What are the three main schools of thought

Transcription

Find a transcription for this episode here. Mahalo nui loa to Toni Atwell for transcribing this episode! You rock!

Keywords

Sociology, theory, social theory, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, structural functionalism

Sources

1. Definition of social theory 
2. Understanding Social Problems, 5th ed by Mooney, Knox, and Schacht, 2007.
3. A fun and short video from Crash Course titled, “Major Sociological Paradigms” that may help better understand the three theories

   1. The three major schools of thought surrounding the phenomenon of globalisation are Hyperglobalizers, Sceptics and Transformationalists. Hyperglobalizers argues that Globalisation is here to stay. “Today’s global economy is genuinely borderless. Information, capital and innovation flow all over the world at top speed, enabled by technology and fuelled by consumers’ desires for access to the best and least expensive products”. (K. Ohmae, 1995) The main arguments put forward by Hyperglobalizers is that it is a new era, it is essentially an economic phenomenon, that the global marketplace rules supreme and that it brings denationalisation of economies through transnational networks of production, trade and finance. Hyperglobalizers are…show more content…
   Individualism is Societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family. In individualistic cultures people are expected to portray themselves as individuals, who seek to accomplish individual goals and needs. Collectivism is Societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive ingroups, which throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. In collectivistic cultures, people have greater emphasis on the welfare of the entire group to which the individual belongs, where individual wants, needs and dreams are often set aside for the common good. Masculinity is Societies in which social gender roles are clearly distinct and Femininity is Societies in which gender roles overlap, for example when both men and women are supposed to be modest, tender and concerned with the quality of life. These values concern the extent on emphasis on masculine work related goals and assertiveness as opposed to more personal and humanistic goals. The first set of goals is usually described as masculine, whereas the latter is described as feminine. These goals and values can describe how people are motivated in cultures. Uncertainty Avoidance is the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations. It is also referring to a lack of

   Neo- classical Theory: The time period of this theory was between 1920-1950’s. This theory improves the limitations of classical theory by paying attention towards motivation, communication, attitudes of individuals etc. this theory took as a consideration towards human side of organization and the social needs of employee. The two important groups named human relation school and behavior school are introduced under neo classical theory during 1920 & 1930.

   Strength:
   1. Satisfaction and communication increased in organization.
   2. Increased productivity.
   3. Improve the limitations of classical theory.
   Weakness:
   1. In this theory employees had more focus on their social needs rather than focus on their duty or focus on the production.
   3. Modern Management theory: This theory work towards both organizational goals and social needs of employees. It focus on the development of organization and workers in same manners. This theory refers to emphasizing the use of systematic, mathematical and complex techniques in the system with analysing and understanding the interrelationship of management and workers with each other in all aspect.
   Strength:
   1. Productivity and satisfaction of employees is parallel
   2. It is easy to take any decisions.
   3. Increased staff participation in production and group discussions.

   Pavlov's dog. Id, ego, and superego. Classical conditioning. Chances are you've heard of, and may even be familiar with, one of these. But what do all of these theories (and references to case studies) have in common? They are all to be found within the major schools of thought in the field of psychology. Let's explore them in more detail.

   • What are the major schools of thought in psychology?
   • What is behaviorism?
   • What is psychoanalysis?
   • Are psychological schools of thought still relevant?

   What is a School of Thought?

   A school of thought refers to a group of people who share similar viewpoints and opinions about a particular subject. It serves to unify and identify those with common beliefs, traditions, or practices concerning a field of study or subject.

   There are five primary schools of thought in psychology.

   The Five Major Schools of Thought in Psychology

   Let's dive straight into these.

   Structuralism

   Structuralism was the first school of thought in psychology. It was founded by Wilhelm Wundt, a German professor, philosopher, and physiologist. Although it was Wundt's work that built the foundation of structuralism, the school of thought was formally established by his student, Edward B. Titchener in the 1890s.

   Structuralism gets its name from its objective, which is to explore the structure of the mind. Wundt sought to understand the structure of the mind by using introspection as his primary tool. Events or experiences were broken down into the smallest possible elements to be assessed, so the researcher could better understand the contents of consciousness.

