Ap Psychology Chapter 7 Summary

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History and Systems - Chapter 7 - Functionalism: Development and Founding I. Only in America A. American temperament B. Evolutionary theory embraced by the public and academics II. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) and Synthetic Philosophy A. Spencer argued 1. development of all aspects of universe is evolutionary 2. principle of "survival of the fittest" 3. "struggle for existence" B. Social Darwinism 1. application of theory of evolution to human nature and society 2. well received by Americans 3. human perfection inevitable if nothing interferes with the natural order 4. promoted individualism and a laissez-faire economic system…show more content…
established a laboratory school 3. 1904: Columbia, to work on application of psychology to educational and philosophical problems B.1896: "The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology" 1 . attacked molecularism, elementism, and reductionism of reflex arc 2. suggested reflex is a circle rather than an arc 3. behavior cannot be reduced to sensorimotor elements 4. consciousness cannot be meaningfully analyzed into elements 5. artificial analysis removes all meaning, leaves a construct 6. behavior should be treated in terms of its significance to the organism in adapting to the environment 7. proper subject for psychology: study of the total organism as it functions in its environment 8. consciousness results in appropriate responses for survival 9. functional psychology: study of the organism in use 10. argued structure and function cannot be meaningfully separated 11. influenced development of the philosophical framework for functionalism VII. James Rowland Angell (1869-1949) A. Career 1 . made functionalism into a working…show more content…
goal of psychology: to study how the mind assists the adjustment of the organism to its environment 2. 1906: "The Province of Functional Psychology" a. drew the battle lines b. argued structural psychology was the aberration 3 . identified three themes a. the psychology of mental operations 1) how a mental process operates 2) what it accomplishes 3) under what conditions it occurs b. the psychology of the fundamental utilities of consciousness 1) mediates needs of organism and demands of the environment it has survived 2) must be essential 3) must identify how it serves c. the psychology of psychophysical relations 1) no distinction between mind and body 2) total relation of organism to its environment 3) shaped functional psychology into prominent enterprise 4. gave functionalism necessary focus and stature VIII. Harvey A. Carr (1873-1954) A. -
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