Holism V Reductionism

• define holism


  understanding human behaviour can only be done through analysing the person/behvaiour as a whole
• define reductionism


  understanding behaviour by breaking it down into parts: it's based on the scientific principle of parsimony
• what is meant by parsimony

  choosing the simplest scientific explanation that fits the evidence
• what are the 2 types of reductionism

  1. Biological reductionism

  2. Environmental reductionism (stimulus-response)
• what is biological reductionism

  based on the idea we are all biological organisms made up of physiological structures & processes, therefore all behaviour can be explained at a biological level:

  neurochemistry, evolutionary, genetics, physical structures
• give an example of biological reductionism

  mental illness being caused by neurotransmitters:

  OCD/depression = serotonin

  Sz = dopamine
• what is environmental reductionism

  behaviourists understand behaviour by breaking complex learning into simple stimulus-response relationships that are measurable within a lab
• give an example of environmental reductionism

  In attachment:

  complex emotional attachment is reduced to the physical production of food, the rewarding of the infant with food (stimulus) leads to positive feelings to caregiver (response)
• why is psychology reductionist

  physical sciences believe in parsimony

  therefore as psychology strives to be a science, it's argued the best route to understanding complex behaviour is through reduction of the whole to its simplest parts
• what is meant by levels of reductionism

  along a continuim from:

  highest level (least reductionist), middle level, to lowest level (most reductionist)
• what are the 3 levels of reductionism

  1. highest = sociocultural explanation

  2. middle = psychological explanation

  3. lowest = biological explanation
• what is the sociocultural eplanation - apply to OCD


  how social groups affect behaviour:

  OCD explained by being an unusual pattern of behaviour, in relation to their culture/social environment
• what is the psychological eplanation - apply to OCD


  how cognitive thoughts and processes affect our behaviour:

  OCD is an experience of having obsessive thoughts
• what is the biological eplanation - apply to OCD


  behaviour is caused by hormones and genes:

  OCD is an underproduction of serotonin = overractive brain
• where do the approaches fit on the holism to reductionist scale

  Holism: humanistic

  SLT

  Psychodynamic

  Cognitive

  Behaviourist

  Reductionist: Biological
• what do holism supporters argue about understanding beahviour

  argue that to understand people you must study the whole person, taking full account of individual experience, emotion, choicce and the world as the individual sees it:

  they believe behaviour is more complex and is affected by a multitude of influences at once
• what is diathesis stress an example of

  an example of considering the combination of influences on behaviour at once = most holistic example (but stil may be other factors)
• give an example of diathesis stress

  Sz = a genetic vulnerability is triggered by a stresor (environmental experience)
• what is an argument for holism

  some areas of psychology have really benefited from a holistic explanation
• give an example of a beneficial area of psychology - explain

  there are aspects of human social behaviour that only emerge when consideration is given to the social context in which they arose, including:

  effects of conformity and deindividuation shown by guards in Zimbardo's mock prison, only apparent when you examine them in the context of a prison
• how does this support holistic explanations

  higher level explanations provide necessary understanding of behaviour taht could be missed from a reductionist viewpoint
• what is an argument against holism

  - holistic explanations don't have scientific rigour or testing: humanistic psychology is criticised for its lack of scientific, empirical evidence
• why is this an issue

  higher level holistic explanations explain behaviour as having multiple factors, which complicates how you would go about studying it or establishing the most influencing factor, e.g causes of depression
• why is this an issue for holism

  it leads to a lack of empirical evidence to support holistic viewpoints which is an issue for a subject striving to be a science - but psychologists often prefer a reductionist view
• what is an argument for reductionism - example

  in order to create operationalised variables it's necessary to break target behaviours down into their parts:

  behaviourist approach shows complex behaviour can be broken down into simple stimulus-response relationships
• why does this support a reductionist approach

  + gives psychology more scientific credibility, placing it on equal terms with natural sciences as single variables/causes for behaviour can be isolated and studied
• however, what is an issue with this (single variables)

  the operationalised variables may result in something measurable, but it doesn't mean it can apply to real life, e.g:

  Loftus' findings on LQ were not replicated in real life scenarios with real EWT
• what is another strength of reductionism - example

  + practical applications:

  in studying the biological causes for behaviours (depression) it has led to successful treatment options like drug therapy
• explain how this is a strength - practical applications

  there are substantial benefits, such as the reduction in use of asylums and institutionalisation, so drugs are seen as a more humane way of treating mental illness
• what is a weakness of drug treatments

  However, drug treatments have issues: side effects, varying success, publication bias, short term benefits:

  therefore a more holistic approach might enable the success of treatments to be greater
• what is an argument against reductionism (main issue) - explain/example

  reductionist explanations are oversimplified:

  explanations that operate at the level of neurotransmitters/genes don't include any analysis of the social context in which behaviour occurs
• explain why this is an issue

  reductionist explanations mean that other important factors/explanations are ignored and their significance is undervalued, this can lead to issues:

  mental illnesses - could lead to reoccurance of the disorder if other influencing factors haven't been considered