Holism v. reductionism

• What is the holism v. reductionism debate?

  • Whether holism or reductionism is the better approach to use in order to understand human behaviour
  • Humanistic psychologists are more holistic whereas behaviourist psychologists are more reductionist
• What is holism?

  • Looks at any system as a whole and regards attempts to subdivide behaviour or experience into smaller units as inappropriate
  • Humanism focuses on the individual's entire experience and use qualitative methods to investigate the self
• What is reductionism?

  • Seeks to analyse behaviour by breaking it down into its constituent parts, based on the principle of parsimony - that all phenomena should be explained using the simplest principles
• What are levels of explanation in psychology?

  • Socio-cultural level e.g. how OCD interrupts social relationships
  • Psychological level e.g. person's experience of anxiety
  • Physical level - movements e.g. washing hands repetitively
  • Environmental/behavioural level e.g. learning experiences
  • Physiological level e.g. abnormal brain functioning
  • Neurochemical level e.g. underproduction of serotonin
  • Each level is more reductionist than the one before
• What is biological reductionism?

  • Includes the neuro-chemical and physiological levels and also evolutionary and genetic influences, based on the premise that we are biological organisms so all behaviour is biological
• What is environmental reductionism?

  • Proposes that all behaviour is learned and acquired through interactions with the environment
  • Behaviourists explain behaviour in terms of conditioning, reducing behaviour to basic stimulus-response units
• What is one strength of holism?

  • High ecological validity: taking a holistic approach to research, including biological, psychological and social measures reflects real experiences more so than a reductionist approach, increasing the ecological validity of holistic research
  • Real-world application: holistic methods like Rogers' client-centred therapy are well suited to promoting and encouraging good mental health
• What is one limitation of holism?

  • Lacks practical value: holistic accounts of behaviour are hard to use as they become more complex, presenting researchers with a practical dilemma
  • If we accept there are many different contributive factors to depression then it becomes difficult to know which is most influential and in turn difficult to know which to prioritise as the basis of therapy
  • Suggests reductionist accounts may be better in terms of practical use
• What is one strength of reductionism?

  • Scientific credibility: in order to conduct well-controlled research we need to operationalise the variables to be studied which involved breaking target behaviours down into components, making it possible to conduct experiments or record observations
  • Scientific approach gives psychology greater credibility and bringing it closer to being on equal terms with natural sciences
• What is one limitation of reductionism?

  • Oversimplification: reductionists have been accused of oversimplifying complex phenomena leading to low validity
  • Explanations operating at the neurochemical level don't include analysing the social context within which the behaviour occurs, which suggests reductionist explanations are heavily partial
  • Narrows down the scope of human experience to the extent that the essence of what it means to be human is lost
  • Are also good at showing what but far less successful at explaining why e.g. Maguire's taxi driver research provided limited insight into neuroplasticity