Holism and reductionism Flashcards
AO1: Holism
proposes that it only makes sense to study an individual as a whole. This was the view of Gestalt psychologists who argued that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
AO1: reductionism (biological and environmental)
Analysing behaviour by breaking it down into its constituent parts, all behaviour should be explained using the most basic (lowest level) principles.
biological reductionism attempts to explain behaviour at the lowest biological level (genes, hormones etc)
environmental reductionism attempts to explain all behaviour in terms of stimulus-response links that have been learned through experience.
AO1: levels of explanation in the reductionist approach
Least to most.
sociocultural
- social cognition
- social groups, family etc
- interpersonal interaction
psychological
- cognition & emotion
- learned associations
biological
- genetic
- physiology
- cellular biology
- biochemistry
AO3: Strength of holism- some areas of psychology have really benefited from a holistic explanation.
P: Some areas of psychology have really benefited from a holistic explanation.
E: e.g. there are aspects of human social behaviour that only emerge when consideration is given to the social context in which they arose.
E: This includes the effects of conformity and the deindividuation (when someone loses sense of social identity and resorts to anti social behaviour) shown by the guards when in the mock prison for Zimbardo, which only become apparent when you examine them in the context they arose in - mock prison. There is no conformity ‘gene’ that could be isolated and studied.
L: This shows that the holistic explanation, or higher-level explanations, provide necessary understanding of behaviour that could be missed, with a more reductionist viewpoint.
EXTRA: strength of holistic approach (therapy)
Holistic explanations may be more useful for creating therapies that will be used with an individual, as they see each individual as being unique.
AO3: limitation of holism- tend not to be scientifically tested
P: holistic explanations tend not to be scientifically tested
E: e.g. Humanistic Psychology (which supports Holism) is criticised for its lack of scientific, empirical evidence.
E: This is an issue because higher level holistic explanations present a practical dilemma for researchers. If we say that a behaviour (e.g like depression) is affected by multiple factors, then how do you study it and how do you establish which the most important influencing factor is.
L: This leads to a lack of evidence to support holistic viewpoints and so for a subject striving to be accepted a science, Psychologists often prefer a reductionist view.
EXTRA: limitation of holistic approach
If behaviour is explained holistically, it makes it very difficult to predict and so prevent.
AO3: strength of reductionism- has had many practical applications
P: reductionism has had many practical applications
E/E: For example, in studying the biological (most reductionist) causes for behaviours like depression have led to successful treatment options like drug therapy.
L: This is a substantial benefit due to the reduction in use of asylums and institutionalisation and drugs are therefore seen as a more humane way to treat mental illness.
HOWEVER, drug treatments have their issues (e.g. variable successes, publication bias, short term benefits). Therefore, it is possible that if a more holistic approach had been taken the success of the treatment might have been greater.
EXTRA: strength of reductionism
It is consistent with the view that Psychology is a science, as it makes research credible.
AO3: limitation of reductionism- are over simplified leading to reduced validity
P: reductionist explanations are over simplified leading to low validity
E: e.g. explanations that operate at the level of the neurotransmitter or gene do not include any analysis of the social context in which a behaviour occurs, and this may be where a behaviour gets its meaning. E.g. pointing a finger always involves the same physiological processes but the meaning changes depending on the context – drawing attention to something or as an act of aggression
E: This therefore is a weakness because, a reductionist explanation can only ever form part of an explanation
L: This can lead to issues, for example in mental illness it could lead to a recurrence of the disorder because the other influencing factors haven’t been considered.
EXTRA: limitation or reductionism (prejudice)
If researchers try to generalise their findings to human behaviour in all circumstances as it can lead to certain behaviour being seen as normal and other behaviour being seen as abnormal, leading to prejudice
