Structuralism (psychology)

Structuralism in psychology (also structural psychology) is a theory of consciousness developed by Wilhelm Wundt and his mentee Edward Bradford Titchener. This theory was challenged in the 20th century. It is debated who deserves the credit for founding this field of psychology, but it is widely accepted that Wundt created the foundation on which Titchener expanded. Structuralism as a school of psychology seeks to analyze the adult mind (the total sum of experience from birth to the present) in terms of the simplest definable components and then to find how these components fit together to form more complex experiences as well as how they correlated to physical events. To do this, psychologists employ introspection, self-reports of sensations, views, feelings, emotions, etc.