Holism And Redutionism

Question 1

Biological reductionism

Answer 1

refers to the way that biological psychologists try to reduce behaviour to a physical level and explain it in terms of neurons, neurotransmitters, hormones, brain structure, etc.

For example, explanations of psychological disorders are often biologically reductionist, as genes and neurochemical imbalances are offered as the main cause. For example, a meta-analysis of 14 twin studies of OCD found that monozygotic twins were more than twice as likely to develop OCD in comparison to dizygotic twins if their co-twin also had the disorder (Billett et al., 1998), thus suggesting a genetic link.

Question 2

Environmental reductionism

Answer 2

is also known as stimulus-response reductionism. Behaviourists assume that all behaviour can be reduced to the simple building blocks of S-R (stimulus-response) associations and that complex behaviours are a series of S-R chains. For example, behaviourists reduce the complex behaviour of attachment down to a stimulus-response link, where the mother becomes the conditioned stimulus who becomes associated with the pleasure from feeding. Therefore the child comes to feel pleasure (conditioned response) when he or she encounters their mother, leading to the formation of an attachment.

Question 3

Holism

Answer 3

comes from the Greek word ‘holos’, which means ‘all’, ‘whole’ or ‘entire’ and is the idea that human behaviour should be viewed as a whole integrated experience, and not as separate parts.

Question 4

Levels of explanations

Answer 4

explanations vary from those at a lower or fundamental level focusing on basic components or units (reductionist) to those at a higher more holistic multivariable level.

Question 5

Parsimony

Answer 5

is the idea that complex phenomena should be explained in the simplest terms possible.

Question 6

Reductionism

Answer 6

is the belief that human behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into simpler component parts.

Question 7

What is holism

Answer 7

Gestalt psychology adopts a holistic approach to perception: when we perceive something in the real world, we do so as a whole rather than as a collection of bits and pieces. What we see only makes sense when we consider the whole image, rather than the individual elements that make up our vision. Consequently, some cognitive psychologists also take a holistic approach. For example, within the area of perception, visual illusions demonstrate that humans perceive more than the sum of the sensations on the retina. [If you examine the image on the right, what you will instantly perceive is the outline of a cube. However, there is in fact no cube in the image and your mind has created a cube due to the position and configuration of the black shapes].

Humanistic psychology also advocates a holistic approach, as it argues that humans react to stimuli as an organised whole, rather than as a set of stimulus-response links. As an approach, it uses qualitative methods to investigate all aspects of the individual, as well as the interactions between people.

Question 8

What is reductionism

Answer 8

Reductionism is based on the idea of parsimony. Parsimony is similar to the idea of Occam’s Razor, which was established by William of Ockham in the 14th century. Like parsimony, reductionism states that one should not make unnecessary assumptions and that the answer to a problem is often the simplest.

Question 9

A01 Levels of explanation

Answer 9

Almost all behaviours can be considered at various different levels of explanation. These explanations vary from the most reductionist- focusing on basic components- to those at a higher more holistic, multi-variable level (.i.e. considering a range of interacting factors).

The lowest most reductionist level of explanation focused on physiological factors .i.e. attempts to explain behaviour in terms of neurochemicals, genes or specific brain areas. The highest levels of explanations tend to focus on sociocultural factors explanations (.i.e. values, customs and areas of tension in society). Between these extremes there are behavioural, cognitive and social explanations.

Question 10

Levels of explanation used to explain SZ

Answer 10

If we look at levels of explanation in schizophrenia – the most simplest explanation of SZ would be to explain it as being caused by high/low levels of dopamine (which can be treated through antipsychotic medication)

If we look at middle levels of explanation then we would say that the cause of SZ is cognitive dysfunction which could be treated through cognitive behaviour therapy.

Another middle level explanation could be that SZ is caused by family dysfunction which can be treated by family therapy

However, if we look at a more holistic approach then we would say that the cause of SZ is a variety of factors such as stress, genes etc, therefore the treatment should be a combination of drugs, CBT and family therapy.

