Holism & Reductionism Flashcards
Define holism
Theory/approach that looks at behaviour as an indivisible system
What does holism need state
To understand complex behaviour, we must understand the WHOLE experience
Define reductionism
The belief that the best way to research and understand behaviour is by ‘reducing’ it down to smaller parts/units
What does reductionism believe?
parsimony
define parsimony
a scientific principle which suggests all phenomena should be explained using the most basic principles
What is ‘level of explanations’?
the idea that there are different ways of viewing the same behaviour
What are higher level of explanations like?
less scientific
consider range of factors
social + cultural explanations
(holism)
What are middle level explanations like?
Psychological explanations
What are lower levels of explanations like?
More scientific - looking at one basic aspect
biological explanations
reductionist
