AP PSYCHOLOGY

RESEARCH METHODS THINKING CRITICALLY WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE

THE NEED FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
Historical perspective of psychology that focused only on identifying the different components/parts of our conscious experience
A
functionalism
B
structuralism
C
Either A or B
D
None of the above
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -Psychology is a relatively young science with its experimental roots in the 19th century, compared, for example, to human physiology, which dates much earlier. As mentioned, anyone interested in exploring issues related to the mind generally did so in a philosophical context prior to the 19th century.

Detailed explanation-2: -Structuralism was founded by Wilhelm Wundt, who used controlled methods, such as introspection, to break down consciousness to its basic elements without sacrificing any of the properties of the whole. Structuralism was further developed by Wundt’s student, Edward B. Titchener.

Detailed explanation-3: -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-4: -Structuralism as a school of psychology seeks to analyze the adult mind (the total sum of experience from birth to the present) in terms of the simplest definable components and then to find how these components fit together to form more complex experiences as well as how they correlate to physical events.

There is 1 question to complete.