Debates - Holism and reductionism

• Define the holism and reductionism debate in

  Psychology.

  The holism and reductionism debate considers whether we should explain behaviour by focusing on the whole person (holistic) or by breaking behaviour down into basic components (reductionist).
• Outline what is meant by levels of explanations - holistic

  Levels of explanation in Psychology refer to how behaviour can be explained from a higher more holistic level to a lower more reductionist level. A holistic explanation focuses on individuals as a whole and so considers the multiple wider factors that are involved in their behaviour.
• Outline what is meant by levels of explanations - reductionist

  reductionist explanations attempt to explain by behaviour by reducing it down to basic, singular components. These levels of explanations can therefore be represented in a hierarchy whereby sociological theories considering the wider society and various factors involved are considered holistic while biological theories focusing on the role of genetics or neurotransmitters are considered reductionist. The middle ground includes psychological theories such as those focusing on cognitions etc.
• Hoilsitic expl. from holistic v reductionist

  Holism argues that explaining human behaviour from a reductionist level is inadequate because human behaviour is far more complex than just being caused by basic units such as genetics. Holism therefore proposes that human behaviour needs to be explained by focusing on the whole system or person. This involves explaining human behaviour by considering the multiple variables involved and how they interact.
• Reductionist argument - holistic v reductionist

  Reductionism argues that explaining human behaviour from a holistic level is too unscientific and complex. Reductionism therefore proposes that while multiple factors are often involved in human behaviour, it is best explained in terms of basic units/in the simplest way. Reductionism therefore refers to when complex human behaviour is explained by breaking it down into its most basic components.
• holistic explanations have considered how biological, psychological and social factors interact with one another to cause a complex psychological disorder.

  E.g. the diathesis-stress model for schizophrenia proposes that multiple factors interact with one another to lead to the development of schizophrenia. These include factors that can make the person more vulnerable to developing the disorder (e.g. genetics or early birth complications) as well as stressors that can trigger the onset of symptoms (e.g. family dysfunction, cannabis consumption).
• Humanistic psychology is a holistic approach in that it proposes everybody is unique and so should be studied as a whole.

  E.g. Maslow looked at the various needs an individual requires (physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem) in order for them to self-actualize. Humanistic psychologists also relied on research methods such as interviews to gather detailed data so that behaviour can be explained from a multi-variable, holistic perspective.
• Biological reductionism refers to when complex behaviour is explained by breaking it down into biological components such as genetics and neurochemical levels. Biological reductionism is therefore consistent with the biological approach to explaining behaviour.

  E.g.: The biological explanations for schizophrenia are biologically reductionist in that they attempt to explain a complex disorder (schizophrenia) by breaking it down into biological components such as too much dopamine activity.
• Environmental reductionism refers to when complex behaviour is explained by breaking it down into stimulus-response learning. Environmental reductionism is therefore consistent with the behaviourist approach to explaining behaviour.

  E.g.: The two-process model as an explanation for phobias is environmentally reductionist in that it attempts to explain a complex disorder (phobias) by breaking it down into stimulus-response learning i.e. that they are developed through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning.
•  the environmentally reductionist focus on the role of classical and operant conditioning in phobias led to the development of systematic desensitisation and flooding which aim to counter-condition phobias and prevent negatively reinforcing avoidance behaviours

   This is a strength because these treatments developed out of reductionist explanations are found to be effective and so reductionist explanations have merit. Therefore adds credibility.
• Limitation of bio+enviro reductionism - overly simplify human beh.

  This may overly simplify human behavior. While MZ twins (sharing 100% of genes) have higher concordance rates for psychological disorders than DZ twins (50% shared genes), they never reach 100%. Additionally, not everyone who associates a neutral stimulus (e.g., a dog) with a fear-inducing event (e.g., a bite) develops a phobia. This limitation suggests that biological (genes) and environmental (stimulus-response learning) reductionism cannot fully explain psychological disorders, questioning their credibility.
• limitation of bio and enviro. reductionism research has come from animal studies.

