I&D Holism and Reductionism

Question 1

Define Reductionism

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Define Holism

Answer 2

Holism is the idea that human behaviour should be viewed as a, whole integrated experience, and not as separate parts

Question 3

define the levels of explanation

Answer 3

The idea that there are different ways of viewing the same behaviour in psychology

Question 3

define biological reductionism and what approach is it linked to

Answer 3

Biological Reductionism is when behaviour is reduced to the neurons, neurotransmitters, hormones and brain structure
it is linked to the biological approach

Question 4

define Parsimony

Answer 4

A complex phenomena should be explained in the simplest way

Identifying the simplest and most accurate explantation for brain processes and human behaviour

Question 5

define environmental reductionism and what approach is it linked to

Answer 5

Environmental Reductionism is known as stimulus-response reductionism and that behaviour is reduced down to stimulus-response behaviour
it is linked to Behaviourist approach

Question 6

what other approach is linked to environmental reductionism other than- Behaviourist

Answer 6

the cognitive approach- where environmental reductionism is behaviour that’s being investigated in terms of isolating variables
for example- the capacity of STM

Question 7

which approach is ‘partially reductionist’ and how

Answer 7

SLT approach, as it shares elements of the behaviourists and cognitive approaches

Question 8

which approach is both reductionist and holistic and why

Answer 8

the Psychodynamic approach because behaviour is reduces into taking account the multiple aspects of human behaviour

Question 9

which approach is holistic

Answer 9

the humanistic approach and it focuses on understanding all aspects of human experience and interactions

Question 10

what does the levels of explanation look like and explain it from bottom to top

Answer 10

an upside down triangle, the smallest level at the bottom is the physiological explanations (biological), middle level is the psychological explanation level, which is (cognitive processes and behavioural). then the top level is the socio-cultural explanation level, which is (social influence)

Question 11

Give examples of research or particular things that go into the physiological explanations (biological)

Answer 11

1. Brain scans, brain structures, genetics, neurochemical
2. The critical period of 18 hours
3. The fight or flight stress response
4. Harlows monkeys - contact comfort

Question 12

give examples of research ect of psychological explanations( cognitive and behavioural)

Answer 12

1. Internal working model (cognitive)
2. Mediational processes (slt)
   3.Classical and operant conditioning (slt)

Question 13

give examples of research ect of socio-cultural explanations (social influence)

Answer 13

1. Adorno Authoritarian personality test
2. Ainsworth’s strange situation
3. Zimbardos Standford prison experiment
4. Asch’s line study

Question 14

para 1:
1st evaluation-
B______ and e_______ red________ are viewed as s______
researcher- Soo___ et al 2008

Answer 14

P- Both biological and environmental reductionism are viewed as scientific. So, in order to scientifically test these explanations, they must break complex behaviours into small constituent, in order for scientific evidence will emerge .
E-In addition, biological reductionism has led to the development of biological therapies, such as drugs. For example, Soomro et al. (2008) did research on SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and had they are more effective than placebos at treating the symptoms of.
E- The use of SSRIs in patients with OCD is helpful because it reduces the anxiety associated with OCD which provides relief for some patients.
L- Using scientific reductionism has significantly helped the target population which means it has positively affected people in real life situations, increasing the validity of scientific reductionism.

Question 15

para 2:
2nd evaluation
A cri____ of en________ re________ is that they only study N__-H_____ a_______
research- P______
B_ S________

Answer 15

P- However, a criticism of environmental reductionism is that they studied on only non-human animals.
E- For example, the Palov experiments on dogs can’t be generalised to human behaviour because we are more complex and have various factors that contribute, which reductionists ignore, due to samplifying everything down to the basics.
E- This means that reductionists ignore important parts of our behaviour, such as cognition and emotion. But the impacts of this, make all animals research less reliable because we can’t associate ourselves as humans to rats in BF Skinner’s research and Pavlov’s research of dogs.
L- Therefore, environmental reductionism isn’t an effective way to understanding and finding evidence for human behaviour.

Question 16

para 3:
3rd evaluation
a s_______ of H______ a_______ in research that addresses a w____ g_____ at on__.
research- Z_______ P______ s____

Answer 16

P- One strength of holistic approaches in research is that it addresses an entire group at once.
E-For example, there are aspects of behaviour that only emerge within a group context and cannot be understood at the level of the individual group members e.g. the effects of conformity to social roles and the deindividuation of prisoners and guards in the Stanford Prison Experiment could not be understood by studying the PPs as individuals, it was the interaction between people and the behaviour of the group that was important.
E- This is a strength because holistic/same level explanations provide a more complete and global understanding of behaviour than the more reductionist approaches, which it can be assumed can be more easily generalised to wider societies and larger cultures.
L- As a result this provides support for the use of holistic methods within psychological research.

Question 17

Para 4:
4th evaluation
One w________ of h_______ explanations is that they are v_____ as they become more c______.
example- Hu__________ ps_______ lacks em_____ ev______ so has loo__ c______

Answer 17

P- One weakness of holistic explanations in psychology is that they tend to be vaguer as they become more complex.
E- For example, humanistic psychology which takes a holistic approach to behaviour, can be criticised for its lack of empirical evidence and is instead seen as loose concepts.
E- This is an issue because higher level explanations that have different perspectives (holism) is because present researchers with practical dilemmas, such as depression, is difficult to establish what to use as a basis for therapy.
L- This suggests that when it comes to finding solutions for real-world problems, lower level explanations may be more appropriate in holistic explanations.