holism and reductionist Flashcards
kolhers research presenting holism
A chimpanzee was presented with a puzzle where a banana was out of reach and a stick was within reach. Initially, the chimpanzee tried to grab the banana but failed. After a brief pause, it suddenly used the stick to pull the banana closer to the cage. This moment of insight, where the solution appeared clearly, is an example of “insight learning.” It occurs when all the elements of a problem are understood as interconnected, allowing for a sudden solution.
holism
-said that subdividing is inappropriate
knowing ab parts wont help understand the prsn
-focus on individuals exp which cant be reduced
reductionism
-breaks down beh
-based on scientific principle of parsimony ‘all phenomena should be explained using simplest (lowest lvl) principles
what are the levels of explanation
socio cultural level, psycholgical level, physical level, env/beh level, physiolgoical level, neurochemical level
(the exp lvls go from least to most redcutionist)
socio cultural level
sz may disrupt social RS and lead to social isolation
psycholgical level
-person experience delusions and halluncinations
physical level
disorganised speech or movement associated with SZ
env/beh level
-stressful life events or family dyanmics contributing to SZ
physiological level
-structural abnomrlaities in the brain e.g enlarged vesicles
the neurochemical level
-over activity of dopamine in certain areas of the brain
what is biological reductionism
-neurochemical/ physiological levels
-evolutonary and genetic infulence
-all beh somewhat biological
-e.g drugs increasing serotonin seen as somewhat effective in treating OCD
so low serotonin may cause OCD
what is environemntal reductionism
-behaviuorist appr
-beh learnt and accquired in interactions
-beh explored in terms of conditoning
-focused on simple stimulus and response links
-reduce beh to basic elements
example of env redcutionism
-learning theory reduce idea of love(between the mother and baby to learnt asscoaition between mum(NS) and food (UCS) resulting in pleasure (conditoned resp)
relation between machine redcutionist and cognitive neuroscience
-comapring operations of the mind to those of a computer producing simple input processing resp models of the mind
e.g MSM and working memory model
-such models are in contrast to more recent models of the mind
-proposed by cog neuroscientists which take a holsitic , network based appr to information processing.
arguments For reductionist
(sceintfic appr)
-breaking beh into components allows for objective, relaible research (operationalising attachment beh in strange situ)
-conduct well controlled research , we need to operationalise
-the varibales to be studied to break the target beh into constunient parts
-able to do experiments so its objective and relaibale e.g SS operationalised component beh such as sep anxiety
(practical value)
-idenitfying key factors in disorders e.g neurotransimitters in dep)helps priortise treatment
-holisitic appr is complex as human beh is hard to study e.g diff factors that contribute dep (prsn past, past RS hard to know whats most infulential)
Biological Basis – Cognitive neuroscience links thoughts and behaviours to brain activity, supporting reductionist explanations.
againist redcutionism
(oversimplicification)
-Ignores social context, reducing validity (e.g., pointing a finger can mean different things).
-explanations around the genes do not include analysis of social context which beh occured
e.g points ones finger wont say why finger pointed instead draw attention to object or prsn as sign of agression
-redcutionist approaches only explain part of sm
(Limited Explanatory Power)
– Some behaviours, like social conformity, cannot be understood at an individual level.
(Explanatory Gap )
Neuroscience cannot fully explain subjective experiences, suggesting thought may go beyond brain activity.
e.g thinking of colour blue involves same regions of brain as thinking of the colour red but the thought we experience is diff so perhaps thinking is one step ahead of whats happening in the brain.
againist holism
(Lack of Practical Val)ue –
Considering too many factors (e.g., in depression) makes it difficult to prioritise treatment.
(Less Scientific) –
Holistic theories are harder to test with controlled experiments, reducing psychology’s scientific credibility.
for holism
(Higher-Level Explanations )–
Some behaviours (e.g., conformity in the Stanford Prison Study) emerge only in group contexts.
e.g effects of conformity of social roles cant be understood by looking at individuals but it was the interactions between people that was important
-certain behs can only be explained at the level they occur
-so for some behs, higher exp provides valid account (e.g holistic)
(More Valid Explanations –)
Social and psychological factors often influence behaviour beyond biological mechanisms.
