Chapter 11
Functionalism
Early American Psychology
- American Functionalist Thought
- Derived from evolutionary theory
- Goal and research methods:
- understand how mind and behavior help organism adjust to environment
- eclectic research methodology included introspection and other methods
- Characteristics
- against structuralism and its views of psychology
- stressed function of mind
- practical science over pure science (Ganz Americansisch)
- broader scope and broader methods (comparative method)
- concern with motivation
- mental processes and behavior studied
- focus on individual differences
- influenced by William James
- Lack of organization and maturity
William James (1842-1910)
- Life
- Father of American psychology
- Well educated
- Pragmatic approach to knowledge (if something works...)
- 1875 Harvard lab for psychology demonstrations
- Principles of Psychology (1890) ("James")
- Psychology: The Briefer Course (1892) ("Jimmy")
- Psychology
- Consciousness
- elements are analyzable but unimportant
- mind evolved for some function
- physiology and behavior closely linked
- found in a person or animal
- never the same
- selective and continuous
- Instincts existed but could be modified
- The self
- material self
- social self
- spiritual self
- James-Lange theory of emotion
- Left the field early and hired Hugo Munsterberg to replace himself
- Eminence grise
- trained no students
- conducted no experiments
- so, no Jamesian school of thought
Hugo Munsterberg (1863-1916)
- Life
- Wundt's assistant
- Disagreed with Wundt about voluntary behavior
- Munsterberg believed "will" was an epiphenomenon of bodily action
- James brought Munsterberg to Harvard to head the Harvard Psychological Laboratory
- Munsterberg never fully integrated himself to the United States
- Psychology
- Father of applied psychology
- clinical psychology
- forensic psychology
- industrial psychology
- World War I and Munsterberg
- his German citizenship became a problem
- may have contributed to his death in 1916 (stress)
Granville Stanley Hall (1844-1924)
- Life
- Seminary student who changed to psychology
- First doctorate in psychology (Harvard, 1878)
- Went to Leipzig, was Wundt's first American student
- First U.S. working lab in psychology (Johns Hopkins, 1883)
- Founded first American journal in psychology (American Journal of Psychology, 1887)
- Became first president of Clark University
- Founded APA in 1892 (in his house) and was its first president
- Founded other journals including The Journal of Religious Psychology
- Taught James McKeen Cattell and John Dewey
- Psychology
- Broad minded approach to psychology
- Evolutionarily minded
- Interested in educational and child psychology
- Did working in testing
- Interested in adolescent psychology (sturm and drang)
- Invited Freud and Jung to U.S. in 1909 where both spoke at Clark U. (Freud's only visit to U.S.)
Chicago Functionalism
- As a school, functionalism was centered at two American universities: Chicago and Columbia.
- Chicago
- John Dewey (1859-1952)
- Life
- Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins (1884)
- Taught at Michigan and Minnesota (1 year) before going to Chicago (1894)
- Left Chicago for Columbia in 1904
- Psychology
- His article, "The reflex arc concept in psychology" (1896) marks the beginning of functionalist school for many
- Evolutionist
- "Learn by doing" and progressive education ("know that" vs. "know how")
- Contributed to the development of educational psychology
- James Rowland Angell (1869-1949)
- Life
- Studied with Dewey, James, and Ebbinghaus
- Never finished his Ph.D.
- Went to Chicago at Dewey's invitation
- Became chair
- Trained Harvey Carr and John B. Watson
- Became president of Yale 1921-1937
- Psychology
- Defined functionalism nicely in his 1906 APA presidential address:
- functionalism interested in mental operations not conscious elements
- mental processes mediate between needs of the organism and the environment
- mind and body cannot be separated
- Harvey Carr (1873-1954)
- Life
- Degrees from University of Colorado
- Went to Chicago and got his Ph.D. in 1905 with Angell
- Remained at Chicago
- APA president in 1927
- Psychology
- The Adaptive Act
- motive that acted as a stimulus for behavior
- an environmental setting
- a response that satisfied the motive
- i.e., responses elicited by seeing tiger in zoo or in wild
- Also interested in perception
- Used experimentation as main method
- Columbia
- James McKeen Cattell (1860-1944)
- Life
- Entered Lafayette College at 16 and was head of his class
- Went to Germany to study with Lotze, after his death Cattell returned to U.S.
- Won a fellowship at Johns Hopkins
- Went back to Germany, and was Wundt's first assistant and first American Ph.D.
