Here you will find; Psychology - Difference b/w Structuralism and Functionalism (method of study). Concept of Structuralism. Concept of Functionalism. Examples. Scholars or Thinkers. Method of Study. The study of the essential components that serve as the bedrock of conscious experience is the focus of the structuralist school of psychology. This viewpoint highlights the underlying components of conscious experience and deconstructs its structural aspects into things like sensations, feelings, and images, among other things. However, we might examine the minor components that support the mind rather than studying the stimulus as it is.

1. PSYCHOLOGY- DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STRUCTURALISM AND
FUNCTIONALISM (METHOD OF STUDY)
STRUCTURALISM
The study of the essential components that serve as the bedrock of conscious
experience is the focus of the structuralist school of psychology. This
viewpoint highlights the underlying components of conscious experience
and deconstructs its structural aspects into things like sensations, feelings,
and images, among other things. However, we might examine the minor
components that support the mind rather than studying the stimulus as it is.
For instance, if someone touches a hot object or a fire, their skin feels warm
before they feel any pain, even if their foot burns. It would be a structural
approach if we each focused on something separately.
FUNCTIONALISM
William James and Cattell, two psychologists from the US, proposed it. As a
result, it claims that functionalism is the theory of the nature of mental
states. The traditional assumption that mental states are internal states of
thought is retained by functionalism, which holds that mental states are
defined by what they do rather than by what they are comprised of.

2. This school of thinking primarily focuses on what the mind does—that is, the
mental processes. Functionalists concentrated on how behaviour helps
people achieve their needs and how it helps them better adapt to their
environment. John Dewey offered suggestions on strategies to address the
educational needs of the students utilizing this strategy.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STRUCTURALISM AND
FUNCTIONALISM
➢The earliest school of thought in psychological history was structuralism.
While the structuralism viewpoint served as the stimulus for the
development of the functionalist school of thought.
➢While functionalists supported the study of the function of the mind,
structuralists were debatable when it came to the structure of the mind.
➢Structuralism examines the workings of the mind and the fundamental
elements that emerge from introspection. Contrarily, functionalism can alter
their studies, implying that people sometimes experience pain as a whole
and other times as individual components.
➢Although structuralism overlooked consciousness' essential essence,
functionalism saw it as a continuous stream of ideas.
➢Structuralism's introspective techniques gradually become problematic. The
universal components of conscious experience had to be investigated.
However, this method has been made possible by consciousness, a very
individual and subjective functionalist.

3. METHOD OF STUDY
STRUCTURALISM
This point of view highlighted the need for introspection to understand
human nature and, in particular, the anatomy of the mind.
The foundation of structuralism is the idea that the purpose of psychology is
to break consciousness down into its simplest components and examine how
these components interact. They relied on the introspective method, which
involves a careful, methodical examination of one's own conscious
experience.
Analysis of perception, association, memory, attention, and reasoning was
done structurally. Titchner and the students focused their research and tests
mostly on these issues, but feeling received the most focus.
For instance, Wundt asked his qualified subjects to describe in their own
words how they felt after being exposed to a stimulus, such as a message
written on a card. Wundt concluded that this allowed observers to
understand the nature of their thoughts through the observations made by
knowledgeable subjects.
FUNCTIONALISM
Given that the functionalist viewpoint focuses on the function of mental
processes. While experimentation and informal introspection are the study's
two main research methods. As a result, this kind of research can be used to
examine real issues like business, law, educational levels, etc.
The concern of structuralism on the structure of the mind was drawn upon
by functionalism, which in turn increased concern about the roles of the
mind and, later, the psychological theory of behaviour.
A functionalist theory, for instance, might characterize pain as an apparent
injury-related condition that causes discomfort, the desire to get rid of that
discomfort, the belief that something is wrong with the body, and, in the

4. absence of any stronger, contradictory impulses, the capacity to cause the
body to wince or moan.
For More Articles Check This...