Psychology itself can also be placed within a hierarchy of science with the more precise and ‘micro’ of these disciplines at the bottom, and the more general ‘macro’ at the top. Researchers who favour reductionist accounts of behaviour would see psychology as ultimately being replaced by explanations derived from those sciences lower down in the hierarchy (for example –biopsychology)

Question 11

Biological reductionism (lowest level)

Answer 11

Biological explanation such as genetics, high or low dopamine levels and anatomical changes in the brain such as the hippocampus are the causes of SZ and can be seen and measured

Question 12

Environmental reductionism (middle level)

Answer 12

An example is family dysfunction such as the schizophrenogenic mother or double bind theory, Family dysfunction theory states that the cause of SZ is due to a dysfunctional family in childhood

Question 13

Machine reductionism (middle level)

Answer 13

Cognitive explanations (which compare human mind to a computer) state that SZ is caused by dysfunctional thought processes

Question 14

Types of reductionism

Answer 14

Biological and environmental

Question 15

Advantages of reductionism

Answer 15

One strength of the reductionist explanation is that scientists (including psychologists) are drawn to reductionist explanations as a method of research. For example, most experimental psychology is based on the assumption that human behaviour can be studied effectively through relatively simple experiments, where complex behaviour is reduced to isolated variables (known as experimental reductionism). This allows researchers to study the different factors that influence human behaviour in a controlled manner while establishing a causal relationship. This would not be possible if psychologists attempted to study all of the factors that influence human behaviour at once, as it would be too complex to interpret the findings.

Another strength of reductionism is that both biological and environmental reductionism are viewed as scientific. Breaking complex behaviours into small constituent parts means that they can be scientifically tested, and over time explanations based on scientific evidence will emerge. In addition, biological reductionism has led to the development of biological therapies, such as drugs. For example, SSRIs are more effective than placebos at treating the symptoms of OCD and reduce the symptoms for up to three months after the treatment (Soomro et al., 2008). The use of SSRIs in patients with OCD has helped to reduce the anxiety associated with OCD, thus providing relief for some patients.

Question 16

Disadvantages of reductionism

Answer 16

Criticism of reductionism takes many forms. Some psychologists argue that biological reductionism can lead to errors of understanding because it ignores the complexity of human behaviour. For example, to treat conditions like ADHD with drugs in the belief that the condition consists of nothing more than neurochemical imbalances is to mistake the symptoms of the phenomenon for its true cause. Ritalin may reduce these symptoms, but the conditions which gave rise to the ADHD have not been addressed. Whether or not this is true depends on what one thinks of as causation, but since success rates of drug therapy are so highly variable, the purely biological understanding seems inadequate.

The critique of environmental reductionism is as much methodological as it is substantive. Much of the relevant research in the behaviourist tradition has made use of non-human animals as subjects. The classic Pavlovian experiments are an iconic example. But is human behaviour simply a scaled-up version of that of dogs or rats? Critics of reductionism point to the social context in which humans are embedded from the earliest moments of life, and to hard-to-measure factors like cognition, emotion, and intentionality. In this case as well, the reductionist position seems, if not clearly incorrect, then at least inadequate.

Question 17

Advantages of holism

Answer 17

A strength of holism is that there are aspects of social behaviour that can only emerge within a group context and cannot be understood by looking at analysing each group member -For example, conformity and de-individuation can only be studied by looking at the group behaviour as a whole and not the individuals. This explains how holism needs to be studied in psychology especially social psychology

The holistic explanation attempts to blend different levels of explanation; holistic theory and approaches attempt to provide a complete and realistic understanding of human behaviour. For example, understanding that the causes of schizophrenia is a combination of many factors such as genes, upbringing and stressful events allows us to understand the complexity of the disorder by not breaking it down. It also helps us to understand that a combination of treatments for schizophrenia such as family therapy, CBT and drugs would benefit the sufferer much more that just one specific treatment

Question 18

Disadvantages of holism

Answer 18

Holistic approaches do not lend themselves to rigorous scientific testing and can become vague and complex. For example the Humanistic Approach which takes the holistic view to behaviour tends to be difficult to test scientifically and is criticised as being a loose set of concepts. For example, how do we scientifically test if someone has reached self actualisation?

Also, holistic explanations do not establish causation because they do not examine behaviour in terms of operationalised variables that can be manipulated and measured. This means that holistic explanations are viewed as unscientific. For example, what causes someone to become self actualised?

Finally, when we study holistic explanations that combine many different aspects, leave the researchers with a practical dilemma for example, if we say that depression may be due to neurochemistry, parental upbringing, stressful life events etc, then it becomes difficult to decide upon the treatment and which factor is more influential. holistic explanations do not establish causation because they do not examine behaviour in terms of operationalised variables that can be manipulated and measured. This means that holistic explanations are viewed as unscientific.