Holism vs Reductionism Flashcards
What is Holism?
The idea that human behaviour should be viewed as a whole intergrated experience and not as separate parts
What is Reductionism?
The belief that human behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into simpler component parts
What is Biological Reductionism?
Where behaviour is reduced to a physical level and explained in terms of neurons, neurotransmitters, hormones ect
What is Environmental Reductionism?
Where behaviour is reduced to the simile building blocks of stimulus-response associations
What viewpoint does the Behaviourist Approach take?
Environmental reductionism, behaviour is broken down into simple stimulus response associations
What viewpoint does the Cognitive Approach take?
Environmental reductionism, behaviour is investigated in terms of isolated variables (STM and LTM)
What viewpoint does the Biological Approach take?
Biological reductionism, behaviour is broken down into biological structures and processes
What viewpoint does the Psychodynamic Approach take?
Reductionism and holism, behaviour is reduced to innate drives whilst also taking into account human behaviour
What viewpoint does the Humanistic Approach take?
Holism, focuses on undertaking all aspects of human experience
What are the levels of explanation?
- Highest level
- Middle level
- Lower level
What is the highest level?
Cultural and social explanations, what we should remember for example birthdays
What is the middle level?
Psychological explanations, memory affected by processing such as episodic, semantic, procedural
What is the lower level?
Biological explanations, genes and hormones
What is an evaluation point?
Psychology is taken more seriously as a science when it is reductionist
