---
abstract: "Decompositional analysis is the process of constructing explanations of the characteristics of whole systems in terms of characteristics of parts of those whole systems. Cognitive psychology is an endeavour that develops explanations of the capacities of the human organism in terms of descriptions of the brain's functionally defined information-processing components. This paper details the nature of this explanatory strategy, known as functional analysis. Functional analysis is contrasted with two other varieties of decompositional analysis, namely, structural analysis and capacity analysis. After an examination of these three varieties of analysis, there follows a consideration of a mistake to avoid when conducting decompositional analyses in psychology, and a possible limitation on their explanatory scope."
altloc: []
chapter: ~
commentary: ~
commref: ~
confdates: 'June 17-19, 1998'
conference: Wholes and their parts.
confloc: 'Bolzano, Italy'
contact_email: ~
creators_id: []
creators_name:
  - family: Atkinson
    given: Anthony P.
    honourific: ''
    lineage: ''
date: 1998
date_type: published
datestamp: 1998-06-27
department: ~
dir: disk0/00/00/03/37
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editors_id: []
editors_name: []
eprint_status: archive
eprintid: 337
fileinfo: /style/images/fileicons/text_html.png;/337/1/S_2CS_26P%2DBalz.html
full_text_status: public
importid: ~
institution: ~
isbn: ~
ispublished: unpub
issn: ~
item_issues_comment: []
item_issues_count: 0
item_issues_description: []
item_issues_id: []
item_issues_reported_by: []
item_issues_resolved_by: []
item_issues_status: []
item_issues_timestamp: []
item_issues_type: []
keywords: 'functional analysis, decomposition, explanation, cognitive psychology, system, subsystem, person, subpersonal, information processing, box and arrow, constitutive'
lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:53:49
latitude: ~
longitude: ~
metadata_visibility: show
note: ~
number: ~
pagerange: ~
pubdom: FALSE
publication: ~
publisher: ~
refereed: FALSE
referencetext: ~
relation_type: []
relation_uri: []
reportno: ~
rev_number: 8
series: ~
source: ~
status_changed: 2007-09-12 16:26:45
subjects:
  - cog-psy
  - phil-mind
succeeds: ~
suggestions: ~
sword_depositor: ~
sword_slug: ~
thesistype: ~
title: 'Wholes and their parts in cognitive psychology: Systems, subsystems and persons.'
type: confpaper
userid: 189
volume: ~
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