**Structuralism in psychology refers to the theory founded by Edward B.

Titchener, with the goal

to describe the structure of the mind in terms of the most primitive elements of mental experience.
[1]
This theory focused on three things: the individual elements of consciousness, how they
organized into more complex experiences, and how these mental phenomena correlated with
physical events.[2] The mental elements structure themselves in such a way to allow conscious
experience.

Today, the theory of structuralism has become virtually extinct. While researchers are still working
to offer objective experimental approaches to measuring conscious experience, in particular
within the field of cognitive psychology, the use of Titchener's form of introspection is no longer
used. Today, any introspective methodologies are done under highly controlled situations and are
understood to be subjective and retrospective. Proponents argue that psychology can still gain
useful information from using introspection in this case.

**Cognitive psychology is a subdiscipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes.

Cognitive psychology is the scientific investigation of human cognition, that is, all our mental
abilities – perceiving, learning, remembering, thinking, reasoning, and understanding. The term
“cognition” stems from the Latin word “ cognoscere” or "to know". Fundamentally, cognitive
psychology studies how people acquire and apply knowledge or information. It is closely related
to the highly interdisciplinary cognitive science and influenced by artificial intelligence, computer
science, philosophy, anthropology, linguistics, biology, physics, and neuroscience.

Cognitive psychology research has produced an extensive body of principles, representations,

and algorithms. Successful applications range from custom-built expert systems to mass-
produced software and consumer electronics: (1) Development of computer interfaces that
collaborate with users to meet their information needs and operate as intelligent agents, (2)
Development of a flexible information infrastructure based on knowledge representation and
reasoning methods, (3) Development of smart tools in the financial industry, (4) Development of
mobile, intelligent robots that can perform tasks usually reserved for humans, (5) Development of
bionic components of the perceptual and cognitive neural system such as cochlear
and retinal implants.

The intellectual origins of cognitive psychology began with cognitive approaches to psychological
problems at the end of the 1800s and early 1900s in the works of Wundt, Cattell, and William
James (Boring, 1950).

**Functional psychology or functionalism refers to a general psychological philosophy that

considers mental life and behavior in terms of active adaptation to the person's environment[1]. As
such, it provides the general basis for developing psychological theories not readily testable by
controlled experiments and for applied psychology.

John Dewey, George Herbert Mead, Harvey A. Carr, and especially James Rowland Angell were
the main proponents of functionalism at the University of Chicago.

** Psychodynamics is the systematized study and theory of the psychological forces that
underlie human behavior, emphasizing the interplay between unconscious and conscious
motivation.[1]
The original concept of "psychodynamics" was developed by Sigmund Freud.[2] Freud suggested
that psychological processes are flows ofpsychological energy in a complex brain, establishing
"psychodynamics" on the basis of psychological energy, which he referred to as libido.
The psychodynamic psychotherapy is a less intensive form compared to
classical psychoanalysis practiced by strict Freudians, demanding sessions only once weekly
instead of 3-5 times weekly which was typical for traditional psychoanalysts.
Psychodynamic therapies depend on a theory of inner conflicts which surface in behaviour or
emotions. Generally, one conflict is subconscious.[3]

At present, psychodynamics is an evolving multi-disciplinary field which analyzes and studies

human thought process, response patterns, and influences. Research in this field provides
insights into a number of areas, including:[18]

1. Understanding and anticipating the range of specific conscious and unconscious

responses to specific sensory inputs, as images, colors, textures, sounds, etc.
2. Utilizing the communicative nature of movement and primal physiological
gestures to affect and study specific mind-body states.
3. Examining the capacity for the mind and senses to directly affect physiological
response and biological change.

** The Behaviorist's theory is another attempt to explain human personality. It is in conflict with
the Psychoanalytic and the Humanistic theory (discussed in next room) in several important
ways. Most important of these are the ways in which each claims how human personality is
formed. The Behaviorist in particular believes that cultural and sub-cultural conditioning molds
and shapes behavior and subsequently the personality. The unconscious is of little concern to the
behaviorist. A human being, according to the behaviorist, has his life determined for him since he
is a product of the culture that causes him to be as he is. The theory, therefore, is very
deterministic. The Psychoanalytic and the Humanistic theories are much less so. Therapy in the
Behaviorist model bases on the principles of learning, with all of learning's processes or methods:
conditioning, reinforcing (rewards, denials, punishment), desensitization, aversion therapy,
modeling, imitation, etc. Considering this theory's attitude toward the denial of a person's free will
(humanism's point of view -- and to a lesser degree the Psychoanalytic), we get an idea how little
the theory is concerned with any outside energy or force -- any that has an effect on human
behavior. This aspect of humankind is simply ignored or is considered non-existent.

--- Classical conditioning (also Pavlovian or respondent conditioning, Pavlovian

reinforcement) is a form of associative learning that was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov.
[1]
The typical procedure for inducing classical conditioning involves presentations of a
neutral stimulusalong with a stimulus of some significance. The neutral stimulus could be any
event that does not result in an overt behavioral response from the organism under investigation.
Pavlov referred to this as a conditioned stimulus (CS). Conversely, presentation of the significant
stimulus necessarily evokes an innate, often reflexive, response. Pavlov called these
the unconditioned stimulus (US) and unconditioned response (UR), respectively. If the CS and
the US are repeatedly paired, eventually the two stimuli become associated and the organism
begins to produce a behavioral response to the CS. Pavlov called this the conditioned response
(CR).

--- Operant conditioning is the use of consequences to modify the occurrence and form of
behavior. Operant conditioning is distinguished fromclassical conditioning (also called respondent
conditioning, or Pavlovian conditioning) in that operant conditioning deals with the modification of
"voluntary behavior" or operant behavior. Operant behavior "operates" on the environment and is
maintained by its consequences, while classical conditioning deals with the conditioning of
respondent behaviors which are elicited by antecedent conditions. Behaviors conditioned via a
classical conditioning procedure are not maintained by consequences.[1] The main dependent
variable is the rate of response that is developed over a period of time. New operant responses
can be further developed and shaped by reinforcing close approximations of the desired
response.

** Gestalt psychology or gestaltism (German: Gestalt - "essence or shape of an entity's

complete form") of theBerlin School is a theory of mind and brain positing that the operational
principle of the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies. The Gestalt
effect refers to the form-forming capability of our senses, particularly with respect to the visual
recognition of figures and whole forms instead of just a collection of simple lines and curves. In
psychology, gestaltism is often opposed to structuralism and Wundt. The phrase "The whole is
greater than the sum of the parts" is often used when explaining Gestalt theory.[1]

The Gestalt laws are used in user interface design. The laws of similarity and proximity can, for
example, be used as guides for placing radio buttons. They may also be used in designing
computers and software for more intuitive human use. Examples include the design and layout of
a desktop's shortcuts in rows and columns. Gestalt psychology also has applications in computer
vision for trying to make computers "see" the same things as humans do

** Existentialism is a philosophical movement that arose in the twentieth century. It includes a

number of thinkers who emphasize common themes, but whose ultimatemetaphysical views often
diverge radically because they believe the universe is unfathomable. Philosophically the term
“existentialism” came to be associated primarily with the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.
Many other philosophers who are often tied to the existential movement, such as Martin
Heidegger, Gabriel Marcel, andKarl Jaspers, rejected the term “existentialism,” though they
continued to deal with existential themes broadly construed. In German, the
phrase Existenzphilosophie(philosophy of existence) is also used. Some of the common themes
that unite these various existential thinkers are anxiety, boredom, freedom, will, subjectivity,
awareness of death, risk, responsibility, and consciousness of existing. Perhaps the central issue
that draws these thinkers together, however, is their emphasis upon the primacy of existence in
philosophical questioning and the importance of responsible human action in the face of
uncertainty.

** Humanistic psychology is a psychological perspective which rose to prominence in 1960s

drawing onexistentialist thought coupled with phenomenology and an emphasis on the
importance of personal responsibility, free will, and self-actualization.[1]

The humanistic approach has its roots in existentialist thought

(see Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, andSartre). It is also sometimes understood within the
context of the three different forces of psychology:behaviorism, psychoanalysis and humanism.
Behaviorism grew out of Ivan Pavlov's work with the conditioned reflex, and laid the foundations
for academic psychology in the United States associated with the names of John B.
Watson and B.F. Skinner. This school was later called the science of behavior. Abraham
Maslow later gave behaviorism the name "the second force". The "first force" came out of Freud's
research of psychoanalysis, and the psychologies of Alfred Adler, Erik Erikson, Carl Jung, Erich
Fromm, Karen Horney, Otto Rank, Melanie Klein, Harry Stack Sullivan, and others. These
theorists focused on the depth of the human psyche, which, they stressed, must be combined
with those of the conscious mind in order to produce a healthy human personality

