Three Psychological Perspectives Comparison Essay by Jay Writtings LLC

Three Psychological Perspectives
A comparison and contrast between three psychological theories.
# 119216 | 760 words | 3 sources | APA | 2010 | US
Published on Apr 11, 2010 in Psychology (Theory)


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Description:

The paper explores the similarities and differences between three early psychological theories: functionalism, behaviorism and evolutionary psychology. The paper shows that the first and second programs are quite distinct from each other, while the third program is a synthesis of the first two programs under the paradigm of Darwinian evolution.

From the Paper:

"Functionalism is a reductive, material theory of mind derived from the idea that machines perform tasks that seem intelligent. They play chess, compose music, build automobiles, and prove mathematical theorems too complex for people to prove (Heimir & Losonsky 1998, p.301). Therefore, there must be a functional definition of intelligence, that is one that does not rely on neurological states within a central nervous system, to describe how people think and act in the world. This is the functionalist program. Therefore, the mind is a mechanical system that performs intelligent actions based upon a system of logic that determines which actions are permissible at certain times, connected to certain states of the system's components. Here, the metaphor of the mind as a computer is effective: given a specific input and a starting state, the system of the mind analyzes the input according to a system of algorithms, and thus the system produces an output, and acts on that output. So, according to the functionalist hypothesis, the mind is nothing more than a complex system of algorithms processing various inputs and outputs, and actions are outputs of the functioning of the system. Let us see how this differs from Behaviorism."

Sample of Sources Used:

  • Geirsson, H. & Losonsky, Michael. (1998). Machine Functionalism. In Beginning Metaphysics (pp.301-4). Malden, Mass.: Blackwell.
  • Hauser, Larry. Behaviorism. (2005). The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Accessed on 12 February 2006, from http://www.iep.utm.edu/b/behavior.htm.
  • Definition of Evolutionary Psychology. Accessed on 12 February 2006, from http://www.sfu.ca/~janicki/defn.htm.

Cite this Comparison Essay:

APA Format

Three Psychological Perspectives (2010, April 11) Retrieved March 29, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/comparison-essay/three-psychological-perspectives-119216/

MLA Format

"Three Psychological Perspectives" 11 April 2010. Web. 29 March. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/comparison-essay/three-psychological-perspectives-119216/>

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