holism and reductionism Flashcards
is holism and reductionism on a continuum
no
In the reduction-holism debate, interactionism is the interaction between…
different levels of explanation.
what is holism
an argument or theory which proposes that it only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than constituent parts
perception of whole behaviour/experience rather than the individual features and the relations between them, implying behaviour must be explained at the highest holistic level
the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
which approach uses holism and explain
what methods do they use and to do what
humanist approach, focusing on the individuals experience which is not something that can be reduced
humanistic psychologists use qualitative methods to investigate self whereby themes are analysed rather than breaking the concept into component behaviours
what is reductionism
belief that human behaviour is best understood by studying the smaller constituent parts.
based on scientific principle of parsimony
what is parsimony
the belief that all phenomena should be explained using the simplest (lowest level)
breaking behaviour down so actually know whats happening
The principle of parsimony states that if there are several different explanations that completely explain something…
we should choose the simplest explanation.
what are levels of explanation and what happens in their order
the idea that there are several ways (levels) that can be used to explain behaviour
the lower they go the more reductionist
what does the lowest level of explanation consider
it considers physiological/biological explanations
what does the middle level of explanation consider
psychological explanations
what does the highest level of explanation consider
social and cultural explanations
apply the levels of explanation to OCD
sociocultural: ocd interrupts social relationships
psych: experience of anxiety
physical: movements eg washing hands
envri/behav: learning experiences
physio: abnormal functioning in the frontal lobes
neurochemical: underproduction of serotonin
why is the neurochemical level the most reductionist and does this mean as a result
you can break it down the most
most scientific, can have an iv and dv easier to conduct research on as less extraneous variables
which approach is reductionist
behaviourist
what is biological reductionism
includes the neurochemical and physiological levels and also evolutionary and genetic influences.
based on the premise that we’re all biological organisms > all behaviour is at some level biological
explain how ocd can be biological reductionism
drugs that increase serotonin have been found to be effective at treating ocd, therefore low serotonin may be the cause of ocd.
ocd is therefore reduced to the level of neurotransmitter activity
what is environmental reductionism
the attempt to explain all behaviour in terms of stimulus response links that have been learned through experience
link behaviourism to environmental reductionism
behaviourist approach is built on environmental reductionism, proposing that all behaviour is learned and acquired through interactions with the environment.
B is explained in terms of conditioning which is focused on a simple stimulus-response link, reducing behaviour to these basic elements
link social learning theory of attachment to environmental reductionism
slt of attachment reduces the idea of love (infant and caregiver who does the feeding) to a learned association between the person doing the feeding (ns) and food (uncs) and resulting in pleasure (cr)
limitation of holism approach (practical value)
holistic accounts of behaviour are hard to use as they are complex.
researchers have a practical dilemma.
from a humanistic perspective there are many factors that influence behaviour eg contribute to depression so it becomes difficult to know which is the most INFLUENTIAL
then dk which to prioritise as the basis of therapy for eg
strength of reductionist approach (scientific approach) inc explained psych eg
in order to conduct well controlled research the variables need to be operationalised in order to be studied. ie target behaviours need to be broken down into constituent parts > possible to conduct exps and record obs (behavioural CATEGORIES) in an OBJECTIVE and RELIABLE manner.
eg ss it was important to operationalise behaviours such as separation anxiety
thus scientific approach provides psych with greater credibility matching that of natural sciences because they reduce behaviour down into c+e rel that are empirically testable and therefore the rels are falsifiable
counter point to strength of reductionist approach (scientific approach), reductionist approaches can be considered to oversimplify complex phenomena
this leads to reduced validity. explanations that operate at the level of the gene of the neurotransmitter do not include analysis of the social context within which behaviour occurs.
suggesting reductionist explanations can only ever form part of an explanation as if we break some behaviours down into smaller parts/to a lower level of exp then it wont make sense as we might miss other important factors
limitation of reductionism (some bs can only be explained at higher levels)
inc explained psych eg
some aspects of social b only occur in a group context and cannot be understood in terms of the individual group members
eg zimbardo/effects of conformity to social roles in prisoner and guards. the exp couldnt be understod by observing ps as individuals, it was the interaction of members and b of the group that was important.
there is no conformity gene so social processes like conformity can only be explained at the level at which they occur.
if we break some behaviours down into smaller parts/to a lower level of exp then it wont make sense as we might miss other important factors
what is experimental reductionism
reducing complex behaviours to isolated variables is useful for conducting research
it underlies experimental approach where bs are reduces to operationalised variables that can be manipulated and measured to determine causal relationships