** Biological psychology, of biopsychology, is the application of the principles of biology to the

study of mental processes and behavior, that is the study of psychology in terms of bodily
mechanisms. The view that psychological processes have biological (or physiological) correlates,
is the basic assumption of the whole field of biological psychology. Through a variety of research
methods, psychologists in this field hope to uncover information that enriches human
understanding of their own mental processes, as well as providing valuable data that enable
those in medical fields to better treat patients with a variety of disorders, both physical and
mental.
Biopsychology has been a prominent field of psychology from the start in Europe and North
America and remains a major area of research and instruction in many countries. In the last two
centuries, biopsychology has found new ways to answer old questions, has tackled important
new questions, and has abandoned some problems as poorly defined. Carefully designed
behavioral experiments and innovative biomedical techniques have been essential to its
progress.
The current scope of biological psychology includes the following themes: Evolution of brain and
behavior; development of the nervous system and behavior over the life span;
psychopharmacology; sensory and perceptual processes; control and coordination of movement
and actions; control of behavioral states (motivation), including sex and reproductive behavior,
and regulation of internal states; biological rhythms and sleep; emotions and mental disorders;
neural mechanisms of learning and memory, language and cognition; and recovery of function
after damage to the nervous system. Developing from biological psychology and overlapping with
parts of it are such fields as behavior genetics as well as hormones and behavior. Through all
these methods, biological psychology is a hopeful domain, one that has much to offer in terms of
improving the quality of life of the healthy as well as those suffering from disorders.

** Evolutionary psychology (EP) attempts to explain psychological traits—such

as memory, perception, orlanguage—as adaptations, that is, as the functional products of natural
selection or sexual selection.Adaptationist thinking about physiological mechanisms, such as the
heart, lungs, and immune system, is common in evolutionary biology. Evolutionary psychology
applies the same thinking to psychology.

Evolutionary psychologists see those behaviors and emotions that are nearly universal, such as
fear of spiders and snakes, as more likely to reflect evolved adaptations. Evolved psychological
adaptations (such as the ability to learn a language) interact with cultural inputs to produce
specific behaviors (e.g., the specific language learned). This view is contrary to the idea that
human mental faculties are general-purpose learning mechanisms.
Psychology-study of human behavior,about how and why people behave,feel or think the way they do.
-started in the year 1879.
-focuses mainly on biology and philosophy.
Rene Descartes-introduce the concept of Dualism.
-nature vs. nurture

Historical Origins:

1. Wilhelm Wundt-1879 Germany,set up the first formal laboratory to find natural laws of the human mind.
-his main interest is PERCEPTION.

2. Bradford Titchener-broke consciousness into 3 elements:physical sensations,feelings and

images(memory).
-founder of STRUCTURALISM.

Structuralism-first school of psychology aimed at analyzing the basic elements of conscious mental
experience through the use of introspection.

3 components(la ko kblo kng sng ano):

*mental processes
*feelings
*experiences

4 basic Skin sensations:

*warmth
*cold
*pain
*pressure

3. William James- first American psychologist.

-1875, he offered a class in psychology at Harvard,Massachusetts.
-discovered FUNCTIONALISM.

Functionalism- explore how an organism uses perceptual abilities to function in its environment.

4. Sigmund Freud- doctor or neurologist.

-introduced psychoanalysis,the couch,personality stages and fixation.
-his theory is called Psychodynamic Theory.

5. John B. Watson-argued that all(all that is discussed above) is just a superstition.

-focuses on observable,measurable behaviors.

2 kinds of behaviorist:
*classical conditioning
*operant conditioning

Behaviorism- school of psychology that studies observable,measurable behavior.

Gestalt Psychology-discovered by Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, Kurt Koffka.

-perception
-in German,Gestalt means whole or form.

Gestalt-studies how people perceive and experience object as a whole pattern.

Existentialist Psychology- focuses on the meaninglessness and alienation of modern life and how these
factors lead to apathy and psychological problem.

Humanistic Psychology- deals with yourself.

Cognitive Psychology- devoted to the study of mental processes in the broadest sense.
-thinking,learning,remembering.
Biological or Physiological Psychology- emphasis on the biological processes and heredity to explain
behavior.

Evolutionary Psychology- explore origins of behavior and their adaptive value.