What is the difference between the functionalist and cognitivist approaches to psychology

Summary: Though behaviorism and cognitive psychology are very different, both are needed by therapists and both are important in their own way depending on the patient and the situation. Difference between Behaviorism and Cognitive psychology. Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects. MLA 8 P, Rachita. Name required. Email required. Please note: comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment.

There is no need to resubmit your comment. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. However, although there are similarities between the human mind and the operations of a computer inputs and outputs, storage systems, the use of a central processor the computer analogy has been criticized by many. Such machine reductionism simplicity ignores the influence of human emotion and motivation on the cognitive system and how this may affect our ability to process information.

Behaviorism assumes that people are born a blank slate tabula rasa and are not born with cognitive functions like schemas , memory or perception. The cognitive approach does not always recognize physical re: biological psychology and environmental re: Behaviorism factors in determining behavior.

Cognitive psychology has influenced and integrated with many other approaches and areas of study to produce, for example, social learning theory , cognitive neuropsychology and artificial intelligence AI. Another strength is that the research conducted in this area of psychology very often has applications in the real world. The basis of CBT is to change the way the persons processes their thoughts to make them more rational or positive. McLeod, S. Cognitive psychology. Simply Psychology. Atkinson, R.

Chapter: Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In Spence, K. The psychology of learning and motivation Volume 2. New York: Academic Press. Beck, A. Beck Anxiety Inventory Manual.

San Antonio: Harcourt Brace and Company. Hollon, S. Cognitive and cognitive-behavioral therapies. Garfield Eds. New York: Wiley.

An aspect of Gestalt psychology. Miller, G. The magical number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review , 63 2 : 81— They believed that this would allow them to evaluate how the mind mental processes functions in enabling an individual to adapt to a particular environment.

Functionalists considered introspection as a possible method for comprehending the complex mental processes. Behaviorism is also a school of thought in psychology pioneered by John B. Watson, Ivan Pavlov, and B. F Skinner in s. Unlike functionalism, Behaviorism emerged with the objective of highlighting the importance of the external behavior of human beings. They believed that the study of the human mind was futile as it could not be observed.

They further pointed out that behavior was a response to the external stimuli. Psychologists like William James criticized structuralism and proposed alternatives.

James suggested that the mind and consciousness existed for a purpose, which should be the focus of the study. He also suggested that psychology needed to be practical rather than purely theoretical as was proposed in the structuralist approach.

Functionalism also was focused on more objective aspects rather than introspection. Both structuralism and functionalism were important theories in their time and were among the first formal psychological theories. Structuralism influenced the development of experimental psychology and was a theory that began shaping psychology as a separate field. Functionalism appeared as an answer to structuralism.

It also influenced the development of behaviorism, a theory that was very significant in psychology. It can be said that the main difference between structuralism and functionalism is in what they study.

Structuralism studies the human mind and the basic units that can be identified through introspection. Both approaches have an important historical significance and have influenced the development of psychology. Difference between structuralism and functionalism. Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects.