reductionism vs holism

• what is reductionism?

  the belief that human behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into smaller component parts 
• what do those who support reductionism believe/argue?

  argues that all psychological phenomenon can be reduced to simple parts behaviour and mental processes should be explained within the framework of basic sciences
• what is reductionism based on?

  the scientific assumption of parsimony - that complex phenomena should be explained by the simplest underlying principles possible
• what is holism?

  the theory that parts of a whole area are in intimate interconnection, such as that they cannot exist independently of the whole, or cannot be understood without reference to the whole, which is thus regarded as greater than the sum of its parts
• what would a holistic approach suggest?

  that there are different levels of explanation and that at each level there are "emergent properties" that cannot be reduced to the one below
• what is an example of what believers of holism may do when studying individuals?

  would look at the whole person to gain an understanding about anything that may impact on their behaviour not just specific parts
• areas that link to the reductionist debate

  biological area

  behaviourist perspective

  cognitive area

  psychodynamic perspective
• areas that link to the holistic debate

  developmental area

  social area

  individual differences area
• how does the biological area link to the reductionism debate?

  reductionism is often equated with physiological reductionism, offering explanations of behaviour in terms of physiological mechanisms such as anatomical factors and the use of the brain
• what core study can link to the biological area that is reductionist?

  Sperry:

  • did not have a control group of participants with epilepsy but had not had their corpus callosum severed
  • explanation of the participants' inability to name objects shown to their LVF was reduced to a biological cause
  • comparison whether something else could be contributing to the observed difficulties was not made
• how does the behaviourist perspective link to the reductionism debate?

  uses a very reductionist vocabulary: stimulus, response, reinforcement and punishment - concepts alone are used to explain all behaviour

  • environmental reductionism because it explains all behaviour in terms of simple environmental factors 
• how does the cognitive area link to the reductionism debate?

  uses the principle of machine reductionism

  • Information-processing approaches uses the analogy of machine systems, and the simple components of such machines, as a means to describe and explain behaviour 
• what core study can link to the cognitive area that is reductionist?

  Loftus & Palmer:

  • complex process of memory is reduced to the effect of the wording of a leading question (IV) on the eyewitness memory (DV)
  • it ignores situational variables such as distress that would occur if a real-life accident was witnessed and the possible impact this would have on memory
• how does the psychodynamic perspective link to the reductionism debate?

  reductionist as it relies on a basic set of structures that attempt to simplify a very complex picture - e.g. id, ego, superego, unconscious mind
• how does the developmental area link to the holism debate?

  investigates all aspects of the individual as well as the interactions between people 
• what core study can link to the developmental area that is holistic?

  Bandura:

  • considered various variables when looking at the influence of aggressive models - e.g. gender of the model, the situational factors and individual differences
• how does the social area link to the holism debate?

  looks at behaviour of individuals in a social context. 

  group behaviour (e.g. conformity, de-individualisation) may show characteristics that are greater than the sum of individuals which comprise it
• what core study can link to the social area that is holistic?

  Bocchiaro:

  • many factors could have led the students to obey for example they were left alone and may have asked other participants if they were going to obey and therefore followed everyone else, unfamiliar and extreme circumstances, feel obliged to help further scientific understanding, some lack of courage to blow the whistle
• how does the individual differences area link to the holism debate?

  mental disorders are often explained by an interaction of biological, psychological and environmental factors. An eclectic approach to therapy is often taken using drugs and psychotherapy 
• what core study can link to the individual differences area that is holistic?

  Freud:

  • explanation to Han's phobia is quite holistic
  • Han's navigation of the Oedipus complex but also in terms of his ego defences as he repressed his anxiety that he would be castrated
  • Hans goes through different psychosexual stages that contribute to him overcoming the Oedipus complex and curing his fears