holism and determinism Flashcards
What is the difference between holism and reductionism?
Human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into its smaller constituent parts
Human behaviour is best explained by accounting for the whole person
What principle is reductionism based on? Explain
Parsimony=phenomneas should be explained using the simplest explanation
What do the levels of reductionism mean?
Name them, give an example linked to OCD
Top (least reductionist, ‘holistic multivariable’) bottom (most reductionist, ‘basic components’)
Socio-cultural level- behaviour regarded as odd like washing hands repeititve
Psychological- obsessive thoughts
Physical- movements when washing hands
Physiological- abnormal functioning or frontal lobes
Neurochemical- underproduction of seratonin
What are the 3 types of reductionism?
Biological
Environmental
Machine
What is biological reductionism?
Give an example linked to OCD
Behaviour can explained through neurochemical, physiological, evolutionary or genetic influences
SSRIs that ^ seratonin treat OCD, lack of seratnonun may cause OCD
What is environmental reductionism?
Give an example linked to OCD
Behaviour is acquired through interactions with the environment via stimulus-response links
Learning theory of attachment reduces idea of love between baby and mother to associations- classical bond
What is machine reductionism?
Give an example linked to OCD
Behaviour can be broken down into information processing systems like a computer
Multistore model of memory reduces memory down to basic function and stores
A strength of reductionism is that its scientific
PET
E: This approach fits well with psychologys drive for scientific status
Reductionism clearly defines variables which can be operationiled and observed objectively>can establish cause and effect
T: Credible
A strength of reductionism is it has useful practical applications, leading to developement of certain treatments
PET
E: E.g. reducing OCD to the lack of neurochemical seratonin>we can create treatments to combat this e.g. SSRIs
T: ^ QoL, economy
A wekness of reductionism is that it cannot explain all human behaviour
PET
E: Some behaviour only occurs within social context, e.g. social psychology like zimbardos study, its an interaction between many (social) like guards, prisoners
This needs to be analysed collectively
T: Limited explanation as it cannot account for all human behaviour
Holism looks at a combination of all influences, give 3 examples of this?
Why are these influences important?
Social, biological, genetic etc
All affect eachother>collectivelt scrutinized
What principle is holism based on? Explain
Gastalt’s psychology- belief that the whole is greater than the sum of its part
Give 2 psychological examples of holism?
Zimbardo- social psychology
Diathesis stress model of schz- combines all factors (interactionist)
One strength of holism is that it can study behaviour reductionism cannot
PET
E: Social psychology- much of it requires holism as its about looking at the situation and how a range of factors interact in an environment e.g. Zimbardo, if we just studied prisioners, results would have been different
T: Useful
One weakness of holism is that its not very scientific
PET
E: By looking at the whole situation, holism cannot isolate variables and clearly define them>cannot establish
T: Holistic approach doesnt help psychology in its drive for scientific status
One limitation of holism is it lacks practical application
PETF
E: E.g. knowing multiple factors interact to cause shcz doesnt help us pinpoint which area to focus on first for treatment
T: Reductionism might be more useful
F: Impractical for NHS to treat all factors at once due to expense, for 1% of the population