  E.g. biological studies have altered hormonal levels in rats in an attempt to establish biologically reductionist theories for human behaviour. behaviourist studies have involved classically and operantly conditioning animals such as dogs and rats. limitation - research fails to consider how society and higher-order cognitions and emotions influence human behaviours. This means that biological and environmental reductionism may not be appropriate when it comes to explaining complex human behaviour. ? cred.
• A strength of holism over reductionism is that they have enabled more effective treatment programmes to be developed.

  This is because holistic explanations consider the complexity of human behaviour/disorders by considering the multiple factors involved (e.g. the use of the diathesis-stress model). This leads to holistic treatments whereby they aim to tackle the multiple factors that may be contributing to their psychological disorder
•  reductionist explanations simplify human behaviour/disorders by reducing it down to basic components such as abnormal neurotransmitter levels.

  This is a strength of holism over reductionism because holistic treatments (e.g. the combination of drug therapy with a psychological therapy) are found to be more effective than reductionist treatments (e.g. the use of drug therapy alone). Therefore adds credibility to holism over reductionism.
•  strength of red. over holism - scientific appr

  involves studying basic units of behaviour whereas holism considers how multiple complex factors are involved in human behaviour. strength of reductionism over holism because basic units can be operationalised and measured objectively whereas subjective conclusions would need to be drawn about how multiple factors interact in holistic explanations. focusing on singular components as opposed to multiple components, reductionist explanations are able to isolate individual causes so can greater establish c+e adds cred to reductionism
• Discuss holism and reductionism debate in psych - outline 1

  The holism and reductionism debate considers whether we should explain behaviour by focusing on the whole person (holistic) or by breaking behaviour down into basic components (reductionist). Holism argues that explaining human behaviour from a reductionist level is inadequate because human behaviour is far more complex than just being caused by basic units such as genetics. As a result, holism proposes that we need to consider the multiple variables involved in behaviour and how they interact.
• Discuss holism and reductionism debate - outline 2

  In contrast, reductionism argues that explaining human behaviour from a holistic level is too unscientific and complex. As a result, reductionism proposes that while multiple factors are often involved in human behaviour, it is best explained in terms of basic units/in the simplest way. This can include biological reductionism (reducing behaviour down to biological components) or environmental reductionism (reducing behaviour down to stimulus-response learning).
• Discuss holism and reductionism debate - outline 3

  Psychology therefore has different levels of explanation that can be represented in a hierarchy from more holistic theories (e.g. sociological theories) to more reductionist theories (e.g. biological theories. The middle ground includes psychological theories such as those that focus on cognitions, personality etc.
• strength of biological and environmental reductionism is that they have both led to the development of treatments

   the biologically reductionist focus on abnormal dopamine activity in people with schizophrenia led to the development of antipsychotic drugs that work by reducing dopamine activity.
• Meanwhile, the environmentally reductionist focus on the role of classical and operant conditioning in phobias led to the development of systematic desensitisation and flooding which aim to counter-condition phobias and prevent negatively reinforcing avoidance behaviours.

  This is a strength because these treatments developed out of reductionist explanations are found to be effective and so reductionist explanations have merit. Therefore adds credibility.
• strength of holism over reductionism is that they have enabled more effective treatment programmes to be developed.

  This is because holistic explanations consider the complexity of human behaviour/disorders by considering the multiple factors involved (e.g. the use of the diathesis-stress model). This leads to holistic treatments whereby they aim to tackle the multiple factors that may be contributing to their psychological disorder.
• reductionist explanations simplify human behaviour/disorders by reducing it down to basic components such as abnormal neurotransmitter levels.

  This is a strength of holism over reductionism because holistic treatments (e.g. the combination of drug therapy with a psychological therapy) are found to be more effective than reductionist treatments (e.g. the use of drug therapy alone). Therefore adds credibility to holism over reductionism.
•  strength of reductionism - scientific appr. to explaining human behaviour.

  involves studying basic units of behaviour whereas holism considers how multiple complex factors are involved in human behaviour. strength of reductionism - basic units can be operationalised and measured objectively whereas subjective conclusions would need to be drawn about how multiple factors interact in holistic explanations focusing on singular components as opposed to multiple components, reductionist explanations are able to isolate individual causes so can greater establish cause and effect. + cred to red.