Holism And Reductioism

Question 1

Define holism.

Answer 1

When the person as a whole is considered and cannot be broken down into parts.

Question 2

Define reductionism.

Answer 2

The belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into smaller individual parts.

Question 3

What is biological reductionism?

Answer 3

Attempts to explain all behaviour on a biological level.

Question 4

What is environmental reductionism?

Answer 4

Explains all behaviour in terms of stimulus response links that have been learned through experience.

Question 5

What are the levels of explanation?

Answer 5

There are different ways of viewing the same concept.
Some are more reductionist than others.

Question 6

Name the 3 levels of explanation.

Answer 6

Biological.
Psychological.
Social and cultural.

Question 7

Explain one evaluation against holism.

Answer 7

Holistic explanations cannot be subjected to scientific testing.
E.g. humanistic approach lacks evidence as it consists of untestable concepts such as self actualisation and congruence.
Reductionist theories have more scientific credibility.

Question 8

Explain one strength of the holism and reductionism debate.

Answer 8

Interactionism which considers how different levels of explanation combine and interact.
E.g. diathesis stress model as the outcome (genetic) is often triggered by a stressor (usually environmental).
Model combines both viewpoints to create a more accurate explanation for behaviours.