REDUCTIONISM

• WHAT IS REDUCTIONISM?

  explaining a behaviour in terms of its constituent parts
• WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF REDUCTIONISM?

  biological and environmental (stimulus response)
• WHAT IS BIOLOGICAL REDUCTIONISM?

  focusing on physiological components and physical structures

  -> e.g. genes/ hormones/ neural mechanisms
• WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL (STIMULUS RESPONSE) REDUCTIONISM?

  reduces behaviour to relationships between stimuli and response through experiences in the environment
• WHAT APPROACH IS CONSISTENT WITH BIOLOGICAL REDUCTIONISM?

  biological
• WHAT APPROACH IS CONSISTENT WITH ENVIRONMENTAL (STIMULUS RESPONSE) REDUCTIONISM?

  behaviourist
• EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH INVOLVING BIOLOGICAL REDUCTIONISM?

  • Soomro (serotonin + OCD)
  • Nestadt (genetics + OCD)
  • Tulving (areas of the brain)
• EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH INVOLVING ENVIRONMENTAL (STIMULUS RESPONSE) REDUCTIONISM?

  • Watson and Rayner (Little Albert)
  • Lang and Lazovik (systematic desensitisation)
  • Wolpe (flooding)
• STRENGTHS OF REDUCTIONISM?

  • can establish cause of behaviours as parts can be scientifically tested
  • parsimonious therefore keeps it simple and straightforward
  • recognises importance of biological factors
  • drug therapies can be developed
• WEAKNESSES OF REDUCTIONISM?

  • oversimplify behaviour
  • provide superficial understanding as other factors are not considered
  • fails to consider behaviour as a combination of factors
  • reductionist explanations lack ecological validity