holism and reductionism Flashcards
levels of explanation in Psychology. Biological reductionism and environmental (stimulus-response) reductionism.
define reductionism
the idea that human behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into simpler component parts
what is the lowest level of reductionism (most reductionist) with example?
most reductionist is biological explanations
e.g. Maguire (2000) found an association between the size of the hippocampus and memory for spatial navigation (black taxi drivers in London study)
what is the middle level of reductionism with examples?
middle level is psychological explanations
e.g. Miller (1956) studied capacity of STM
e.g. Peterson & Peterson (1959) studied duration of STM
what is the highest level of reductionism (most holistic) with example?
most holistic is social and cultural explanations
e.g. depression being explained by a withdrawal from social activities, low energy levels and insomnia, which is viewed as odd by society
what are the two types of reductionism?
biological and environmental
explain what biological reductionism is
reducing behaviour to a physical level e.g. neurons, neurotransmitters, hormones etc
example: claiming that OCD is caused by higher levels of dopamine and lower levels of serotonin
explain what environmental reductionism is
assuming that all behaviour can be reduced down to simple building blocks of stimulus-response associations e.g. classical conditioning
example: phobias are initiated through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning
define holism
the idea that human behaviour should be viewed as a whole integrated experience rather than as separate parts
what are the two types of holistic psychology?
gestalt psychology and humanistic psychology
what is gestalt psychology?
when we perceive something in the real world, we do so as a whole rather than as a collection of bits and pieces
what is humanistic psychology?
argues that humans react to stimuli as an organised whole, rather than a set of stimulus-response links
use of qualitative methods to investigate all aspects of the person as well as the interactions between people
positive evaluations for holism
holism provides a more complete picture, some examples of behaviour can only be understood at the holistic level such as the conformity and deindividuation of Zimbardo’s prisoners and guards in his Stanford Prison Experiment
negative evaluations for holism
holistic explanations may not be suited towards more complex behaviours
more hypothetical and not based on empirical evidence
holistic explanations are frequently used by the humanistic approach
however there is a lack of empirical evidence associated with higher-level explanations and holistic viewpoints may simplify complex phenomena too far
positive evaluation for reductionism
smaller, constituent parts of behaviour are easily measured and manipulated under strict laboratory conditions and so ‘cause and effect’ relationships between variables can be reliably established
hence reductionism raises the scientific credibility of psychology
negative evaluations for reductionism
from a reductionist viewpoint, the act of speaking would be the same across all scenarios due to each individual having the same biological mechanism for this
however, such a view ignores the social context of this speaking such as with the aim of alerting someone, voicing an opinion etc.
therefore, reductionist explanations may simplify complex phenomena too much e.g. SSRIs are more effective than placebos at treating and reducing OCD symptoms as it helps to reduce the anxiety associated with OCD to provide relief for patients (Soomro et al 2008)
