Structuralism

-Structuralism: Structuralism was a school of thought that sought to identify the components (structure) of the mind (the mind was the key element to psychology at this point). Structuralists believed that the way to learn about the brain and its functions was to break the mind down into its most basic elements. They believed, the whole is equal to the sum of the parts.
-Wilhelm Wundt, who is considered the pioneer Structuralist, set up the very first psychological laboratory in 1879. Following Wundt was Titchner who popularized the field (he was one of Wundt's students). TItchner was interested in the conscious mind. He used a technique called introspection to try to understand the conscious mind. Introspection is a process of having a person "look inward", focus on, and try to understand the emotion or thought they are experiencing at that moment.

Structuralism
-Structuralism was the first school of psychology and focused on breaking down mental processes into the most basic components. Researchers tried to understand the basic elements of consciousness using a method known as introspection. Wilhelm Wundt, founder of the first psychology lab, was an advocate of this position and is often considered the founder of structuralism, despite the fact that it was his student, Edward B. Titchener who first coined the term to describe this school of thought.
-While Wundt's work helped to establish psychology as a separate science and contributed methods to experimental psychology and Titchener's development of structuralism helped establish the very first "school" of psychology, the structuralism did not last long beyond Titchener's death.
Major Structuralist Thinkers * Wilhelm Wundt * Edward B. Titchener
Criticisms of Structuralism * By today’s scientific standards, the experimental methods used to study the structures of the mind were too subjective—the use of introspection led to a lack of reliability in results. * Other critics argue that structuralism was too concerned with internal behavior, which is not directly observable and cannot be accurately measured.
Strengths of Structuralism * Structuralism is important because it is the first major school of thought in psychology. * Structuralism also influenced experimental psychology.