Reductionism/ holism

• Holism


  Proposes that it only makes sense to study a whole system-the whole is greater than the individual parts. You cannot predict how the whole system will behave if you only have knowledge from a component of it
• Example of holism


  Humanistic approach
• Reductionism 


  Process of breaking down behaviour into simple components, "pasimony"= all phenomena should be explained using the simplest level principles
• High level reductionism


  Social and cultural explanations (the influence of social grouls on behaviour)
• Middle level reductionism


  Psychological explanations (Cognitive, Behavioural/ environmental)
• Low level reductionism


  Biological explanations (neurochemical, genetic, brain structure etc.)
• Biological reductionism 


  Explanations if behaviour can be reduced to its simplest level - in our case neurotransmitters, genes, hormones
• Environmental reductionism 


  Explanations of behaviour as due to stimulus response links (or an interaction with the environment)
• Experimental reductionism


  Breaking down complex behaviours into IV and DV relationships for experimental testing
• Machine reductionsim


  Uses analogy of machines to simplify human behaviour, ignores complexity of human emotions or motivation