Question

What are the two early schools of thought in psychology (structuralism and functionalism) and what was their approach to their subject matter? What are the six main perspectives we find in psychology? It is important that you know the differences between these perspectives in terms of their explanations for human nature, causes of behavior, and the main methods and strategies employed. What is the levels-of-analysis framework? You may be expected to apply the levels-of-analysis to a set of behaviors and/or cognitions.What are the two early schools of thought in psychology (structuralism and functionalism) and what was their approach to their subject matter? What are the six main perspectives we find in psychology? It is important that you know the differences between these perspectives in terms of their explanations for human nature, causes of behavior, and the main methods and strategies employed. What is the levels-of-analysis framework? You may be expected to apply the levels-of-analysis to a set of behaviors and/or cognitions.What are the two early schools of thought in psychology (structuralism and functionalism) and what was their approach to their subject matter? What are the six main perspectives we find in psychology? It is important that you know the differences between these perspectives in terms of their explanations for human nature, causes of behavior, and the main methods and strategies employed. What is the levels-of-analysis framework? You may be expected to apply the levels-of-analysis to a set of behaviors and/or cognitions.What are the two early schools of thought in psychology (structuralism and functionalism) and what was their approach to their subject matter? What are the six main perspectives we find in psychology? It is important that you know the differences between these perspectives in terms of their explanations for human nature, causes of behavior, and the main methods and strategies employed. What is the levels-of-analysis framework? You may be expected to apply the levels-of-analysis to a set of behaviors and/or cognitions.What are the two early schools of thought in psychology (structuralism and functionalism) and what was their approach to their subject matter? What are the six main perspectives we find in psychology? It is important that you know the differences between these perspectives in terms of their explanations for human nature, causes of behavior, and the main methods and strategies employed. What is the levels-of-analysis framework? You may be expected to apply the levels-of-analysis to a set of behaviors and/or cognitions.What are the two early schools of thought in psychology (structuralism and functionalism) and what was their approach to their subject matter? What are the six main perspectives we find in psychology? It is important that you know the differences between these perspectives in terms of their explanations for human nature, causes of behavior, and the main methods and strategies employed. What is the levels-of-analysis framework? You may be expected to apply the levels-of-analysis to a set of behaviors and/or cognitions.What are the two early schools of thought in psychology (structuralism and functionalism) and what was their approach to their subject matter? What are the six main perspectives we find in psychology? It is important that you know the differences between these perspectives in terms of their explanations for human nature, causes of behavior, and the main methods and strategies employed. What is the levels-of-analysis framework? You may be expected to apply the levels-of-analysis to a set of behaviors and/or cognitions.What are the two early schools of thought in psychology (structuralism and functionalism) and what was their approach to their subject matter? What are the six main perspectives we find in psychology? It is important that you know the differences between these perspectives in terms of their explanations for human nature, causes of behavior, and the main methods and strategies employed. What is the levels-of-analysis framework? You may be expected to apply the levels-of-analysis to a set of behaviors and/or cognitions.What are the two early schools of thought in psychology (structuralism and functionalism) and what was their approach to their subject matter? What are the six main perspectives we find in psychology? It is important that you know the differences between these perspectives in terms of their explanations for human nature, causes of behavior, and the main methods and strategies employed. What is the levels-of-analysis framework? You may be expected to apply the levels-of-analysis to a set of behaviors and/or cognitions.What are the two early schools of thought in psychology (structuralism and functionalism) and what was their approach to their subject matter? What are the six main perspectives we find in psychology? It is important that you know the differences between these perspectives in terms of their explanations for human nature, causes of behavior, and the main methods and strategies employed. What is the levels-of-analysis framework? You may be expected to apply the levels-of-analysis to a set of behaviors and/or cognitions.

Answer 1

Psychology was established as a science around 19th century. When psychology was first established separately from philosophy as a science, the debate about how to explain human behavior and analyze the mind began. Two men, who worked in the 19th century, are commonly regarded as the pioneers of psychology as a separate science and academic discipline from philosophy.They were Wilhelm Wundt and William James. At this time the first two philosophical ideas formed were structuralism and functionalism. Although neither of the ideas remain today, both contributed greatly to the advancement of modern psychology.

Structuralism originated as the first school of thought and Wilhelm Wundt, founder of the first experimental psychology lab, promoted some of the ideas associated with the structuralist school. Structuralism focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components. Researchers tried to understand the basic elements of consciousness using a method known as introspection. Though, Wilhelm Wundt is associated with this school of thought, it was his student, Edward B. Titchener, who came up with the term structuralism. Structuralism as a school of psychology attempts to explore the adult mind (the complete amount of experience from birth to the present) in terms of the simplest definable components, and then figure out how these components work together to create more dynamic perceptions and how they interact with physical events. But today experts argue that the experimental methods used were more subjective. The use of introspection led to a lack of reliability in the test results. Some critics claim that structuralism is too concerned with internal behavior that is not clearly measurable and can not be evaluated accurately. Still Structuralism is considered relevant as it was the first major school of thought in psychology.

