structuralism

Examples of structuralism in the following topics:

• Early Frameworks: Structuralism and Functionalism

  • Structuralism and functionalism were two of the earliest frameworks of psychological thought.
  • The mental elements structure themselves in such a way to allow conscious experience.
  • Psychology 101 - Wundt & James: Structuralism & Functionalism - Vook
  • Here, the foundations of structuralism and functionalism are contrasted.
  • He lay the groundwork for what would later become the theory of structuralism.

• Introducing the Neuron

  • An axon, at its most basic, is a tube-like structure that carries an electrical impulse from the cell body (or from another cell's dendrites) to the structures at opposite end of the neuron—axon terminals, which can then pass the impulse to another neuron.
  • The cell body contains a specialized structure, the axon hillock, which serves as a junction between the cell body and the axon.
  • It is a gap where specialized chemical interactions can occur, rather than an actual structure.
  • The structure of motor neurons is multipolar, meaning each cell contains a single axon and multiple dendrites.
  • Like motor neurons, they are multipolar in structure.

• Lower-Level Structures

  • The brain's lower-level structures consist of the brain stem, the spinal cord, and the cerebellum.
  • The brain's lower-level structures consist of the brain stem and spinal cord, along with the cerebellum.
  • Each of these structures is described below.
  • The spinal cord is a tail-like structure embedded in the vertebral canal of the spine.
  • Outline the location and functions of the lower-level structures of the brain

• Levels of Processing

  • There are three levels of processing for verbal data: structural, phonetic, and semantic.
  • These levels progress from the most shallow (structural) to the deepest (semantic).
  • Structural processing examines the structure of a word—for example, the font of the typed word or the letters within in it.
  • Structural processing is the shallowest level of processing: If you see a sign for a restaurant but only engage in structural processing, you might remember that the sign was purple with a cursive font, but not actually remember the name of the restaurant.
  • Phonetic processing is deeper than structural processing; that is, we are more likely to remember verbal information if we process it phonetically.

• The Structure of Language

  • All languages have underlying structural rules that make meaningful communication possible.
  • But all languages have structural underpinnings that make them logical for the people who speak and understand them.
  • Five major components of the structure of language are phonemes, morphemes, lexemes, syntax, and context.
  • ASL and other sign languages have all the same structural underpinnings that spoken languages do.

• Early Roots of Psychology

  • Descartes believed that the two interacted only through a tiny structure at the base of the brain called the pineal gland.
  • Titchener, an English professor and a student under Wundt, expanded upon Wundt's ideas and used them to found the theory of structuralism.
  • As structuralism struggled to survive the scrutiny of the scientific method, new approaches to studying the mind were sought.
  • He laid the groundwork for what would later become the theory of structuralism.
  • Here, the foundations of structuralism and functionalism are contrasted.

• Introduction to Social Psychology and Social Perception

  • One persistent theme in social psychology is the structure-agency debate.
  • It involves questions about the nature of social behavior: for example, does social behavior ultimately stem from the individual, or is it largely a product of socialization, interaction, and greater social structures?
  • Structure is the recurrent patterns or arrangements that influence or limit the choices and opportunities available.
  • The structure-versus-agency debate may be understood as an issue of socialization against autonomy in determining whether an individual acts as a free agent or in a manner dictated by social structure.
  • Some theorize that what we know as our social existence is largely determined by the overall structure of society.

• Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality

  • This theory, known as Freud's structural theory of personality, places great emphasis on the role of unconscious psychological conflicts in shaping behavior and personality.
  • Conflicts among these three structures, and our efforts to find balance among what each of them "desires," determines how we behave and approach the world.
  • The id, the most primitive of the three structures, is concerned with instant gratification of basic physical needs and urges.
  • In his singular emphasis on the structure of the human mind, Freud paid little to no attention to the impact of environment, sociology, or culture.
  • According to Freud's structural model, the personality is divided into the id, ego, and superego.

• Evaluating the Psychodynamic Approach to Personality

  • While Freud's theories of the structure and dynamics of human personality strongly predict human action, they are not without limitation.
  • These objections raise issues with many of Freud's theories and methods including his singular focus on the structure of the human mind, his myopic view of human sexuality, his treatment using free association and transference, his reluctance to study children, and his utter lack of empirical evidence.
  • Freud's theory rested on the existence of a particular structure of the human mind.
  • Freud believed that psychic energy functioned much like any other (as in thermodynamics) and thus, personality could be predicted and manipulated using transformations and exchanges of energy among the various structures of the mind.
  • According to Freud's structural model, the personality is divided into the id, ego, and superego.

• Neuroplasticity

  • During most of the 20th century, the consensus among neuroscientists was that brain structure is relatively immutable after a critical period during early childhood.
  • Learning takes place when there is either a change in the internal structure of neurons or a heightened number of synapses between neurons.
  • "Synaptic (or neuronal or axon) pruning" refers to neurological regulatory processes that facilitate changes in neural structure by reducing the overall number of neurons and synapses, leaving more efficient synaptic configurations.
  • Since the infant brain has such a large capacity for growth, it must eventually be pruned down to remove unnecessary neuronal structures from the brain.
  • As the human brain develops, the need for more complex neuronal associations becomes much more pertinent, and simpler associations formed at childhood are replaced by more intricately interconnected structures.