Page 18 - History of Psychology

Although there are many contradictions in this structural approach, this approach
also has contributions to psychology. First, this system encourages psychology as

a science. Second, structural psychology uses the introspection method as a
testing method, although it fails because it is unable to accommodate
philosophical assumptions regarding the characteristics of the mind. Third,
structuralism acts as a force of opposition to further psychological developments.

The differentiator of the structural approach is functional. Where the concept of
German psychology was brought to America and adapted to the American
character. Functionalism is an orientation in psychology that emphasizes mental

processes and not mental content that values the usefulness of psychology.
Functionalists want to know how the mind works and how the mind works. In
functional psychology, there is an appreciation of the importance of the
adaptation of species and individuals to environmental influences.

In America itself adheres to the philosophy of pragmatism which means action or
effort. Pragmatism emphasizes results, not methods. This view accepts various

methodological approaches to knowledge. This pragmatic philosophy is the
forerunner of functional psychology. This view creates an intellectual atmosphere
that does not study what individuals do, but how they do it.

William James (1842-1910), the first person in America to be associated with
psychology as a new empirical science. William James's pragmatism is based on an
in-depth understanding of empiricism, as follows:
1. The consequences of theoretical positions create the main criteria for judging
the differences between various positions.
2. If the theory exhibits a useful and satisfying effect on the organization of
experience, it can be accepted at least tentatively.
3. Experience is not a continuation of various separate senses which are then
combined through association, but experience is a continuous stream of
subjective experiences.

According to James, experience must describe the physical and mental side,
emphasizing a fully physiological psychology that emphasizes brain functions in
explaining mental experience or consciousness. So James's psychological

concept, namely the description of the belief that consciousness must be
described precisely in physical and mental dimensions, is related to his theory of
emotions. This theory was formulated for the first time in 1884, this theory we
know as the James-Lange theory of emotion, because a Danish psychologist, Carl
Lange (1834-1900) developed the same interpretation in 1885.

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