Holism v Reductionism

• Holism


  Argument or theory which proposes that it only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than its constituent parts (which is the reductionist approach)
• Environmental reductionism


  The attempt to explain all behaviour in terms of stimulus-response links that have been learned through experience
• Biological Reductionism


  Form of reductionism which attempts to explain social and psychological phenomena at a lower biological level (in terms of the actions of genes, hormones, etc.)
• Reductionism


  Belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into smaller constituent parts