BI110 Chapter Notes -Wilhelm Wundt, B. F. Skinner, Psychoanalytic Theory
Document Summary
Wundt mounted a campaign to make psychology an independent discipline. Stanley hall contributed to the rapid growth of psychology in the united states. Edward tichener led structuralism based on wundt"s work. Structuralism was based on the notion that the task of psychology is to analyze consciousness into its basic elements and investigate how these elements are related. Introspection: the careful, systemic self-observation of one"s own conscious experience. Structuralism required subjects who were trained in observing themselves. Limitations associated with the use of introspection contributed to the demise of structuralism. Functionalism: psychology should investigate the function or purpose of consciousness rather that its structure. William james believed that consciousness was a flow of thoughts rather than simple elements or static points. Both sturctursts and functionalists fought over the very definition of psychology. Functionalists wanted to see how people adapted and survived to the demands of the real world.
