Describe Structuralism and Functionalism.

Capella University Structuralism and Functionalism Discussion

Question Description
For the discussion this week, consider reading the following articles on some of the more notable early psychologists and their theories:

de Freitas Araujo, S., & Marcellos, C. F. (2017). From classicism and idealism to scientific naturalism: Titchener’s Oxford years and their impact upon his early intellectual development. History of Psychology, 20(2), 148–171.
Nicolas, S., & Ferrand, L. (1999). Wundt’s laboratory at Leipzig in 1891. History of Psychology, 2(3), 194–203.
Green, C. D. (2009). Darwinian theory, functionalism, and the first American psychological revolution. American Psychologist, 64(2), 75–83.
For your initial post, choose one of the following options. In your subject line,state the option you have chosen. Feel free to embed pictures with your post.

Option 1: Introspection: Try It Yourself
Early psychologists believed that introspection required trained participants or observers. They wanted the participants to report all the details of their mental experiment. For this option, you will perform introspection (without all the training).

First, look at a bright light for a few moments and then close your eyes. Report, in as much detail as you can, what you see.

For your main post, do the following:

Describe what you saw when you closed your eyes.
Explain what Wundt or Titchener would be looking for in your experiences and what you have learned about vision from this experiment.
What are some of the strengths and weaknesses to this approach to studying mental experiences?
Explain how introspection might be valuable (or not) in research today.
Option 2: Oh, So Many Theories
A coworker asks why psychology seems to have so many theories about the same thing. Use functionalism as an example to frame your answer. Choose one of the following to discuss the relationship between:

The ideas of evolution and functionalism.
The ideas of Titchener and G. Stanley Hall.
The ideas of Wundt and functionalism.
The ideas of philosophers and functionalism.
Address the following in your answer:

Describe what the ideas have in common.
Describe how the ideas differ.
Describe how functionalism developed as a result of previous ideas and theories.
Discuss why competing psychological schools and theories occur.
**THIS IS A SHORT DISCUSSION POST, 2-3 PARAGRAPHS IS WHAT’S NEEDED**