Chapter 7: Functionalism

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 (read starting 181) William James - 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, mind-altering drug experiences, etc.) – which is exactly what some psychologists of the time were trying to get removed from science of psychology Not an experimentalist in attitude or deed (and therefore did not train anyone in methods) Eventually will leave psychology altogether 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 Wealthy family (brother Henry James), did a lot of traveling when young his father’s favorite method of dealing with ill family member was too send them to Europe (instead of a hospital) Mother only gave children attention when they were sick (J often was) J continued to travel extensively when older, often used travel to escape discomfort with social interactions, was his way of dealing with birth of his children, holidays, birthdays Spent a lot of his life skipping from one disciple to another, Career: art, chemistry, medicine, zoology, psychology (altho never took a course in it himself), philosophy not good at precise work College studies during Civil War From college, Intensely neurotic, lacking self-confidence, poor health, frequently depressed “Americanitis” Insomnia, hypochondria, depression, nervous symptoms, loss of will Most typically afflicted: upper class, educated, self-aware people Often led to career postponement (not unlike gen-xers) Prescription - Rexall drug company: Americanitis elixir For Women: 6 week bed rest with no work, reading, or social life+ weight gain Men: travel, adventure, exercise Decided to believe in “free will” and his ability to cure himself of his depression (reminds me a little bit of the Secret now) Was aware of Wundt and the science of psychology 10 yrs before W founded lab Interest in consciousness and altered states of consciousness, did experiments on himself with mind-altering drugs like laughing gas (which he liked b/c could see that state of body could change state of consciousness) Wrote with a clarity rare in science Opposed Wundt re: goal of psychology Offered alternative view of mind – evolution influence Eventually even turned back on psychology, calling it “an elaboration of the obvious”

The principles of psychology - 1890
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 Book: Principles of Psychology – 1890 Espoused new goal of psychology: Study of people as they adapt to their environment Function of consciousness: function  to help survive Surviving – encountering new problem, using mind to solve He thought consciousness must have some function, or it would have disappeared These would eventually become main goals of functionalism Interested in how brain (physical structures) affect consciousness Stream of consciousness Is a continuous flow, always changing, never the same twice Cannot be “reduced” to elements Is selective about what it attends to Humans are sometimes nonrational - emotion part of a person, just as much as intellect Of course, after this book he decided he had nothing left to say about psychology

The theory of emotions The then-current theory: James:
Emotion precedes physical arousal/response We see a lion, we feel fear (emotion)  we run (response) James: Physical arousal/response precedes emotion 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 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 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 bodily response is emotion, but we don’t experience it as consciously (as emotion) at first, only after time has passed do we interpret those physical changes as an emotion – the physical changes do not go away immediately

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” Introspection – way of looking into our conscious minds Although James recognized that introspection had flaws Experimentation – important even though he didn’t use it Comparative method – looking at other animals, children, mentally ill Pragmatism The validity of an idea must be tested by looking at its practical consequences “anything is true if it works” Theories are instruments, ways of imagining if this were true, then such and such would happen, and we can then see if that thing does happen, or ask what evidence we would need to assure ourselves that it had happened live squirrel supposed to be clinging to one side of a tree-trunk; while over against the tree’s opposite side a human being was imagined to stand. This human witness tries to get sight of the squirrel by moving rapidly round the tree, but no matter how fast he goes, the squirrel moves as fast in the opposite direction, and always keeps the tree between himself and the man, so that never a glimpse of him is caught. The resultant metaphysical problem now is this: Does the man go round the squirrel or not? Depends on how you define “round” An example: do apes and human children have the same level of intelligence? Well, it depends on how you define intelligence first How are you going to measure it?