   If this is hard to understand, here's another example. Take a table: To a structuralist, a table isn't a place to work or a surface to put things on. It is wood, metal bars, bolts, and screws.

   Though this school of thought pushed the field of psychology forward during its time, it was ultimately critiqued for the subjective nature of introspection. Stimulus is rarely perceived the same way from one person to the next.

   Functionalism

   The American psychologist, historian, and philosopher William James developed the school of functionalism in the late 19th/early 20th century, after strong criticism of the structuralist approach. Unlike structuralism, which broke experiences down into small elements, the functionalist approach focused on the whole of an experience. Functionalists define a mental state not by what it is made of, but by what it does. A particular mental state depends on its function to be understood.

   
   Mousetrap with cheese, pixabay.com

   The example of a mousetrap is famously used to explain the functionalist theory. While not all mouse traps are made equally - some are large and elaborate, some are a simple spring hinge on a board - they all serve the same purpose, which is to kill mice. Regardless of what it is made of, how many parts it possesses, or even the supposed quality of the material, it is a mousetrap if its function is to kill mice.

   Psychoanalysis

   Psychoanalysis was founded by the Austrian scholar Sigmund Freud. It focused on the workings of the unconscious mind to explain human behavior. This school of thought holds that all people have unconscious desires, memories, and thoughts, resulting in repressed emotions. Psychoanalysis aims to make these unconscious elements conscious to find catharsis.

   Freud developed a three-part structure of the human mind. These were the id, ego, and superego. Psychoanalysis maintains that the interaction of these three parts explains personality and human behavior. Freud stressed the importance of the proper development of id, ego, and superego across his five Psychosexual Stages of Development. Unresolved conflicts during any stage of development can cause one to become fixated in that stage, emphasizing or repressing certain behaviors or personality traits.

   Behaviorism

   Behaviorism was founded by John B. Watson in 1924. It emphasizes experience and one's environment over internal or subconscious forces. Behaviorism believes that human psychology is better understood through a subject's behavior, rather than their personal beliefs or thoughts.

   According to this school of thought, behavior is learned through two types of conditioning, classical and operant. In classical conditioning, an association is forged between two stimuli; a conditioned stimulus, and an unrelated unconditioned stimulus, to create a behavior. A classic (and famous) example of this is Pavlov's dog.

   In operant conditioning, behaviors are created or enforced through reward or punishment. Here the association is made between behavior and consequence.

   Gestalt Psychology

   While some schools of thought emphasized the structure of the mind or the expression of behavior to understand our world and human nature, Gestalt psychology believed it took both of these things to gain a true understanding of the whole of our world. Indeed, a central tenet of Gestalt psychology is holism, which emphasizes the whole over the sum of its parts. The term Gestalt itself is a German word loosely meaning "configuration". It is the configuration of multiple things that give us true meaning, and this true meaning sits apart from its parts.

   Think of your experience of a song. Our minds perceive a song as a meaningful whole. Every song is made up of individual notes; however, it is the configuration of the notes that creates a meaningful experience. Upsetting or altering one small component can result in a completely different experience.

   Why are Schools of Thought in Psychology Less Important Today?

   In the past, it was more common for psychologists to house their practice and treatment under one particular school of thought. Today, this has changed considerably and psychologists are much less likely to align themselves with one exclusive school of thought.

   Our understanding of personality and behavior is much more nuanced. Professionals will utilize elements and ideas from multiple theories and schools.

   What are the major schools of thought?

   This article discusses some of the major schools of thought that have influenced our knowledge and understanding of psychology..

   The Structuralist School of Thought..

   The Functionalist School of Thought..

   The Gestalt School of Thought..

   The Behaviorist School of Thought..

   The Psychoanalytic School of Thought..

   What is the third school of thought?

   The third school of thought is what is today commonly called 'design thinking'. It is mostly found in the business world and in academic fields that has no tradition of design. Design thinking is in many ways a highly simplified version of the first school of thought mentioned above.

   How many school of thought are there?

   7 Major Schools of Thought in Psychology: Flashcards | Quizlet.

   What are the two major schools of thought?

   There is a convention, in political and philosophical fields of thought, to have "modern" and "classical" schools of thought.