William James (1842–1910) was the first American psychologist to look at how psychology would work from a particular viewpoint. As James saw it, the object of psychology was to research the role of action in the world, and as such its perspective became known as functionalism. Functionalism was developed as a response to structuralism and strongly influenced by William James's work and Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory. Functionalists sought a more systematic and accurate way of explaining the mental processes. Instead of focusing on the consciousness components, functionalists focused on the meaning of consciousness and behavior. Functionalism also stressed differences between individuals which had a profound effect on education.  Like Wundt, James believed that introspection could serve as one means by which someone might study mental activities, but James also relied on more objective measures, including the use of various recording devices, and examinations of concrete products of mental activities and of anatomy and physiology (Gordon, 1995). This idea was criticized by Wundt who said that it was nothing more than literature. Functionalism had an important impact on psychology. It influenced behavioral development, and applied psychology. Functionalism has also influenced the educational system, particularly with regard to the belief of John Dewey that children should learn at the level to which they are prepared for development.

Six main perspectives that can be found in psychology are:

• Behaviorist perspective: Behaviorism is distinct from most other strategies as they perceive individuals (and animals) as being influenced by their environment, and mainly because we are the product of what we have learned from our environment. The behaviorist viewpoint is concerned with how observable behavior (called response) is influenced by environmental influences (called stimuli).The behaviorist perspective proposes two main processes by which people learn from their environment: classical conditioning and conditioning of the operant. Classical conditioning involves learning through experience, and operational conditioning involves learning from the behavioral effects. Today this perspective is used by therapists and counselors to treat various mental health issues.
• Psycho dynamic perspective: This perspective was born from the works of Freud .This view of psychology and human behavior highlights the role of the unconscious mind, early childhood experiences and interpersonal relationships in explaining human behavior and treating mental illnesses. Freud believed that the unconscious mind was composed of three key elements. The 'id', the 'ego' and the 'superego' . The id is the psyche component which includes all of the innate and unconscious desires. The ego is the psyche factor which has to deal with the real world 's demands. The superego is the last part of the mind to form and is associated with controlling all of our values , expectations, and beliefs internalized.
• Cognitive perspective: The cognitive viewpoint discusses "mental" processes like memory, vision, attention, etc. It considers us and the way we process information ( e.g. input-process-output) as being close to computers. The cognitive perspective has grown tremendously in recent decades, having been influenced by psychologists such as Jean Piaget and Albert Bandura. Cognitive psychologists also use an information-processing model to conceptualize how information is obtained, interpreted, stored and used (comparing the human mind to a computer).
• Biological perspective: The biological perspective notes that essentially, all emotions, feelings & actions have a biological origin. This is one of the great psychological insights that includes issues like researching the brain, anatomy, hormones, and the immune and nervous systems. Theorists who study behavioral genomics from the biological perspective consider how genes affect behavior. The biological theory assumes most behaviors are inherited and have a function of adaptation (or evolution). Researchers with a biological psychological perspective may look at how genetics influence actions or how personality causes damage to different areas of the brain.
• Humanistic perspective:  Humanistic psychology is a psychological approach that accentuates the whole person's analysis (knowing as holism). Humanistic psychologists look at human behavior, not only through the observer's eyes, but also through the eyes of the person doing the behavior. Humanistic psychologists claim that the action of an individual is related to his inner feelings and self image. Positive psychology which aims at helping people to live a happier healthier lives is a recent psychological movement which originates from humanist psychology.
• Cross-cultural perspective: Cross-cultural psychology is a relatively recent approach that has evolved significantly in the last 20 years. Within this school of thought psychologists and scholars look at human behavior through various cultures. Researchers have been able to study how culture influences behavior and thinking. People tend to expend less effort in individualistic cultures (such as the USA) when they are part of a group — a phenomenon known as social loafing. People tend to work harder in collectivistic cultures (such as China), when they are part of a group.
• Evolutionary perspective: It involves studying the influence of evolution in the development of psychological traits such as memory, perception or language. In short, the focus of evolutionary psychology is on how evolution influenced the mind and behaviour. Although applicable to any organism with a nervous system, most of evolutionary psychology research is focused on humans. Psychologists taking this approach attribute the fundamental concepts of evolution to psychological processes (like natural selection). The evolutionary viewpoint indicates that these thought processes occur as they serve an evolutionary purpose — meaning they help in the survival and reproduction of humans.

The Levels Of Analysis [LOA] are specific types of psychological evaluation. The three LOAs are biological, socio-cultural and cognitive. Biological is study of the brain's physical features, such as physiology and chemicals. Cognitive focuses on the study of other cognitive functions in the brain, such as studying memory and cognitive processes.