He argued that it would therefore follow the same laws of learning that had been discovered in the animal learning labs. Chomsky argued in contrast that language is special and language use was different from other behaviours in critical and unique ways. For example, aspects of structuralism and functionalism are preserved in cognitive psychology, where the structures are the mental representations and the functions are the processes that act upon them. Similarly, accounts of memory and learning continue to utilise some aspects of classical and operant conditioning, although within a mentalist framework. Since, mental processes are seen as rule governed, rather than random, it is possible to employ reaction time and accuracy measures in rigidly controlled experiments to examine the content the internal representations and the nature of the mental processes.
Psychology now has an objective measurement tool with which to examine the workings of the mind.
Psychology as a modern discipline and profession Psychology is probably one of the broadest of all modern disciplines, as it straddles the natural and social sciences. As the schematic layout of disciplines in Gray on p. 25 shows, it has close links with a diverse range of other disciplines. Psychology is also one of the most rapidly growing professions in Australia, and this is undoubtedly a major reason for its continued popularity in universities and high schools in the past decade. The status and role of the profession of psychology in Australia differs from America, and thus some details in texts such as Gray do not accurately reflect the situation in Australia. From 2000, this is now required to apply for membership of the Australian Psychological Society , the main professional body for psychologists.