holism and reductionism

• holism proposes that it only makes sense to study a whole system. For example, humanistic psychology focuses on experience which can't be reduced to biological units, qualitative methods investigate themes
• reductionism is based on the scientific principle of parsimony (all phenomena should be explained using the simplest principles). The 2 types of reductionism are

  • biological
  • environmental
• biological reductionism suggests that all behaviour can be explained through neurochemical, physiological, evolutionary and/or genetic influences. For example, drugs that increase serotonin are used to treat OCD. Therefore low serotonin may be a cause of OCD.
• environmental reductionism proposes that all behaviour is acquired through interactions with the environment. For example, 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)
• the reductionism's levels of explanation are:

  • socio-cultural level
  • psychological level
  • physical level
  • environmental/behavioural level
  • physiological level
  • neurochemical level
• One limitation of holism is that it may lack practical value. Holistic accounts id human behaviour become hard to use as they become more complex which presents researchers with a practical dilemma. If many difference factors contribute to say, depression, then it becomes difficult to know which is most influential and which to prioritise for treatment. This suggests that holistic accounts may lack practical value
• One strength of reductionism is its scientific status. In order to conduct well-controlled research variables need to be operationalised (target behaviour broken down into constituent parts). This makes it possible to conduct experiments or record observations in a way that is objective and reliable. This scientific approach gives psychology greater credibility, placing it on equal terms with the natural sciences