The Functionalism of William James

Psychology flourished in American during the mid- to late-1800s.Психология расцвела в Америке в середине 19го века. William James emerged as one of the major American psychologists during this period and the publication of his classic textbook, The Principles of Psychology, established him as the father of American psychology.Вильям Джеймс был известен как один из главных психологов того периода, и публикация его классического учебника «Принципы психологии» возвеличили его как отца американской психологии. His book soon became the standard text in psychology and his ideas eventually served as the basis for a new school of thought known as functionalism.Его книга вскоре стала стандартом в психологии и его идеи послужили основой для новой школы мышления известной как функционализм.

The focus of functionalism was on how behavior actually works to help people live in their environment. Functionalists utilized methods such as direct observation. While both of these early schools of thought emphasized human consciousness, their conceptions of it were significantly different. While the structuralists sought to break down mental processes into their smallest parts, the functionalists believed that consciousness existed as a more continuous and changing process. While functionalism is no longer a separate school of thought, it would go on to influence later psychologists and theories of human thought and behavior.

Назначение функционализма

What Is Motivation?

Motivation is defined as the process that initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. Motivation is what causes us to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge.

It involves the biological, emotional, social and cognitive forces that activate behavior. In everyday usage, the term motivation is frequently used to describe why a person does something. For example, you might say that a student is so motivated to get into a clinical psychology program that she spends every night studying.

Psychologists have proposed a number of different theories of motivation, including drive theory, instinct theory and humanistic theory.

Date: 2015-01-11; view: 970