Why was James so important?
Very clear, interesting writing style Opposed Wundt Offered an alternative to Wundt Why was james so important? Very clear, interesting writing style Opposed Wundt – consciousness not elements Offered an alternative to Wundt – study of people as they adapt to environment

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 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

Some Central Tenets Proper subject for psychology:
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 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 (or the functions of consciousness)

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 They didn’t intend to start a new movement, they just didn’t like W and T way of studying the mind None of the people in this school were interested in promoting their views – their names not well know even today (Dewey, Angell, Carr) As a result, there were several different types of functionalism Movement only got it’s name because of something T said in an article, when he was trying to point out the differences between his psychology (structural) and this other one, which he called “functional psychology”

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) Reasons for func to flourish in US but not England American temperament Individualistic, independent, hard-working, adaptable, practical Distinctive social, economic, and political character Pioneering society US population census (1890) The census from 1880 took 7 years to complete, obvious something better than Babbage’s calculating machine needed New machine made, punch cards, took only 2 years to complete This is where IBM came from So people saw the obvious benefits of apply psychology to real life problems

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 Contributions: 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

Drug Bust! Truck stopped in Tennessee, carrying barrels of newly outlawed drug – caffeine When it came to trial, lawyers realized that they didn’t have any proof that caffeine WAS harmless So had to hire someone to do tests Example of applying psychology

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 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

Psychology in the US 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 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 Despite this popularity, many psychology departments and courses housed in philosophy

Economic influences on applied psychology
1900: three times as many PhDs as laboratories Pressure to prove psychology’s value Opportunity 1900: three times as many PhDs as laboratories Applied work necessary for an income Applied work necessary to supplement academic salary for subsistence Pressure to prove psychology’s value To administrators and legislators for funding To the public Opportunity Dramatic increase in public school enrollments Education became big business

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 Graduate work: Gottingen, then Leipzig with Wundt 1882: fellowship at johns Hopkins Major interest: philosophy, no psychology classes offered Interest in psychology due to experiments with drugs Then Took hall’s lab course Began reaction-time research 1883: return to Leipzig Lab assistant to Wundt PhD in 1886 Taught in united states, then at Cambridge: met Galton

Developed ranking method
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 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 1888: professor of psychology at university of Pennsylvania (father prearranged his hiring) 1891: professor of psychology and chair at Columbia 1894: began psychological review and acquired science His organization and editing of numerous publications took time away from research

1921: organized psychological corporation
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 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 – protested sending draftees into combat 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 Mental testing 1890: coined term mental tests Cattell originated the term but Binet developed the 1st genuinely psychological test of mental ability His intelligence tests: elementary sensorimotor (not cognitive) measurements 1901: concluded such tests not valid predictors of intelligence To be a science, psychology requires a foundation of experimentation and measurement

Comment Strongest impact: as organizer, executive, administrator, and link to scientific community Contributed through his students Reinforced functionalism 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 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

Binet (1857-1911) 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 Independently wealthy Self-taught psychologist Published 200+ books and articles Wrote four plays 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 Used more complex measures than Cattell did Provided effective measure of cognitive abilities Initiated modern intelligence testing

Modern IQ Testing 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.” 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 30 problems Ascending order of difficulty Foci: judgment, comprehension, reasoning Concept of mental: “the age at which children of average ability can perform certain tasks.”

Lewis Terman ( ) 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 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 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

Military leaders: need to assess intelligence of troops for Stanford-Binet: individual test requiring trained administrator Needed: group test that was simple to give 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 Army alpha and army beta Group tests: easy to administer and efficient Army alpha: for literate English speakers Army beta: for illiterate English speakers and non-English speaking recruits Work on the tests very time-consuming Not given to recruits until 3 months before end WWI Tested more than 1 million men No direct effect on war effort Significant impact on psychology as a discipline Psychology’s status improved by the publicity Army tests prototypes for later group tests, personality tests

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 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 Industrial Testing 1920’s: selection and placement of job applicants – matching right person with right job 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 Hawthorne plant of western electric company Pioneering research program First studied influences of the physical environment on employee efficiency – temperature, lighting 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 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 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 Binet WWI Tests likened to a thermometer
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 Cattell – more interested in human abilities than in consciousness per se Binet – french school needed a way to sort out children having difficulities in school he differed from cattell by using tests that measured cognitive abilities rather than sensorimotor abilities to measure intelligence (C correllated these tests with academic performance) Thermometer analogy used to help people accept idea of psychology as a legitimate science,

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…” 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 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

Chapter 7: Functionalism

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