HOLISM VS REDUCTIONISM

Question 1

what 4 things do you have to remember for holism vs reductionism?

Answer 1

holism
reductionism
levels of explanation in psychology
types of reductionism

Question 2

define holism

Answer 2

the argument proposing it only makes sense to study an inseparable system than it’s constituent parts

Question 3

what did German/Gestalt psychologists say?

Answer 3

’ the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts’

Question 4

holism argues that any attempt to….

Answer 4

break up behaviour is inappropriate, only understood by analysing the person/behaviour as a whole

Question 5

what approach is holistic?

Answer 5

humanistic approach as effective therapy brings in all aspects of the person together

Question 6

define reductionism

Answer 6

the belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into it’s smaller constituent parts

Question 7

what scientific principle is reductionism based on?

Answer 7

parsimony

Question 8

define parsimony

Answer 8

all phenomena is explained using basic principles

Question 9

reductionism is the ______ and most __________ level of explanation

Answer 9

easiest and most economical

Question 10

define levels of explanation in psychology

Answer 10

explanations vary from those at a fundamental level focusing on basic component to those at higher more holistic multivariable level

Question 11

in simpler terms, levels of exp in psych are…

Answer 11

diff ways of viewing the same phenomena in psychology

Question 12

explain OCD at it’s diff levels of exp

Answer 12

socio-cultural = behaviour such as excessive hand washing seen as irrational
psychological = explanation of having obsessive thoughts
physical = sequence of movements involving washing hands
physiological = hypersensitivity of basal ganglia
neurochemical =- underproduction of serotonin

Question 13

reductionist psychologists think that…

Answer 13

psychology will be replaced with other sciences higher in reductionist hierarchy

Question 14

what are the two types of reductionism?

Answer 14

biological

environmental

Question 15

define biological reductionism

Answer 15

attempts to explain social/psychological phenomena at lower biological level e.g. genes or hormones

Question 16

the ______ approach is biologically reductionist as…

Answer 16

biological as it believes all behaviour is somehow biological

Question 17

biological approach has led to the development of…

Answer 17

psychoactive drugs that contribute to the understanding of neural processes such as OCD, depression and schizophrenia at a biochemical level

Question 18

define environmental reductionism

Answer 18

attempts to explain all behaviour in terms of stimulus-response links made through experience

Question 19

what approach is environmentally determinist?

Answer 19

behaviourist as they study observable behaviour and break it down

Question 20

behaviourists believe that…

Answer 20

key analysis happens at a physical level and the mind is irrelevant into understand behaviour

Question 21

give a strength and weakness of holism`

Answer 21

+ aspects of group cannot be understood individually

- no scientific testing

Question 22

one strength of holism is that….

Answer 22

there are aspects of social behaviour that only emerge during a group context and cannot be understood at an individual

Question 23

what is an example of social behaviour that only emerges during a group?

Answer 23

effect of conformity, social roles and deindividuation cannot be understood when you look at ppts as individuals

Question 24

what is important in group behaviour that supports holism?

Answer 24

interaction with people and behaviour of the group is important

Question 25

what does aspects of social behaviour show about holistic explanations?

Answer 25

they provide a more complete and global understanding of behaviour than reductionist approaches

Question 26

since some behaviour can only be understood in a group context the…..

Answer 26

the reliability and internal validity of holism as an explanation in psychology is increased

Question 27

one weakness of holism is that….

Answer 27

there is no scientific testing

Question 28

the holistic explanation doesn’t…

Answer 28

lend itself to rigorous scientific testing and becomes vague/speculative as becomes more complex

Question 29

for example, humanistic psychology which takes a holistic approach tends to be criticised as…

Answer 29

it lacks of empirical evidence, and is instead seen by many as a rather loose set of concepts

Question 30

higher level explanations that combine different perspectives present researchers with a practical dilemma…

Answer 30

if we accept that there are many factors that contribute to depression, it is difficult to establish the more influential one

Question 31

therefore, the _________ ________ of holism is _______ as it suggests that a lower level explanation is more appropriate

Answer 31

internal validity of holism is decreased

Question 32

give one strength and weakness of reductionism

Answer 32

+ forms basis of scientific research (operationalisation)

- oversimplifies behaviour

Question 33

one strength of reductionism is that it…

Answer 33

forms the basis of scientific research

Question 34

how does reductionism form the basis of scientific research?

Answer 34

in order to create operationalised variables, it is necessary to break target behaviours down into it’s constituent parts

Question 35

reductionism makes it possible…

Answer 35

to conduct experiments/record observation through behavioural categories in meaningful and reliable way

Question 36

an approach that shows reductionism was the…

Answer 36

behaviourist approach to demonstrate how complex learning could be broken down into simple stimulus-response links within the lab

Question 37

the reductionist approach gives psychology…

Answer 37

greater credibility, placing it on equal terms with the natural sciences lower down in the reductionist hierarchy and consequently increases the internal validity

Question 38

a weakness of the reductionist approach is that….

Answer 38

it oversimplifies complex behaviour

Question 39

what is an example of explanations that do not include an analysis of the social context behaviour happens in?

Answer 39

explanations that operate at the level of gene, neurotransmitter and neuron, where the behaviour in question may get it’s meaning

Question 40

for example, ______________ processes involved in…. do not show….

Answer 40

physiological processes such as pointing one’s finger is the same regardless of context, but an analysis of these doesn’t tell us why finger is pointed

Question 41

reductionism oversimplifying behaviour means…

Answer 41

internal validity is decreased as reductionist explanation only form part of the explanation