For a long time, questions of human motivation and behavior were considered a part of philosophy.

But
philosophers didn't go about answering these questions in systematic or scientific ways. Their theories
couldn't be proved right or wrong because they were based only on casual observation.
Psychology really got going as a discipline when two men decided to take the principles of scientific
research and apply them to the study of human behavior. During the first decades of psychology, two main
schools of thought dominated the field: structuralism and functionalism. Wilhelm Wundt was a German
scientist who founded a laboratory in Leipzig that took a structuralist approach to psychology. William
James was an American who founded a laboratory at Harvard that took a functionalist approach

STRUCTURALISM
Psychology as a separate disciple got traction when Wilhelm Wundt founded the first exclusive psychology
laboratory in 1879. Structuralists believed that the task of psychology is to identify the basic elements of
consciousness in much the same way that physicists break down the basic particles of matter. One of the
research methods used to study Structuralism was the use of introspection.
Wundt
Psychologys Goals
According to Wundt, psychologys goal was to understand both simple andcomplex conscious phenomena.
For the former, experimentationcould be used; for the latter, it couldnot. His goals for psychology were as
follows:
Break conscious processes into their basic elements
Discover how these elements are organized
Determine the laws of connection governing the organization of the elements
Wundts Use of Introspection
To study the basic mental processes involved in immediate experience, Wundt distinguished between casual
introspection and experimental introspection. The ideal was to make introspection, in the form of internal
perception, as precise as external perception.
Wundts four rules for introspection
Observers must know when the procedure will begin
Observers must be in a state of readiness or strained attention
The observation must be repeatable numerous times
The experimental conditions must be varied in terms of control over stimulus manipulation

Sensations and the Tri-dimensional Theory of Feeling (WINEY)

Sensations were classified by

The Princpliple of Creative Synthesis (WINEY)

Titcher

Psychologys Goals
Titchener agreed with Wundt that psychologyshould study immediate experiencethat is, consciousness.
He defined consciousness as the sum totalof mental experience at any given moment andmind as the
accumulated experiences of a lifetime.Titchener set as goals for psychology the determinationof the what,
how, and why of mental life.
Titcheners Use of Introspection
Titcheners use of introspection was more complicated than Wundts. Titcheners subjects had to search for
the elemental ingredients of their experiences. Their job was to describe the basic, raw, elemental
experiences from which complex cognitive experience was built.
Titcheners subjects therefore had to be carefully trained to avoid reporting the meaning of a stimulus. From
his introspective studies, Titchener concluded that the elemental processes of consciousness consist of
sensations (elements of perceptions), images (elements of ideas), and affections (elements of emotions).
According to Titchener, an element could be known only by listing its attributes. The attributes of sensations
and images (remnants of sensations) are quality, intensity, duration, clearness, and extensity.
Titchener did not accept Wundts tridimensional theory of feeling. Titchener argued that feelings occur
along only one dimension, not three, as Wundt had maintained. According to Titchener, feelings (affections)
can be described only in terms of Wundts pleasantness-unpleasantness dimension. He argued that the other
two dimensions Wundt had suggested (tension-relaxation and excitement-calm) were really combinations of
sensations and true feelings (pleasantness-unpleasantness).
THE DECLINE OF structuralism
Structuralism did not withstand the test of time and soon faded out despite an intensive program of research
which relied on the contemplation of ones own thoughts, desires, and conduct. The experimental methods
used in structuralism would not hold up to todays standards; the experiments were too subjective and the
results were therefore unreliable. Most important to structuralisms demise, however, was its inability to
assimilate one of the most important developments in human historythe doctrine of evolution

FUCNTIONALISM
Functionalism was the belief that the real task of psychology is to investigate the function, or purpose, of
consciousness rather than its structure. Functionalism was never a well-defined school of thought with one
recognized leader or an agreed on methodology. However, a ffew common themes prevailed:
Common Themes:
They accepted both mental processes and behavior as legitimate subject matter for psychology, and
most of them viewed introspection as one of many valid research tools.
Functionalists opposed what they considered the sterile search for the elements of consciousness in
which the structuralists engaged.
The functionalists wanted to understand the function of the mind rather than provide a static
description of its contents. They believed that mental processes had a functionto aid the organism
in adapting to the environment.
The functionalists interest in the why of mental processes and behavior led directly to a concern
with motivation.
The functionalists were more interested in what made organisms different from one another than
what made them similar.
All functionalists were directly or indirectly influenced by William James, who had been strongly
influenced by Darwins theory of evolution.

WILLIAM JAMES
William James is considered to be the founder of functional psychology. James helped incorporate
evolutionary theory into psychology. By studying all aspects of human existenceincluding behavior,
cognition, emotions, volition, and even religious experienceJames also expanded the subject matter of
psychology.
Pragmatism
By stressing what is useful, he represented a major departure from the pure psychology of both voluntarism
and structuralism. In fact, the pragmatic spirit in Jamess psychology quite naturally led to the development
of applied psychology. He expanded research techniques in psychology by not only accepting introspection
but also encouraging any technique that promised to yield useful information about people.
Stream of Consciousness
With his concept of stream of consciousness, James opposed those who were busy searching for the
elements of thought. His 4 ideas about consciousness are as follows:
1. Consciousness is personal. It reflects the experiences of an individual, and therefore it is foolhardy to
search for elements common to all minds.
2. Consciousness is continuous and cannot be divided up for analysis.
3. Consciousness is constantly changing. Even though consciousness is continuous and can be
characterized as a steady stream from birth to death, it is also constantly changing.
4. Consciousness is selective. Some of the many events entering consciousness are selected for further
consideration and others are inhibited.
5. Consciousness is functional and is most important in aiding the individual in adapting to the
environment.
Habits and Instincts
James believed that much animal and human behavior is governed by instinct. He refuted that instinctive
behavior is blind and invariable. He believed that such behavior is modifiable by experience and that new
instinct like patterns of behavior develop within the lifetime of the organism, and called them habits
According to James, habits are formed as an activity is repeated and gave neurophysiological explanation of
habit formation. Habits are functional because they simplify the movements required to achieve a result,
increase the accuracy of behavior, reduce fatigue, and diminish the need to consciously attend to performed
actions.

