Everything is being done by the different schools of thought to proper understand the human behaviour and mind. Various approaches have been evolved ever since the beginning of modern discipline. In the last article, we learnt about structuralism and how does it helps to unravel human mind into basic elements by its method introspection. Here, I’m going to provide comparison and contrast of two perspectives through “Structuralism Vs functionalism in psychology.”
Major schools of thought in psychology
Structuralism
Functionalism
Biological,
Behavioral,
Cognitive,
Psychodynamic,
Humanistic,
Evolutionary.
Social perspective, etc.
Contribution of structuralism
You know that structuralism focuses on the breaking down mental processes into basic elements like sensations, feelings, and images. It uses introspection method to know what will happen in our mind when we see, hear, touch, and taste things. Despite certain bottlenecks, it is useful in understanding underlying structure of mind in the form of basic components of mind.
Simply put, structuralism answers of what the mind is made of. Its main focus is centered around the structure of mind in the form of elements. In terms of inquiry, it uses introspection method for self-observation and self examination where individuals report on their own conscious experiences.
Understanding underlying structure of mind in the form of basic elements results in the shaping human ways of living life and overall behaviour. Structuralism provides a means to identify and analyse structure of mind through introspection and predict and control the human behaviour.
Simply put, it emphasis on the meaning resulted out of relationship among basic components rather than elements themselves. It moved psychology away from philosophy and toward a more empirical, scientific approach by using experimental methods like introspection. It was a first school of thought in psychology.
Lateron, it influenced the development of functionalism, behaviorism, and cognitive psychology. Let’s learn about functionalism- school of thought in psychology.
What does functionalism mean in psychology
A distinct approach or school of thought in psychology that moved away from basic structure of elements of conscious experiences to their functional outcome. In other words, functionalism examined how mental processes (like thinking, learning, and remembering) help people adapt to their surroundings.
Functionalists focus on the purpose of elements of conscious experience like feelings, sensation and images. They study how do these elements impacts human behaviour instead mere description of these elements.
Role of functionalism
This perspective, championed by William James, explores how mental processes and behaviors serve a purpose in promoting survival and well-being. Functionalism highlights the importance of studying how the mind adapts and evolves over time.
For example, learning, understanding, and remembering are the components of mental processes. Structuralists intend to explore and describe the structural relationship among all the elements. Conversely, functionalists work on to learn the purpose of these elements in shaping human behaviour.
Suppose, if you have thinking skills and you face difficult situation, what would you do? You will definitely use your skill to ward off problem and adapt to that situation properly. The goal of functionalism is to cultivate understanding of how the mind helps us adapt to our environment.
Importance of functionalism
It emphasis on the adaptability. In simple term, this approach explores how our mental processes like thinking, learning, memory etc. help us to adapt to our surrounding environment. Memory is nothing but the storehouse of past experiences. It acts as base to learn new things by connecting past experiences to the present happening or observations. By enriching out understanding through learning, we can take prudent decision to make the world favourable to live.
What structuralism does through introspection is to look inward to know the mental processes. But, functionalist moved away to learn how mental processes are connected to observable behavior and the environment.
Application of functionalism
Functionalism can be applied to understand the role of social institutions like religion, which serves the function of bringing social solidarity and cohesion among society. By doing so, it enforces social norms and compel individual members to adap the social environment prohibiting deviant behaviour. Our system of belief serves as basis of taking various decision to solve problems.
Last words on structuralism and functionalism approaches,
Instead of focusing on the individual elements, functionalism explores how different elements work together to serve adaptive purposes. Unlike structuralism, functionalism seeks to understand the mind in terms of its practical significance and its role in helping individuals adapt to their environment.
Simply put, this perspective emphasizes the importance of studying behavior in real-world contexts and understanding how it contributes to survival and adaptation. Further, it recognizes that the mind is not static, but rather constantly changing and shaped by external influences. By examining the functions of consciousness, functionalism provides valuable insights into why we think, feel, and behave in certain ways.Psychological perspective: structuralism