Key Concepts in Psychology: Structuralism, Functionalism, and Major Theorists

Structuralism

Early school of psychology that analyzed conscious experience by breaking it into basic components; used introspection. Example: describing an apple by its color, shape, and taste.

Functionalism

Focuses on how mental and behavioral processes help people adapt and survive. Example: studying why fear helps humans avoid danger.

Introspection

Self-reporting thoughts and feelings to study the mind. Example: Wundt asking subjects to describe their sensations when looking at a rose.

Wilhelm Wundt

Father of psychology; opened the first psych lab (1879); used introspection to study consciousness.

William James

Founder of functionalism; studied how behavior and mental processes serve adaptive functions; wrote Principles of Psychology.

Sigmund Freud

Founder of the psychodynamic perspective; emphasized unconscious drives, childhood experiences, and internal conflicts.

John B. Watson

Founder of behaviorism; emphasized studying observable behavior; famous for the Little Albert experiment.

B.F. Skinner

Behaviorist; focused on operant conditioning (reinforcement and punishment shape behavior).

Carl Rogers

Humanistic psychologist; emphasized unconditional positive regard and helping people reach their potential.

Abraham Maslow

Humanistic psychologist; developed hierarchy of needs and concept of self-actualization.

Ivan Pavlov

Behaviorist; discovered classical conditioning with dogs (salivation to conditioned stimuli).

Jean Piaget

Cognitive psychologist; studied stages of child development and how children build schemas.

Charles Darwin

Developed theory of natural selection; inspired evolutionary psychology (traits aiding survival get passed on).

Biopsychosocial perspective

Modern approach combining biological, psychological, and social factors to understand behavior and mental processes.