Dewayne is taking a psychology class. He isn't really interested in discussions about the unconscious, childhood influences, or the way different structures in the brain work. Instead, he is interested in the purpose of certain psychological mechanisms. For example, he wonders why we feel disgusted by a food that made us sick or why some emotions are the same all over the world but others aren't. Dewayne is thinking most like a
A) Shaman.
B) British empiricist.
C) structuralist.
D) functionalist.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Dewayne's interest in understanding how certain psychological mechanisms serve a purpose and why certain emotions are universal but not all is aligned with the perspective of functionalism. Functionalists focus on how mental processes and behaviors serve an adaptive purpose in an individual's environment. This is in contrast to structuralists who focused solely on the analysis of basic elements of consciousness and behavior, and British empiricists who were concerned with how knowledge is acquired through sensory experiences. Shamanism is not a psychological perspective, but rather a cultural practice.

Dewayne Is Taking a Psychology Class