Holism and Reductionism

Question 1

Which group of researchers is associated with the concept of holism in psychology?

Answer 1

Gestalt psychologists, a group of German researchers from the 1920s and 30s

Question 2

What is the basic view of holism?

Answer 2

Holism is the idea that any attempt to break up behaviour and experince is inappropriate as these can only be understood by analysing a person as a whole

Question 3

Which psychological approach shares a similar view to holism?

Answer 3

Humanistic psychology, which sees successful therapy as bringing together all aspects of the whole ‘person’

Question 4

What is the basic principle of reductionism in psychology?

Answer 4

Reductionism analyses behaviour by breaking it down into its parts

Question 5

What scientific principle is reductionism based on?

Answer 5

The principle of parsimony, which states that all phenomena should be explained using the simplest and most basic principles

Question 6

How reductionism differ from holism?

Answer 6

Reductionism focuses on simplifying behaviour to its basic parts, while holism emphasizes understanding the person or behaviour as a whole

Question 7

Why would

Question 8

What does biological reductionism involve?

Answer 8

Biological reductionism includes the neurochemical and physiological levels of explanation meaning that behaviour is explained through the role of neurotransmitters and abnormalities in the brain.

Question 9

How has biological reductionism contributed to psychology?

Answer 9

It has helped with the understanding of neural processes and explained serious mental disorders like OCD, depression and schizophrenia at the biochemical level

Question 10

What are the ‘levels of explanation’ in psychology?

Answer 10

There is the sociocultural level, psychological level, physical level, environmental level, physiological level and neurochemical level

Question 11

What is at the top of the levels of explanations hierarchy?

Answer 11

At the top of the hierarchy there is a socio - cultural level (the most scientific) and at the very bottom of the hierarchy there is the neurochemical level (least scientific)

Question 12

Outline the levels of explanations:

Answer 12

There is a psychological level, physical level, environmental level etc. The physical level involves studying movement

Question 13

How can obsessive - compulsive disorder (OCD) be understood at a social - cultural level?

Answer 13

As producing behaviour, such as repetitive hand washing, that most people regard as odd or irrational

Question 14

How is OCD understood at a psychological level?

Answer 14

As the experience of having obsessive thoughts

Question 15

How is OCD understood at a physical level?

Answer 15

As a sequence of movements involved in washing one’s hands

Question 16

How is OCD understood at a physiological level?

Answer 16

As hypersensitivity of the basal ganglia

Question 17

How is OCD understood at a neurochemical level?

Answer 17

As the underproduction of serotonin

Question 18

What is environmental reductionism?

Answer 18

It explains behaviour through environmental factors

Question 19

Which psychological approach is built on environmental reductionism?

Answer 19

The behaviourist approach is environmentally reductionist because it explains behaviour in terms of conditioning

Question 20

At what level does the behaviourist approach analyze behaviour?

Answer 20

At the physical level, focusing on observable behaviour

Question 21

What is a strength of holistic approach? (group better + stanford experiment)

Answer 21

Holism highlights that certain behaviours nly emerge within a group context and cannot be understood by analyzing individuals alone.

For example, the Stanford Prison Experiment, the effects of conformity and de - individuation were due to interactions between participants, not individual traits.

The behaviour of the group as a whole was critical for understanding the outcomes, emphasizing the importance of group level analysis

Holistic approaches provide a more global and complete understanding of behaviour compared to reductionist methods which may overlook aspects of group interactions.

Question 22

What is a limitation to the holistic approach? (lack of scientific rigour)

Answer 22

Holistic approaches often do not lend themselves to rigorous scientific testing. As the holistic theories become more complex, they risk becoming vague and speculative.

For example, the humanistic approach, is often criticised for its lack of empirical evidence. Sometimes, being viewed as a loose set of ideas rather than a scientific theory.

Additionally holistic explanations that combine multiple perspectives make it challenging to identify which factors are most influential.

As a result lower level reductionist explanations may be more appropriate when finding practical solutions to real world problems, such as developing effective treatments

Question 23

What is a strength of reductionism? (basis for research + reliable methods)

Answer 23

Reductionism allows researchers to break down target behaviors into parts, making them measurable and operationalised

By simplifying behaviours, experiments can be conducted and observations recorded in a way that ensures meaningful and reliable results

For example, the behaviourist approach demonstrated how complex learning could be reduced to simple stimulus response links, which were studied in the lab

Reductionism enhances the scientific credibility of psychology, aligning it with natural sciences lower down in the reductionist hierarchy

Question 24

What is a limitation of the reductionist approach? (losing validity + oversimplification, missing key factors?!)

Answer 24

Reductionism approaches risk losing validity by oversimplifying behaviours and ignoring their complexity. Explanations involving genes, neurotransmitters or neurons exclude the social context in which behaviours occur, possibly missing the meaning of behaviour.

For example. the physiological processes of point a finger are the same in all situations. however the meaning of the action varies as it could be to signal aggression, draw attention or raise a hand in class.

Reductionist explanations can only ever form part of a complete explanation as they fail to address broader contextual factors