Chapter 7:

Functionalism

William James (1842-1910): anticipator of functional psychology

General paradox Major figure in American psychology, yet viewed

by some colleagues as a negative force Considered by many scholars to be greatest

American psychologist Espoused mentalistic and psychical

phenomena (telepathy, séances, etc.) Not an experimentalist in attitude or deed

Did not found functional psychology, but did influence the movement

James’s life

Wealthy family

Career: art, chemistry, medicine, zoology

Lifelong problems with self-esteem, neurotic “neurasthenia” or “Americanitis”

Most interested in consciousness

Disliked lab work/ doing experiments

Taught psychology for a time, then moved exclusively into philosophy

Espoused new goal of psychology: Study of people as they adapt to their environment

Function of consciousness: To enable survival

Interested in how brain (physical structures) affect consciousness

Stream of consciousness Is a continuous flow, always changing Cannot be “reduced” to elements Is selective about what it attends to

Humans are sometimes nonrational

The principles of psychology - 1890

The then-current theory: Emotion precedes physical arousal/response We see a lion,

we feel fear (emotion) we run (response)

James: Physical arousal/response precedes emotion We see a lion,

we have a bodily response we run (response) we fear (emotion – an interpretation of bodily changes)

Bodily change is the emotion (increased heart rate, increased breathing, sweaty palms)

If no bodily change, then no emotion

The theory of emotions

Methods of Psychology

Introspection

Experimentation

Comparative method

Pragmatism The validity of an idea must be tested by looking at

its practical consequences “anything is true if it works”

Why was James so important?

Very clear, interesting writing style

Opposed Wundt

Offered an alternative to Wundt

The Functionalist Protest

Functionalists’ central interest: how the organism uses the mind to adapt to

the environment

First uniquely American system of psychology Deliberate protest against Wundt's and

Titchener's systems Interest in applying psychology to real world

Consciousness cannot be meaningfully analyzed into elements, it removes all meaning

Argued structure and function cannot be meaningfully separated

Behavior should be treated in terms of its significance to the organism as it functions in its environment

Proper subject for psychology: study of the total organism as it functions in its

environment

Some Central Tenets

The founding of functionalism

Functionalists did not mean to start a new school of though

Formalized indirectly when Titchener named it

Therefore, there was no single functional psychology, no leaders

Reasons functional psychology flourished in U.S., Not England

American temperament Individualistic, independent, hard-working,

adaptable, practical Distinctive social, economic, and political

character Pioneering society US population census (1890)

Criticisms of Functionalism

Functionalism not clearly defined

Did not follow Titchener’s subject matter or methods

Applied to real-life situations

Contributions of functionalism

Opposition to structuralism Bridged move from study of subjective mind

to study of objective behavior Legitimacy of research on animal behavior Inclusion of humans other than “normal

adults” as subjects Allowed applied aspects of research Development and inclusion of research

methods beyond introspection

Chapter 8:

Applied Psychology

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Toward a practical psychology

By the end of the 19th century, evolutionary theory and functional psychology had a strong footing in United States

American psychology guided more by ideas of Darwin and Galton than by Wundt

Although Wundt trained 1st generation of American psychologists, few of his ideas accompanied them home

Strong interest in a useful, applied psychology

Psychology in the US

Applied psychology took hold in the discipline 1900: 25% of articles in American psychology journals

had applied focus Only 3% used introspection Even Titchener acknowledged the strong trend toward

application

Dominance in numbers 1903: more PhD's in psychology than in any science

other than chemistry, zoology, and physics 1913: United States had more of world’s leading

psychologists than any other country

Popularity Within 20 years of the founding of psychology,

America became undisputed leader of the field Required psychology courses included in the

undergraduate curriculum Burgeoning enrollment in psychology courses Increasing number of students engaged in

original research

Psychology in the US

Economic influences on applied psychology 1900: three times as many PhDs as

laboratories

Pressure to prove psychology’s value

Opportunity

James McKeen Cattell (1860-1944)

Graduate work: Gottingen, then Leipzig with Wundt

Work: Major interest: philosophy Interest in psychology due to experiments with

drugs Began reaction-time research

One of first in United States to stress quantification, ranking, ratings

Developed ranking method First psychologist to teach statistical analysis of

experimental results Encouraged the use of large groups of subjects

Interested in Galton’s eugenics

His organization and editing of numerous publications took time away from research

