AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Functionalism focused on how mental activities helped an organism fit into its environment. Functionalism has a second, more subtle meaning in that functionalists were more interested in the operation of the whole mind rather than of its individual parts, which were the focus of structuralism.

Detailed explanation-2: -Structuralism was the first school of psychology and focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components. Researchers tried to understand the basic elements of consciousness using a method known as introspection.

Detailed explanation-3: -Gestalt psychology – studied how people organize perceptual experiences in understandable ways. “The whole is other than the sum of the parts.”

Detailed explanation-4: -Behaviorism also believes in scientific methodology (e.g., controlled experiments), and that only observable behavior should be studied because this can be objectively measured. Behaviorism rejects the idea that people have free will, and believes that the environment determines all behavior.

Detailed explanation-5: -The Humanistic Perspective Humanistic psychology focuses on the importance of helping people achieve their full potential for well-being. Instead of focusing on abnormal psychology, the humanistic perspective emphasizes free will, self-actualization and self-efficacy.