Functionalism in Psychology. In psychology, functionalism refers to a broad school of thought originating in the US during the late 19th century that attempted to counter the German school of structuralism led by Edward B. Titchener. Functionalists, including psychologists William James and James Roland Angel, and philosophers George H. Mead, Archibald L. Moore, and John Dewey, stressed the importance of empirical, rational thought over an experimental, trial-and-error philosophy.
The group was concerned more with the capability of the mind than with the process of thought. The movement was thus interested primarily in the practical applications of research. Functionalism in this context, therefore, is a psychological philosophy that describes the mind as a functional tool that allows us to adapt to our environments. It posits that our mental states and behaviors are survival mechanisms, in line with our inherent biological goals. Unlike structuralism, which tries to simply understand our subjective experience of consciousness, functionalism aims to find meaning and purpose in what we experience.
The origins of functionalism are traced back to William James, the renowned American psychologist of the late 19th century. James was heavily influenced by Darwin's theory of evolution and was critical of the structural approach to psychology that had dominated the field since its inception. James argued that instead of focusing on the specific introspective elements that make up our consciousness, psychology should consider the purpose of consciousness, psychological states, and behavior. Although James is credited as being the first to advocate for a functional approach to psychology, the school of functionalism itself did not fully emerge until later in the 19th century, when scholars at the University of Chicago began to formalize the theory.
It was here that John Dewey, Harvey A. Carr, and James Rowland Angel would all develop functionalism, focusing especially on the biological and animal dimensions of learning and behavior. Another group of functionalists would emerge in Columbia University, most notably Edward Thorndike. Thorndike's work on reinforcement theory and behavior analysis provided the basis for the empirical laws that emerged under behaviorism later in the 20th century.
As functional psychology developed, so too did the field of experimental psychology. Most functionalists of the early 20th century. also pioneered novel techniques in lab and field analyses of human and animal behavior.
The experimental method in psychology has led to major breakthroughs in our understanding of the functional organization of our brains, as psychologists continue to use experiments to manipulate certain variables that may explain our behavior.