THE SELF
The empirical self, the me of personality consists of everything that a person could call his orher own. He
divided the empirical self into three components:
The material self consists of everything material that a person could call his or her own, such as his
or her own body, family, and property.
The social self is the self as known by others.
The spiritual self consists of a persons states of consciousness. It is everything we think as we think
of ourselves as thinkers. Also included in the spiritual self are all emotions associated with various
states of consciousness.
The spiritual self, then, has to do with the experience of ones subjective reality.
Self-esteem: He concluded that a persons self-esteem is determined by the ratio of things attempted to
things achieved. (insert formula)
EMOTIONS
According to James, the emotions we feel in a situation depend on how to react to that situation. Coupled
with Jamess belief in free will, his theory of emotion yielded practical advice: Act the way you want to feel.
FREE WILL
Although James did not solve the free will determinism controversy, he did arrive at a position with which
he was comfortable. He noted that without the assumption of determinism, science would be impossible, and
insofar as psychology was to be a science, it too must assume determinism. Science, however, is not
everything, and for certain approaches to the study of humans, the assumption of free will might be very
fruitful.
HUGO MNSTERBERG
Wundt and Munsterbrg disagreed over whether the will could be experienced as a conscious element of the
mind during introspection. Mnsterberg did not believe that will was involved in voluntary behavior at all.
For him, as we prepare to act one way or another, we consciously experience this bodily preparedness and
confuse it with the will to act.
Mnsterberg felt very strongly that psychologists should attempt to uncover information that could be used
in the real world. With his efforts, Mnsterberg did much to create what is now referred to as applied
psychology. His books Vocation and Learning (1912) and Psychology and Industrial Efficiency (1913) are
usually considered the beginning of what later came to be called industrial psychology.
He also was the first to apply psychological principles to legal matters, thus creating forensic psychology.
MARY WHITON CALKINS
Despite being an outstanding student and psychologist, Mary Whiton Calkins never actually got her PhD
from Havard for the fact that she was a woman. When Musterberg took over James laboratory, he also took
on his former graduate students, one of who was Calkins.
While working in Mnsterbergs laboratory, Calkins did original research on the factors influencing
memory. During this research, Calkins invented the still widely used paired-associate technique to study the
influence of frequency, recency, and vividness on memory.
GRANVILLE STANLEY HALL
President of the Clark University, Hall was enamored with evolutionary theory. He believed that evolution
explained not only the phylogenetic development of the human species but also the development of each
individual. That is, he believed that each individual in his or her lifetime re-enacted all evolutionary stages
of the human species. This idea is called the recapitulation theory of development.
JOHN DEWEY

Criticism of the Analysis of Behavior in Terms of Reflexes: Deweys argument was that dividing the
elements of a reflex into sensory processes, brain processes, and motor responses for analysis was artificial
and misleading. According to Dewey, dividing behavior into elements was no more justifiable than dividing
consciousness into elements. The so-called stimuli and responses are not separate but form an interrelated
sequence of functional events.
JAMES ROWLAND ANGELL
According to Angell,
Functional psychology is interested in mental operations rather than in conscious elements, but even
mental operations in isolation are of little interest:
Mental processes mediate between the needs of the organism and the environment. That is, mental
functions help the organism survive. Behavioral habits allow an organism to adjust to familiar
situations; but when an organism is confronted with the unfamiliar, mental processes aid in the
adaptive process.
Mind and body cannot be separated; they act as a unit in an organisms struggle for survival.
HARVEY CARR
Central to Carrs psychology is what he called the adaptive act, which has three components:
(1) a motive that acts as a stimulus for behavior (such as hunger or thirst),
(2) an environmental setting or the situation the organism is in, and
(3) a response that satisfies the motive (such as eating or drinking).
Here again, we see the influence of evolutionary theory on functionalism: Needs must be met for organisms
to survive.
For Carr both perception and behavior were necessary in adapting to the environment because how the
environment is perceived determines how an organism responds to it.
JAMES MCKEEN CATTELL
According to Cattell, almost everyone attempts to apply psychological principles in what they do: All our
systems of education, our churches, our legal systems, our governments and the rest are applied psychology
It is not then a matter of whether behavior should be controlled or not. It is a matter of using the most valid
knowledge of psychological principles in exercising that control.
FATE OF STRUCTURALISM
Like the Structuralist school, Functionalists also defined psychology as the study of consciousness
but instead of explaining the structure of consciousness and describing its content, Functionalists focused
on, as the name implies, the functioning of consciousness. While functionalism never became a formal
school, it built on structuralism's concern for the anatomy of the mind and led to greater concern over the
functions of the mind, and later to behaviourism. Functionalism did not die as a school as structuralism had
but was absorbed. As a systematic point of view, functionalism was an overwhelming success, but largely
because of this success it is no longer a distinct school of psychology. It was absorbed into the mainstream
psychology.