2.

FUNCTIONALISM

Functionalism refers to a school of thought which focuses attention on the utility and purpose of
behavior that has been modified over years of human existence.

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 function to aid the organism in adapting to the
environment.

That is, they were interested in the function mind rather than its structure.

The school of functionalism stressed the role of consciousness and behavior in adapting to the
environment.

Characteristics of Functionalistic Psychology

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 function to aid the
organism in adapting to the environment. That is, they were interested in the function of mind
rather than its structure.

The functionalists’ interest in the “why” of mental processes and behavior led directly to a
concern with motivation. Because an organism will act differently in the same environment as its
needs change, these needs must be understood before the organism’s behavior can be
understood.

Functionalist

1. William James

2. John Dewy

3. E. L. Thorndike

4. G Stanley Hall
 1. William James (1842–1910)

William James, was an American psychologist and philosopher born in (1842,New York),

He was sometimes referred as the "Father of American psychology.” James emphasized the
function of both consciousness and behavior. He Believe that the mind has the function of
helping us adapt to the environment. They want to understand the function of the mind, the ways
it helps us adapt.

Stream of Consciousness

James said with his concept of stream of consciousness.

1. In the first, consciousness is personal. It reflects the experiences of an individual.

2. Second, consciousness is continuous and cannot be divided.
3. Third, 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. Fourth, consciousness is selective. Some of the many events entering consciousness are
selected for further consideration and others are inhibited.
5. Finally, and perhaps most important, consciousness is functional (purposive). According
to James, the most important thing about consciousness is its purpose is to aid the
individual in adapting to the environment.

Habits and Instincts

James believed that much animal and human behavior is governed by instinct.
Habits (instincts) are formed as an activity is repeated. Rather, he believed that such behavior is
modifiable by experience.
Furthermore, he believed that new instinct like patterns of behavior develop within the lifetime
of the organism. James called these learned patterns of behavior habits.

Theory of emotion: Event (stimulus) causes a bodily reaction/behavior, which is then

experienced as an emotion.
James' maxims to develop good habits
James (1892/1985) offered five maxims to follow in order to develop good habits and eliminate
bad ones.
1. Place yourself in circumstances that encourage good habits and discourage bad ones.
2. Do not allow yourself to act contrary to a new habit you are trying to develop.
3. Do not attempt to slowly develop a good habit or eliminate a bad one. Radical and total
change is better.
4. It is not the intention to engage in good habits and avoid bad ones that is important; it is
the actual doing so:
5. Force yourself to act in ways that are beneficial to you, even if doing so at first is
distasteful and requires considerable effort.
The Self
James discussed what he called the empirical self, or the “me” of personality, which consists of
everything that a person could call his or her own. He divided the empirical self into three
components: The material self, the social self, and the spiritual self.
i. 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.
ii. The social self is the self as known by others.
iii. The spiritual self consists of a person’s states of consciousness. It is everything we think
as we think of ourselves as thinkers.
Self as knower
According to James, the pure ego that accounts for a person’s awareness of his or her empirical
self is the self-knower.
Self-esteem
According to James, how a person feels about himself or herself based on the ratio of successes
to attempts. One can increase self-esteem either by accomplishing more or attempting less.

2. John Dewey (1859 – 1952)

John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educationalist.
The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology
This concept proposed that the three elements of the reflex are:
i. Sensory processes
 ii. Brain processes
iii. Motor response
must be viewed as a coordinated system directed toward a goal, usually related to the survival of
the organism.
This concept is very influential in creating “progressive” education, which stated that:
 Education should be student-oriented not subject-oriented
 Students should learn by doing
3. Edward Lee Thorndike (1874–1949)
Edward Lee Thorndike was born on August 31, 1874 in Williamsburg, Massachusetts.
He is best known for The Law of Effect and Animal research, Often called the father of
modern educational psychology
Thorndike’s work was to have a significant influence on psychology, and it can be seen as
representing the transition from the school of functionalism to the school of behaviorism.
i. Trial-and-error theory of learning
E. L. Thorndike Used the apparatus called a puzzle box to study trial-and-error learning using
cats. He observed the sequence of learning resulting in cats learning to escape. He made the
following conclusions:
 Learning is step by step process
 Learning occurs automatically without being mediated by thinking
 Same principles of learning apply to all mammals.

ii. Connectionism
Connectionism theory is based on the principle of active learning and is the result of the
work of the American psychologist Edward Thorndike. This work led to Thorndike’s
Laws. According to these Laws, learning is achieved when an individual is able to form
associations between a particular stimulus and a response.
iii. The Laws of Exercise and Effect
To account for his research findings, Thorndike developed psychology’s first major theory of
learning.
The early version of his theory consisted mainly of the laws of exercise and effect. The law of
exercise had two parts: the law of use and the law of disuse.
According to the law of use, the more often an association (neural connection) is practiced, the
stronger it becomes.
According to the law of disuse, the longer an association remains unused, the weaker it becomes.
A law which states that, in learning, the more frequently a stimulus and response are associated
with each other, the more likely the particular response will follow the stimulus. The law implies
that one learns by doing and one cannot learn a skill, for instance, by watching others. It is
necessary to practise the skill, because by doing so the bond between stimulus and response is
strengthened.

In applying this to motor learning, the more often a given movement is repeated, the more
firmly established it becomes. The performance of drills attempts to utilize this law.