American Functionalism

Psychology in America: A Feeling of Independence Everyone wanted to be free to do their own thing Different people thinking about very different things The need to be unconstrained by dogma was important

What is Functionalism? Insect analogy How and why the mind functions All behavior serves the purpose of survival e.g., Darwin was a functionalist

George Trumbull Ladd (b. 1842) Elements of Physiological Psychology (1887) The SELF The function of consciousness? Psychology explains the purpose of mind James's “Principles of Psychology” Revisited

The ”Official" Beginning of Functionalism

John Dewey (b. 1859) Psychology (1886) Moves to University of Chicago (1896)

1896: The Reflex Arc A reflex is not an entity in itself, it is part of one's adaptation to its environment Reflexive reactions should not be broken down into component parts, e.g., the stimulus sensation and the response

The Chicago School of Functionalism Dewey believed that philosophy should be useful to society Turned to education later in his career Advocate of “progressive education”

James Rowland Angell (b. 1869) 1894: Chair at Chicago RT experiments with a functionalistic interpretation 1903: Paper that defined functionalism

Angell's Definition of Functional Psychology The study of mental operations as opposed to mental elements The psychology of the uses of the mind Concerned with all of the relationships between the organism and its world and with all relationships between mind and body No fixed agenda; no obligatory methods, no required concepts No theory, no program, no set of methods, or even much of a point of view nothing

Columbia School of Functionalism Cattell's research dealt with individual differences Cattell’s Students

Cattell’s Eugenics Psychology and Social Progress (1933) Cattell called for three major modifications in social mores and law: The prohibition of interracial marriage and children Increasing the distance between people of dissimilar race Promoting competition and eugenic selection

Edward L. Thorndike (b. 1874)

Cat-in-the-puzzle-box experiment

Studied measurement and taught statistics Educational Psychology (1913) Thorndike & Lorge word frequency counts Eugenics fan

Robert S. Woodworth (b. 1869) Physiological psychologist 1902: studied with Kulpe & Sherrington 1911: revised and co-authored Ladd's book “Motivology” – mechanism and drive “Experimental Psychology” (1938) “Contemporary Schools of Psychology” (1931)

The Psychological Corporation Formed in 1921 by Catell, Thorndike, and Woodworth Marketed psychological tests to practicing psychologists and psychiatrists Psychcorp

Functionalism at Columbia Edna Heidbreder (1933), “The psychological scene at Columbia presents a motley aspect.... Animal psychology, the psychology of tests and measurement, the various kinds of applied psychology, the orthodox and unorthodox varieties of experimental psychology, theoretical discussions of learning, of intelligence, of measurement, and of the bearing of psychology generally--all are represented, and all go their separate ways.”

The Founding of American Psychology 1875: James has first lab in U.S. at Harvard 1883: 1st PRODUCTIVE lab at Johns Hopkins set up by Hall 1883: 1st continuously running lab at Penn 1888: Indiana (William Bryan) 1888: Wisconsin (Joseph Jastrow) 1889: Clark (Edmund Sanford)

1892: The First APA Convention In the 1890's, predominant mood was still structuralistic Program of papers: 12 papers presented by 9 people 5 papers dealt with historical matters or with local events 6 papers reported experiments on psychophysics, sensory phenomena, and reaction time link