AO3

• reductionism

  explaining social and psychological phenomena at a lower biological level - psychoactive drugs can help explain OCD, schizo and depression at a biochemical level
• reductionism

  biological reductionism has led to drug therapies eg Fawnly et al found chloropromazine was better associated with functioning and reduced severity of schizo symptoms compared to a placebo
• reductionism

  environmental reductionism - phobias, caused by conditioning but can also develop without conditioning like a bad experience with phobic stimulus (phobia of shark without ever seeing a shark)
• reductionism

  studying observable behaviour only and breaking complex learning into simple links through S-R in a lab setting is scientific, reliable and operationalise variables is possible so provides a consistent picture of the universe
• reductionism

  oversimplifies complex phenomena, lack of depth as meaning lost so only ever part of the explanation
• holism

  assumes the mind is not the same as the body so ignores the huge influence of biology on behaviour
• holism

  recognises the complexity of higher levels, eg stanford prison experiment could only be understood by studying the ppts as individuals, it was the interaction between people and the behaviour of the group that was important, showing holistic explanations provide a more complete and global understanding than reductionist
• holism

  tend not to lend themselves to rigorous scientific testing and become vague and speculative as they become more complex, also get more hypothetical and divorced from physical reality therefore lack the predictive power of lower reductionist levels of explanation
• holism

  interactionist stance led to a more multidisciplinary and 'holistic' approach to treatment eg combining drugs and family therapy