At Columbia More PhDs in psychology than anywhere else in

the united states Emphasized independent research by graduate

students Urged increased faculty governance: one of

founders of American association of university professors (AAUP)

1917: fired by Columbia university on grounds of disloyalty to united states

1921: organized psychological corporation

Mental testing 1890: coined term mental tests To be a science, psychology requires a

foundation of experimentation and measurement

His intelligence tests: elementary sensorimotor (not cognitive) measurements

1901: concluded such tests not valid predictors of intelligence

Comment Strongest impact: as organizer, executive,

administrator, and link to scientific community Contributed through his students Reinforced functionalism

The psychological testing movement

Binet, Terman, and the IQ test “Mental tests”: “tests of motor skills and

sensory capacities; Intelligence tests use more complex measures of mental abilities.”

Cattell originated the term but Binet developed the 1st genuinely psychological test of mental ability

Independently wealthy Self-taught psychologist Published 200+ books and articles

Mental testing His two young daughters did as well as adults on

sensorimotor tasks but did not do as well as adults on tests of cognitive ability

Binet’s conclusion: cognitive functions reflect intelligence, sensorimotor responses do not

Binet (1857-1911)

1904: opportunity through French public schools bureau to test his hypothesis

Binet appointed to find out why some students with were having difficulty learning

Examined intellectual tasks that children of different ages could accomplish and built an intelligence test

Concept of mental: “the age at which children of average ability can

perform certain tasks.”

Modern IQ Testing

Lewis Terman (1877-1956)

Developed the now standard version of Binet’s test: the Stanford-Binet

Used Stern’s intelligence quotient IQ concept: “A number denoting a person’s intelligence, determined by multiplying mental age by 100 and dividing by chronological age.”

Stanford-Binet still in widespread use after a number of revisions

World War I and group testing

1917: on day U.S. entered WWI Robert Yerkes, APA president: urged Titchener’s

society of experimental psychologists to aid war effort

Titchener declined to participate British citizen Disliked idea of applying psychology

World War I and group testing

Military leaders: need to assess intelligence of troops for

Stanford-Binet: individual test requiring trained administrator

Needed: group test that was simple to give

Army alpha and army beta Group tests: easy to administer and efficient

Work on the tests very time-consuming

Significant impact on psychology as a discipline

World War I and group testing

The industrial-organizational psychology movement The impact of the world wars

During the wars: testing, screening, classifying recruits

After the wars: need for industrial psychologists

Subspecialty: human engineering Work on a myriad of consumer products, not just

military hardware

Industrial Testing 1920’s: selection and placement of job

applicants 1927: focus expanded to social/psychological

conditions of the workplace

Hawthorne plant of western electric company Pioneering research program First studied influences of the physical

environment on employee efficiency Found social and psychological factors in the

workplace more important than physical ones

Led to studies of work climate, leadership, communication patterns and other factors affecting worker motivation, productivity, and satisfaction

APA's division of industrial psychology changed to society for industrial and organizational psychology

Applied psychology in the United States: A national mania

Cattell: WWI put psychology “on the map and on the front page”

Between world wars Applied psychology respected Sufficient jobs and funding in academia New departments, buildings, and labs Tripling of APA membership Still a contempt for applied psychology 1919: APA required published experimental research for

membership 1920’s: enormous public enthusiasm for psychology The depression years: attacked for failure to cure

Applied Psychology

Cattell Mental testing

Measure of range and variability of behaviors among a large group (ex. Intelligence)

Binet Expanded mental testing to include cognitive abilities

WWI Army needed simple group test to sort soldiers

Alpha and Beta tests

Tests likened to a thermometer

Applied Psychology

Industrial-organizational psychology People saw practical applications of psychology During war, ergonomics

Testing human limitations when using weapons After WWI, employers wanted to use tests also

Hawthorne studies: best working environment social psychology

Eyewitness memories

“People came to believe that psychologists could fix everything…”

Movement from focus on mental elements to focus on mental activity Shift in academic research from content to

function Broadening of psychology from academic

settings to applied settings and concerns Contextual factors

Shift was reinforced by behaviorism