faculties between man & higher organisms
Mechanism: could not explain the mechanism underlying evolutionary processes
Contributions to Psychology
Facial expression of emotion
Evolution of emotion
Social reform
Comparative psychology
Early observations of infants & children
Methods shared by others
Began questions about heredity
The Figures of Functionalism
William James
One of the greatest American psychologists
Did not think of himself as a psychologist
Controversial interests
Parapsychology
Taught first psych course while at Harvard
Never took any psych courses
Principles of Psychology (1890)
James’ Psychology
“Psychology is the science of mental life, both of its phenomena and their conditions” (1890, V. 1 pg. 1)
Phenomena: immediate experience
Conditions: the brain and body (physical aspects of mental life)
Consciousness must be considered in its natural setting (the physical person)
You cannot separate consciousness from the person
Psych should not be limited to a single method
James’ Psychology, cont.
Psychologist’s Fallacy: belief that experiences will be the same for an untrained individual and a trained introspectionist
Stream of Consciousness: conscious thought is a continuous flow (5 characteristics of thought):
Personal
Constantly changing
Sensibly continuous
Deals with objects outside itself
Selective
James’ Psychology, cont.
3-part self
Material self: what we call our own
Social self: recognition from others
Spiritual self: inner being
Habits: all beings are “bundles of habits”
Repetition of habits leads to pathways in the brain through which energy is channeled.
James’ Contributions
Defined central tenet of functionalism: the study of how we adapt to the environment
Focus on non-rational aspect of psychology
Started applied psychology
Mary Whiton Calkins
James helped her education
PhD was never granted from Harvard
Developed paired-associate technique to study memory
First female APA president
Variability hypothesis: men show more variability in characteristics whereas women are more average
Used to justify denying education
Helen Bradford Thompson Woolley
Received PhD in 1900 under Angell
Experimental test of variability hypothesis
Attributed small differences to environment
Director of vocation bureau of public school system
Merrill-Palmer Institute to study child development and mental abilities
Leta Stetter Hollingworth
PhD in 1916 under Thorndike
Extensive research on variability hypothesis
Challenged belief in an innate motherhood instinct
Desire for an education is not abnormal
“Gifted” children’s emotional and educational needs
G. Stanley Hall: Labs come to the US
Firsts
Experimental lab in 1883
American Journal of Psychology
First president of Clark University
Founded & first president of APA
First PhD received in US
Started Clark U’s graduate school
Equality was important
Studied with Wundt briefly
Wanted to apply psych to education
John Dewey
PhD at Johns Hopkins in 1884
First textbook: Psychology (1886)
Apply psych to educational and philosophical problems
One of the founders of the Chicago School
Reflex Arc: Connection between S & P is not a dichotomy
Not opposite forces
Sensation, perception, & the organism should be examined together
James Rowland Angell
No PhD
One of the founders of the Chicago School
Function of consciousness is to improve an organism’s adaptive abilities
3 themes of functionalist movement:
Psychology of mental operations
Psychology of the fundamental utilities of consciousness
Psychology of psychophysical relations
Functionalism at Columbia: Woodworth
PhD at 30 under Cattell
Dynamic Psychology: influence of causal factors and motivations on feelings and behaviors
“Motivology”
Focus on the organism, not just S-R
What motivates people?
