Molly Sween and Diego Thompson
Organismic Psychology and Systems Theory
Ludwig von Bertalanffy
(How) question: How does the field of psychology move beyond the predominant behavioristic
view of man as reactive and robotic?
Motivational mechanism: Recognizing symbolism of man and expanding the scope of
traditional psychological research to include a new scientific discipline that …
 Expands the system of tradition physics
 Utilizing models arising from biological and behavioral sciences
 Incorporating an interdisciplinary perspective (general systems theory)
Theorist’s Vocabulary:
Symbolism: is an evolutionary element which differentiates humans from animals. Symbolism is
based on three criteria:
 Symbols are representative
 Symbols are transmitted by tradition
 Freely created by conditioning and reinforcement (e.g., Red and green light example)
“Symbolism, if you will, is the divine spark distinguishing the most perfectly adapted animal
from the poorest specimen of the human race” (20).
Symbols (set of): “tokens for the things they represent” (18)
 Vocabulary=set of symbols
 Grammar=suitable rules for the game (way in which we use vocabulary as representation of
something)
Objectification: we took to be the process of naming things (semiotics). “Making things which
can become markers for some perceptual complex, so starting the process of symbolic
representation” (21). This represents the key problem of psychology (distinguishing humans
from rats).
General Systems Theory: “concerned with interactions of components in a “system” (42). An
ideal general system theory would investigate the total circumstances such as; “interaction
between variables, change, growth and progressive differentiation, mechanization and
centralization” (43-44).

He argues this theory can provide a “more adequate framework for psychological theory”
(52).
“If both mental and behavioral or physiological events can be described by the same models,
then it should be possible to find isomorphisms between them” (57).
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Current State of Psychology
“Man as Robot”
Signs
Stimuli
Stimuli
Signs
**Man as reactive, passive receiver of information, and behavioristic**
Proposed Organismic Psychology
“Man as creative”
Symbolization
Signs
Stimuli
Stimuli
Signs
**Man as active, interact with information, and socially contextual**
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