holism and reductionism issues and debates Flashcards
what is the holism reductionism debate
whether holism or reductionism is better approach to use in order to understand human behaviour
holistic- studying the whole
no continuum between the two
what is holism
looks at system as a whole and sees any attempt to subdivide behaviour or experience into smaller units as inappropriate
gestalt psychologists argue the whole is greater that the sum of its parts
knwing about how the parts doesnt help us understand the essence of the person
focuses on individuals experience which is not something that can be reduced to
humanistics use qualitative methods to investigate the self whereby themes analysed rather than breaking the concept into component behaviours
what is reductionism
analyse behaviour by breaking it down into constituent parts
based on the scientific principle of parsimony- all phenomena should be explained using the simplest pricniples
levels of explanations- socio cultural level, psychological level, physical level, environmental or behavioural level, physiological level and neurochemical level
what is biological reductionism
neurochemical and physiological levels and also evolutionary and genetic influences
based on premise that all behaviour is at some level biological
drugs that increase serotonin have been found to be effective in treating ocd, working backwards low serotonin may be cause of ocd
reduced ocd to level of neurotransmitter acitivty
what is environmental reductionism
all behaviour is learned and acqurired through interactions with the environment
behaviourists explain behaviour in terms of conditioning whihc is focused on simple stimulus response links reducing behaviour to basic elements
the learning theory of attachment reduces the idea of love to a learned association between the person doing the feeding resulting in pleasure
what is practical value
limitation may lack practical value
holistic accounts of human behaviour tend to become hard to use as they become more complex
present researchers with dilemma- if we accept that there are different factors that contribute to depression the it becomes difficult to know which is most influential
then difficult to know which to prioritise as the basis of therapy
suggests may lack practical value
what is the scientific approach
often form the basis of scientific approach
in order to conduct well controlled research we need to operationalise the variables to be studied, to break target bhevaiours down into constituent parts
makes it possible to conduct experiments or record observations in a way that is objective and reliable
research on attachment operationalise component behaviours such as separation anxiety
gives psychology greater credibility placing it on equal terms with natural sciences
accused of oversimplifying complex phenomena leading to reduced validity
explanations that operate at the level of the gene or neurotransmitter do not include an analaysis of the social context within whicb behaviour occurs and this is where behaviour may derive its meanings
physiological processes involved in pointing ones finger will be the same regardless of the eonctex
analysis of these will not tell us why the finger is pointed might be to draw attention to some object or person as an act of aggression
suggests can only ever form part of an explanation
what is the higher level
some behaviours can only be understood at a higher level
there are aspects of social behaviour that onyl emerge within a group context and cant be understood in terms of individual group members
effects of conformity to socila roles in prisoners and guards in stanford prison experiment could not be understood by observing pps as individulas
interaction between people and the behaviour of the group that was important
no conformity gene so social processes like conformity can only be explained at the level at which they occur
suggests that higher level explanations provide a more valid account
