development of cognitive psychology

Valarie-student 2 response to the discussion

Compare and contrast the three antecedents to cognitive psychology and explain which one you think had the most influence on the development of cognitive psychology.

Behaviorism, functionalism, and structuralism are the three primary approaches of cognitive psychology. Behaviorism is the study of outward, visible behaviors. People perform or do not implement specific behaviors based on incentives and penalties, not necessarily morality or mental processes, according to this viewpoint. The how and why of the human mind are central to functionalism. What we do and why we feel compelled to do it. Our mental functions. Structuralism is exactly what it sounds like: it is concerned with the structure of the brain and how various parts interact to form a whole. When a person sees a picture, structuralism posits that the stimulus is broken down into a million parts, each of which is absorbed at the same time yet separately to form a full component, the picture. When it comes to deciding which of the two theories was more influential, I lean toward structuralism. This one attracted me because of the structure of cognitive psychology itself. Structuralism arrived first, paving the way for functionalism, as well as experimental psychology, which is still frequently employed in the field today (Blevins, 2014). Functionalism may not be what it is if Structuralism is not first.

Explain Skinner’s general views to learning and conditioning. Do you agree with Skinner’s views? Why or why not? Provide some examples of rewards and punishment and how those are explained in terms Skinner’s views on operant conditioning.