6. Holism and reductionism

• Holism

  • Looks at a system as a whole
  • Gestalt psychologists - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
  • Advocated by the humanist approach which focuses on the individual - this cannot be reduced
  • Qualitative methods used to investigate the self whereby themes are analysed
• Reductionism

  • Seeks to analyse behaviour by breaking it down into parts
  • Based on the scientific theory of parsimony - the idea that complex phenomena should be explained in the simplest terms possible
  • Advocated by the behaviourist approach as they reduce behaviour to stimulus-responses
• Levels of explanation in psychology

  • Socio-cultural
  • Psychological
  • Physical
  • Environmental/behavioural
  • Physiological
  • Neurochemical
  • Each level is more reductionist than the one before
• Biological reductionism

  • Includes neurochemical and physiological levels as well as evolutionary and genetic influences
  • All behaviour is biological
  • Eg. reducing OCD to the level of neurotransmitter activity
• Environmental reductionism

  • Advocated by the behaviourist approach proposing that all behaviour is learned through interactions with the environment
  • Eg. - learning theory of attachment reduces the idea of love to a learned association between the person doing the feeding and food resulting in pleasure
• AO3 - Strength of reductionism is that any level furthers the aim for psychology's recognition as a science

  • Systematic and objective methods of investigation used which clearly defines variables which can be operationalised and observed
  • Biological reductionism and biological therapies
  • Reducing OCD to neurochemical explanations allows for development and understanding of SSRIs
  • Reduces symptoms and improves quality of life
  • Practical applications and real world value
• AO3 - Strength of holism considering the bigger picture

  • Attempts to provide a complete and realistic understanding of human behaviour
  • Humanist approach advocates this - Maslow and Rogers
  • Rogerian therapy and self-actualisation - all levels of explanation in psychology are condensed and not treated individually
  • More plausible explanations of behaviour allowing for a greater understanding of human behaviour
  • Increases validity of psychology
• AO3 - Limitation of reductionism is that it oversimplifies complex phenomena

  • Cognitive approach likens the human mind to a computer and suggests the brain has storage components such as input and output
  • Ignores and overlooks higher levels of explanation such as human thought and emotion - how do these influence our behaviour?
  • Highlighted by holism - these influences are vital in explaining behaviour, by simplifying this our understanding is limited
  • Prevents diagnosis and treatments
  • Decreased validity