A03 Holism And Reductionism

• Holism strengths


  Some aspects of social behaviour only emerge within a social group context

  like conformity to social roles and deindividuation of prisoners and guards cannot be understood by just studying participants, it is the interaction between people and behaviour that is important. Holism gains a more complete understanding
• Holism's practical benefits and culture (Holism strengths)

  Holism helps gain more detailed insight. Holistic practical applications so can improve many behaviours such as how the environment impacts biology as opposed to just looking and changing one factor alone.

  Considers cultural differences, decreases ethnocentrism which increases validity.
• Holism weakness

  Holism explanations are not prone to rigorous testing and can be vague and speculative. E.G: Humanistic psychology criticised for its lack of empirical evidence and combination of rather loose concepts. Also, higher level explanations that combine different perspectives, for depression e.g, makes it difficult for researchers to establish what factor is most influential. Thus, for real-world problems, lower level explanations may be more appropriate.
• Reductionism strengths

  Forms basis of scientific research. To create operationalised variables it is necessary to break target beahviours down into constituent parts. Makes it possible to conduct experiments that are meaningful and reliable. Also, complex learning can be broken down into simple stimulus-response links within the lab. Gives psychology greater credibility placing it on equal terms with natural sciences in reductionist hierarchy.
• Reductionism weakness

  Sometimes oversimplifies complex phenomena leading to a loss of validity. Explanations that operate at the level of the gene, neurotransmitter or neuron do include analysis of the social contex within the behaviour occurs but this may be where the behaviur derives its meaning. E.g: pointing a finger. Reductionist exp will not tell us why the finger is pointed. Means reductionist exps can only ever form a part of an explantion.
• The interactionist approach


  Considers how different levels of explanation may combine and interact. For example, the diathesis stress model used to explain the onset of meantal disorders. Such disorders come about as a result of predisposition but are triggered by stressor. Model has led to multidisciplinary and holistic appraoch to treatment, combining drugs and family therapy.