Holism and Reductionism Flashcards
More complete, global understanding (Holism)
There are aspects of social behaviour that only emerge within a group context and cannot be understood at the level of the individual group members.
E.g. conformity to social roles shown by the prisoners and guards in the Stanford Prison experiment- these could not be understood by studying the participants as individuals, it was the interaction between people and the behaviour of the group that was important.
Lacks scientific credibility (holism)
Holistic explanations tend to be vague and lack rigorous scientific testing.
Holistic explanations that combine many different perspectives makes it hard to establish which factor is most influential and so limits the practical application of the theory.
If there are too many factors at play, we cannot establish the cause of behaviour. Rutter (2011) is a good example of a large-scale holistic study:
The study used a longitudinal design, allowing researchers to track the physical, cognitive, social and emotional development of adopted Romanian orphans. Found eaely experiences affect IQ and attachment but too many factors could have influenced the results for us to establish a definitive cause.
The measures took into account an array of factors that could have influenced the orphans’ development
Ignores complexity of human behaviour (reductionism)
Reductionist approaches can lead to errors of understanding as it ignores complex human behaviours.
Motivational deficits associated with taking drugs;
It is argued that when people are prescribed antipsychotic, it prevents the individual from thinking about possible stressors (such as life history or current circumstances) that might be contributing to their condition.
CBT for schizophrenia challenges irrational beliefs looking at the causes and not just the symptoms. improving social functioning compared to standard care.
Sensky et al (2000) found that CBT was effective in treating patients with Schizophrenia who hadn’t responded to drug treatment. CBT was helpful with both positive and negative symptoms and a continued improvement was seen 9 months after treatment
Practical applications ( reductionist)
Biological reductionism - drug therapies. SSRIs for OCD. low levels of serotonin which cause OCD. Development of SSRI’s inhibit the re-absorption of serotonin in the pre-synaptic neuron, increasing the concentration of serotonin at the synapse.
Environmental reductionism - Treatment of phobias through SD. Involving creating an anxiety hierarchy which they move through using calming techniques to relax. Counter conditioning. Its been reported that about 75% of patients with phobias respond to SD.
What is holism?
The belief that behaviour is better understood by looking at it as an indivisible system rather than its constituent parts.
What is reductionism?
The belief that behaviour is better understood by breaking it down into smaller constituent parts. Based on the scientific assumption of parsimony. Suggests that there are different levels of explanation
What is biological reductionism?
A form of reductionism which reduces behaviour to a biological level (action of genes, hormones etc.).
What is environmental reductionism?
A form of reductionism which reduces behaviour to simple stimulus-response links that have been learned through experience.
What is experimental reductionism?
A form of reductionism where a complex behaviour is reduced to a single (isolated) variable for the purpose of testing.
What is parsimony?
The idea that complex phenomena should be explained in the simplest terms possible.
What is meant by levels of explanation?
Explanations for behaviour can vary from a lower basic level to a higher, more holistic level.
What are the 3 levels of explanation?
Physiological (biological) where behaviour is explained in terms of neurochemicals, brain structure and genes.
Psychological explanations (cognitive, behavioural and environmental)
Social and cultural holistic explanations (influence of social groups)
Use aggression to explore the levels of explanations
Aggression can be explained at a biological explanation in terms of hormones (testosterone) and genes (MAOA gene).
At a psychological level through observation and imitation (social learning).
Could also be explained in terms of cultural norms. Nisbett (1993) found there was a North-South divide in homicide rates in the USA. Killings more common amongst white males in the Southern states. Caused by a “culture of honour” where response to reactive aggression is a learnt social norm. / Media influences. Robertson et al. (2013) found that TV increased chances of crimina convictions.
State an example which shows biological reductionism and environmental reductionism.
- Biological= Explaining mental disorders (OCD and Schizophrenia) in terms of candidate genes and neurotransmitters 2. Environmental= Classical/operant conditioning
Example of holism
Gestalt psychology - is a form of psychology developed by a group of German psychologists- focus is on perception and argued that explanations for what we see only makes sense through a consideration of the whole rather than the individual elements. Insight learning - Kohler used the Chimpanzees getting a nut out a tube using water to suggest that we must use all elements of a problem to solve it, same applies to humans.
