Functionalism is a school of psychology that examines:
A. the causes and consequences of behavior.
B. what happens when someone behaves the way they do.
C. who in the person’s family behaves in a similar way.
D. the parts of the brain that make people behave the way they do.
http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Functionalism
The correct answer is A. Functionalism is a school of psychology that focuses on the causes and consequences of behavior. It considers behavior as adaptive and functional, meaning that it serves a purpose in allowing individuals to adapt to their environment.
To answer this question, you can start by understanding what functionalism is and its main focus. By examining the options provided, you can eliminate options C and D as they do not align with the main focus of functionalism.
Option B, "what happens when someone behaves the way they do," may seem related to functionalism, but it does not fully capture the breadth of the theory. Functionalism goes beyond just understanding what happens when someone behaves a certain way and instead aims to understand the reasons behind that behavior. Therefore, the most accurate option is A, "the causes and consequences of behavior."