A01 Holism And Reductionism

• Holism


  Gestalt psychologists declared the 'whole is greater than the sum of its parts'. Basis of holism and any attempt to break up behaviour and experience is inappropriate and these can only be understood by analysing the person/behaviou as a whole.
• Reductionism


  Analyses behaviour by breaking it down into its constitutent parts. Based on the scientific principle of parismony: all phenomena should be explained using the most basic principles.
• Levels of explanation in psychology

  Different ways of viewing the same phenomena in psychology. Each level is more reductionist than the one before.
• Example of level of explanations with OCD

  Socio-cultural level - repetetive hand washing. Psychological level - the experience of having obsessive thoughts. Physical level - sequence of moving hands. Physiological level - hypersensitivity of the basal ganglia. Neurochemical level - underproduction of seretonin.
• Biological reductionism


  States we are all biological organisms made up of physiological structures and processes. Thus can be explained through neurochemical, neurophysical and evolutionary and genetic influences.
• Examples of biological reductionism

  Psychoactive drugs on the brain have contributed much to our understanding of neural processes and serious mental illnesses, depression and schizophrenia at biochemical level.
• Environmental (stimulus-responses reductionism)

  Behaviourst approach is built on environmental determinism. Behaviourists break complex learning into stimple stimulus-response links that are measurable within laboratorys. Thus the key unit of analysis occurs at the physical level and does not concern itself with cognitive processes.
• The mind and Watson

  The mind is a black box and Watson stated that process of thought is a form of sub vocal speech characterised by phsyical movement.