functionalism
n. a general psychological approach that views mental life and behavior in terms of active adaptation to environmental challenges and opportunities. Functionalism was developed at the University of Chicago by psychologists John Dewey, James R. Angell, and Harvey A. Carr at the beginning of the 20th century as a revolt against the atomistic point of view of structuralism, which limited psychology to the dissection of states of consciousness and the study of mental content rather than mental activities. The focus of functionalism reveals its debt to evolutionary concepts, to the act psychology of Franz Brentano, and to the approach detailed by William James. Functionalism emphasizes the causes and consequences of human behavior; the union of the physiological with the psychological; the need for objective testing of theories; and the applications of psychological knowledge to the solution of practical
problems, the evolutionary continuity between animals and humans, and the improvement of human life. Also called functional psychology. See also Chicago school.