HOLISM + REDUCTIONISM

• the debate

  over which position is preferable for psychology 

  • Study the whole person (holism)
  • Study component parts (reductionism)

  As soon as you break down the ‘whole’ it isn’t holistic. 

  Reductionism can be broken down into levels of explanation.
• holism


   the whole is greater than the sum of its parts (GESTALT)
• example of holism 


  humanistic psychology focuses on experience which can’t be reduced  to biological units, qualitative methods investigate themes.
• reductionism 


  based on the scientific principle of parsimony - that all phenomena should be explained using the simplest (lowest level) principles.
• Levels of explanation (highest to lowest):

  For example, OCD may be understood in different ways:

  • Socio-cultural level = behaviour most people would regard as odd (e.g repetitive handwashing)
  • Psychological level = the individuals experience of having obsessive thoughts
  • Physical level = the sequence of movements involved in washing one’s hands
  • environmental/behavioural level = learning experiences (conditioning)
  • Physiological level = abnormal functioning in the frontal lobes
  • Neurochemical level = underproduction of serotonin
• biological reductionism

  all behaviour can be explained through neurochemical, physiological, evolutionary, genetic influences. 
• example of biological reductionism 


  drugs that increase serotonin are used to treat OCD = low serotonin may be a cause of OCD. We have reduced OCD to the level of neurotransmitter activity. 
• Environmental reductionism


  attempts to explain all behaviour in terms of stimulus-response links that have been learned through experience. = behaviourist approach.
• example of Environmental reductionism

  the learning theory of attachment reduces the idea of love (between baby and mother) to a learned association between the mother (neural stimulus) and food (unconditioned stimulus) resulting in pleasure (conditioned response). 
• SUPPORT FOR HOLISM 

  1. Evidence to support the case for holism comes from research.

  Social influence: the effects of conformity to social roles and the deindividuation of the prisoners and guards in the stanford prison experiment could not have been understood by studying the participants as individuals. (no conformity ‘gene’).

  This shows that some behaviours will only emerge within a group context, therefore, holism provides us with a more complete and global understanding of behaviour than reductionist approaches. 
• AGAINST HOLISM 

  1. Lack of empirical evidence =

  Holisms tend not to lend themselves to rigorous scientific testing (self report / qualitative data). It therefore lacks predictive power (causal relationships) 

  • LINK - ANY LAB STUDY

  1. Lack practical value =

  Problems of treatments: if there are lots of different factors that contribute to behaviour, which one is most influential ? It is therefore difficult to prioritise therapy. Therefore, a reductionist may be better. 
• SUPPORT FOR REDUCTIONISM

  1. It can help facilitate the development of therapies =

  By breaking behaviour down into small components, specific aspects can be studied and identified, leading to the development of effective therapies. 

  • LINK - effective treatments supporting bio and environment reductionism = SSRI (phobias) / (a)typical (sz)
• AGAINST REDUCTIONISM 

  1. The use of non-human animals = 

  Not appropriate for more complex human behaviour. Reductionist explanations ignore other possible influences such as cognitive and emotional factors. 

  This means that environmental reductionism ignores other possible influences on human behaviour such as social context, intentions and emotions. 
• INTERACTIONIST APPROACH

   

  Consider how different levels of explanation may combine and interact EG diathesis-stress model (DSM).

  EXAMPLES: 

  • Predisposition (genetic) and triggered by a stressor (environment) 
  • Holistic approach to therapy EG combining drugs and family therapy. 

  Dualists believe there is a physical brain and a non-physical mind which interact with each other. 

  MARTIN ET AL (2001) = 

  Found that depressed patients who receive psychotherapy experience the same changes in levels of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain as those receiving drugs. 
• BIOLOGICAL REDUCTIONISM - LINK 


  that Schizophrenia is caused by high levels of dopamine
• ENVIRONMENAL REDUCTIONISM - LINK

  the behaviourist approach puts emphasis on the stimulus response dynamic of classical conditioning. This reduces complex behaviours such as phobias to a simplistic learning process seen in the two process model that suggests that they are attained and maintained through classical and operant conditioning.
• HOLISM - LINK 


  humanistic approach to treating depression, which considers each individual as unique and therefore considers all aspects in a person’s life to create an effective understanding on how to approach treatment. Perhaps the best approach to understanding behaviour is interactionist treatments. This can be seen in the treatment of schizophrenia, where drugs and family therapy are used to lower relapse rates. This interactionist approach used the Diathesis Stress Model to consider both genetic and environmental factors which together trigger the mental disorder.
• (-) REDUCTIONIST APPROACH 


  that low level explanations result in overlooking some aspects   that   may   contribute to behaviour. = behaviourist approach to treating phobias. WOLFE = woman had a fear of insects, attempted to treat the phobia(systematic  desensitisation) = she made no  improvement. After further investigation; found that the lady’s husband had a nickname after an insect + their marriage was unstable. reason behind why the woman never improved, = low level explanations cannot be used to explain psychological levels of explanations = holistic approach would be more appropriate. 
• (+) HOLISM 


  ZIMBARDO'S research into conformity. Zimbardo found that social roles cannot be understood by solely studying the individual.Factors such as role allocation as a prisoner or a guard, and previous experiences affect behaviour.One guard said he based his behaviour off a movie character (Cool Hand Luke) suggesting other cognitive factors had influenced behaviour. Therefore, we can establish a holistic approach that must be considered when looking at the effect of a situation on behaviour.
• (+) REDUCTIONISM - REAL LIFE APPLICATION

  Bio R = all beh must have a genetic base. Led to advances on how to treat OCD. OCD was investigated using lobotomies + invasive surgery; high risk + inhumane for patients. new advancements; uncovering that OCD occurred due to lack of serotonin = resulting in the synthesis of SSRIs for treatment. sufferers of OCD, SSRIs are effective treatments to manage everyday lives through selective reuptake. Reductionist app helped to discover this by isolating variables and testing them; lab experiments, allowing a C+E relationship to be established.
• (+) INTERACTIONIST APPROACH 


  DSM is used to explain beh. such as SZ + depression. The Model suggests a person may be predisposed to a disorder genetically, but this is triggered by environment. TARRIER ET AL = studied a group of patients w/ SZ + compared to a control group being treated with medication only. Results showed those who had a combo medicine and therapies had lower symptom levels at the end of the study compared to the control group = interactionist  app to treatment is superior to just one. Can be made more or less interactionist depending on the patient’s development.