Holism And Reductionism

Question 1

Describe holism

Answer 1

1. Should not break up behaviour and and experience and instead Analyse the person or behaviour as a whole
2. Linked to humanist approach

Question 2

Describe reductionism

Answer 2

Breaks down behaviour into constituent parts to the lowest level of explanation

Question 3

What are 5 levels of explanation

Answer 3

1. Physics
2. Chemistry
3. Biology
4. Psychology
5. Sociology

Question 4

Describe biological reductionism

Answer 4

1. All behaviour can be explained at a physiological level

2. Sucsessfily applied through drugs

Question 5

Environmental reductionism

Answer 5

1. Break all behaviour into stimulus-response

2. Only obervseable behaviour in a lab

Question 6

Case for holism

Answer 6

1. Social aspects of behaviour only emerge within a group context
2. Such as research into conformity

Question 7

Case against holism

Answer 7

1. Often untestable and lacks impiricle evidence
2. Such as humanist approach
3. Higher levels of explanation that combine many influences it is hard to establish and study the most important
4. Therefore little application of findings

Question 8

Case for reductionism

Answer 8

1. Forms basis of operationalisation
2. Allows for cause effect to be isolated
3. Much better scientific credibility

Question 9

Case against reductionism

Answer 9

1. Oversimplifies complex phenomena causing a loss of validity
2. Such as genetic explanations of depression ignore social influences
3. So can only form part of the explaintions

Question 10

Interactionalist approach

Answer 10

Considers all levels of expliantions

Such as diathesis stress