Reductionism/holism

• Holism-reductionism debate


  Questions whether holism and reductionism is the better approach in order to understand human behaviour.
• Holism

  • An argument or theory which proposes that it only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than constituent parts.
  • The holistic approach looks at a system as a whole rather than separate parts.
  • Any attempt to subdivide behaviour or experience into smaller units is inappropriate.
  • We cannot predict how the whole system will behave from knowledge of individual components.
• Example of Holism

  • Humanistic approach
  • Investigates all aspects of an individual
  • This emerged as a reaction against other psychological approaches which reduce behaviours down into simple elements.
  • E.g Rogers, person-centred therapy focuses on the complete person. They do this by using qualitative methods to investigate all aspects of the individual e.g interactions with other people, progression through MASLOW’S hierarchy of needs.
• Reductionism

  • The belief that human behaviour is best understood by studying the smaller constituent parts.
  • Based on the scientific idea of parsimony
• Parsimony


  Refers to the idea that behaviour should be explained using the simplest (lowest level) principles.
• Levels of explanation

  • This explains how explanations can vary from low levels which focus on basic components to a more holistic level where you have considered multiple variables
  • Holism is the highest level explanation which takes account of all aspects of a persons behaviour/experience
• Example of levels of explanation

  • Socio-cultural level- OCD interrupts social relationships
  • Psychological level- Experiencing obsessive thoughts
  • Physical level- Movements e.g washing ones hands
  • Physiological level- Hypersensitivity of the Basal Ganglia
  • Neurochemical level: Underproduction of serotonin
• Biological reductionism

  • A form of reductionism which attempts to explain behaviour at the lowest biological level in terms of genes, hormones and neurotransmitters
  • This is based on the idea that we are biological organisms made up of physiological structures and processes.
  • Thus all behaviour is at some level biological and so can be explained through neurochemical, neurophysiological, evolutionary and genetic influences.
• Example of biological reductionism

  The biological explanation of OCD claims that OCD is caused by higher levels of dopamine and lower levels of serotonin
• Environmental reductionism

  • The attempt to explain all behaviour is terms of a stimulus-response links that have been learnt through experiences.
  • Proposes the idea that all behaviour is learnt and acquired through interactions with the environment
• Example of environmental reductionism

  • The learning theory of attachment reduces the idea of love to a learned associated between the person doing the feeding (NS) and food (UCS) resulting in pleasure (CR)
• One limitation of the holistic approach is it may lack practical value. holistic account of human behaviour are hard to use as they become more complex. This can present researchers with a practical dilemma. There may be different factors which contribute to depression e.g the persons past, their present relationships, jobs and family Circumstances. This makes it hard to determine the most influential factor. therefore the holistic approach lacks practical value because it is difficult to know which factor to prioritise during therapy.
• One strength of the reductionist approach is they form the basis of a scientific approach. For example to be able to conduct well controlled research we need to operationalise the variables to be studies, this involves breaking down target behaviours into smaller parts. This makes it easier to conduct experiments or record observations using behavioural categories in a way which is objective and reliable. For instance, in attachment, Ainsworth broke down attachment behaviours such as separation anxiety. Therefore the reductionist approach allows psychology to be seen on equal terms with natural sciences.
• One limitation of the reductionist approach is it has been accused of simplifying behaviours which reduces validity. For example, explanations which operate at the level of genes and neurotransmitters do not include the analysis of the social context this often gives behaviours some meaning. For instance, the physiological process of pointing ones finger will be the same regardless of the context, but we do not know why the finger was pointed, we might be drawing attention to something or someone it it may be seen as an act of aggression. Therefore this suggests that the reductionist explanations only form part of an explanation.
• One limitation of reductionism is that some behaviours can only be understood at a high level. For example there are some aspects of social behaviour which only emerge in a group context and cannot be understood in terms of individual group members. For instance, we would not understand conformity to social roles by observing participants as individuals, it is important to see the interaction between people and the behaviour of the group. Therefore for some behaviours, higher level explanations provide a more valid picture.