It is unlikely to understand the most dynamic discipline psychology by single lens. Hence, different lenses need to be operated to understand every domain and construct perfect whole. Simply, psychological perspectives are different ways to understand human mind, mental processes and behaviour. Let’s begins with Psychological perspective: structuralism.
Purposes of psychological perspectives
Each perspective has unique methodology, theory and assumption. In this blog, I’m going to provide a detailed explanation of each lens or perspective that laid the foundation of psychology. These are also called schools of thoughts within psychology.
You know that ultimate goal of psychology is to describe, explain, control behavior, predict the future behavior and apply it further. These perspectives act as guide for psychologists to study human behavior through different angles.
Actually, there are several key perspectives that provide us with a deeper understanding of the human mind and behavior. Each perspective offers unique insights and plays a crucial role in unraveling the complexities of human psychology.
Functionalism
Structuralism
Biological,
Behavioral,
Cognitive,
Psychodynamic,
Humanistic,
Evolutionary.
Social perspective, etc.
Understanding psychological Perspective: structuralism
Here, you will get detailed analysis of structuralism perspective. It is essential to understand the field of psychology by different angles to form complete whole.
It is pioneered by Wilhelm Wundt and Edward Titchener. Structuralist focuses on the conscious experience and its components. They are interested in what happens in our minds when we see, hear, touch, or think about something in our daily activities.
Structuralism focuses on the conscious experience and aims to reveal the underlying structure of the mind. Developed by Wilhelm Wundt, structuralism explores the different elements of consciousness, such as sensations, feelings, and perceptions.
Method of structuralism: introspection
It is like self examination and self observation. This method helps examining one’s own thoughts and feelings to discover the basic components of consciousness.
Trained observers report their subjective experiences in response to stimuli, focusing on sensations, feelings, and images. By analyzing the contents of consciousness, structuralism provides valuable insights into the basic building blocks of human cognition.
It allows psychologists to understand how different sensations and perceptions combine to create a holistic experience. This perspective has been instrumental in developing our understanding of consciousness, memory, and perception.
Assumptions in structuralism
I. Consciousness is Measurable
II. Mind is a sum of parts
III. Focus on Immediate Experience
They believe that consciousness could be measured and analyzed by introspection. As per this approach, mind could be understood by identifying and studying its basic components and how they interact. And, they emphasis on immediate, conscious experience of the individual, rather than seeking explanations for behavior.
Theories of structuralism: Elements of consciousness and structure of mind
They advocated that consciousness could be broken down into basic elements, analogous to chemical elements, such as sensations, images, and affections. And this approach emphasized the study of the structure of the mind, rather than its function, aiming to understand how these basic elements combine to create more complex mental experiences.
Conscious mind includes thought, feeling, sensation, perception, self awareness, memories. And, as per this perspective, these elements work together to form our conscious experience. This enable us to interact with the world. By this ways, we make choices, and understand ourselves.
Limitations of structuralism perspective or school of thought
It is criticized for its method introspection due to subjective nature. Due to subjectivity, its too difficult to ensure reliability while self observation. And, its not possible to replicate results. You know that this approach focuses on conscious mind and unable to address unconscious mental processes. Finally, its limited usefulness as it only deal with conscious mental elements. And, it omitted complex mental functionality.
Even though it has limitations, it helped to establish psychology as a scientific discipline. Besides, it paved way for the development of other schools of thoughts.
Final words on psychological perspective: structuralism,
It successfully recognized the mind’s structure through introspection and breaking down conscious experience into basic elements like sensations, images, and affections. And, it also helped to establish psychology as a science. Most importantly, it inspired further development in other schools of thoughts like functionalism, biological, cognitive perspectives.
Structuralism Vs functionalism in psychology
https://www.britannica.com/science/structuralism-psychology
https://www.centreofexcellence.com/what-is-structuralism-in-psychology