- After graduation (1886) taught at Bryn Mayr and U. of Pennsylvania
- Studied with Galton for two years in London
- Returned to U. of Pennsylvania and founded their lab
- Used term "mental test" for the first time
- Went to Columbia U. in 1891 and was fired in 1917 for pacificism
- Psychology
- Continued to develop testing and founded the Psychological Corporation
- Was elected 4th president of APA
- Founded Psychological Review
- Trained Woodworth and Thorndike
- Robert Sessions Woodworth (1869-1962)
- Life
- Amherst graduate, read James and went to Harvard for Master's degree
- Moved to Columbia and took his Ph.D. with Cattell
- After two years he returned to Columbia where he spent the rest of career
- Psychology
- Dynamic psychology, S-O-R
- "mechanisms" aroused by drives, or they remained dormant
- Eclectic interests
- Experimental Psychology was standard text for many years
- Survived functionalism and was first awardee of APA's Gold Medal (1956)
- Edward Lee Thorndike (1874-1949)
- Life
- Wesleyan graduate (1895)
- Went to Harvard for Master's degree and conducted animal research in James's basement (chicks)
- Received Ph.D. from Cattell at Columbia (1898)
- Taught at Western Reserve for one year, then returned to Columbia
- Very productive (500+ publications) over many areas
- Psychology
- Animal research
- his puzzle boxes
- all animals learn
- learning is a trial-and-error process
- learning is automatic
- Laws of learning
- law of effect
- first statement of reinforcement
- led to much research
- law of exercise
- to assess the effects of practice
- Transfer of training
- Thorndike and Woodworth answered the "mental muscle" theorists
- His theoretical niche
- another functionalist who adapted
- claimed by the behaviorists also
- Analysis of Functionalism
- The broad ideas of functionalism became mainstream
- Behaviorism absorbed it
- Its eclecticism militated against school of thought development
- Pure and applied confusion also muddled the picture
URLs
- The Age of "isms"--tutorial, basic, medium, links, graphics
- Page on early psychological theories, covers: Wundt and structuralism, Ebbinghaus, James and Functionalism, Watson and Behaviorism, and Gestalt psychology. Also includes demonstration of Gestalt principles of perception. http://www.geneseo.edu/~intd225/psycisms.html
- Mind and Body: From Descartes to James--index, interm., medium, links, graphics
- This page is an on-line version of a catalogue of a book exhibition at the National Library of Medicine in 1992. The exhibition was in conjuction with the celebration of the centennial of the American Psychological Association (APA). Topics included are: Rene Descartes and the legacy of mind-body dualism, the rise of experimental psychology, and psychology in America. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/Mind/Table.html
- Classics in the History of Psychology--index, adv., short, links
- A page with full text works by: Aristotle, Baldwin, Cattell & Jastrow, Binet, Cattell (J. McK.) Darwin, Dewey, Freud, James, Koffka, Mead, Plato, Terman, and Watson. http://www.yorku.ca/dept/psych/classics/
- The History of Psychology--index, basic, medium, links, graphics
- Page that links to other resources in the history of psychology. Has links to pages on Dewey, Piaget, Helmholz, Skinner, and others. http://www.guam.net/home/bmarmie/history.html
- Biographies of Psychologists--index, basic, short, links
- Short biographies of: Alfred Adler, Alfred Binet, Edward de Bono, Hans Eysenck, Sigmund Freud, Howard Gardner , Karen Horney, William James, C.G. Jung, R.D. Laing, Abraham Maslow, Don Norman, Robert Ornstein, Wilhelm Reich, Carl Rogers, B.F. Skinner, Thomas Szasz, Lewis Terman, Edward L Thorndike, and John B. Watson. http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~rsauzier/Biography.html#Psychology
- William James: Texts--index, interm., short, links
- This page provides links to a variety of James's writings in full text format. http://people.delphi.com/vlorbik/wjtexts.html
- William James--index, interm., medium, links, graphics
- Page includes many links to information on James. Also includes several graphics. http://userwww.service.emory.edu/~mpajare/james.html
- University of Chicago Psychology Department--NEW, index, basic, short, links, graphics
- Home page of the University of Chicago psychology department. Includes information on: faculty, graduate students, staff, classes, bulletin board, and more. http://www.ccp.uchicago.edu/psychology.html
- Columbia University Psychology Department--NEW, index, basic, short, links, graphics, search
- Home page of Columbia University psychology department. Includes sections: department directory, psychology library, information for undergraduates, research labs, and more. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/psychology/