Issues And Debates - Holism And Reductionism

Question 1

What is holism?

Answer 1

Debate that argues human behaviour should be views as an integrated whole experience not separate parts

Question 2

What is reductionism?

Answer 2

Debate that argues human behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into simpler component parts

Question 3

What are the 3 levels of explanation of reductionism?

Answer 3

Socio-cultural
Psychological
Biological

Question 4

What is Gestalt Psychology?

Answer 4

A view based in holistic psychology that says when we perceive something, we look at is as a whole rather than a collection of bits & pieces (looking at gestalts (shapes/forms)

Question 5

RECAP: What is the humanistic approach?

Answer 5

Argues that human react to stimuli as an organised whole, rather than a set of stimulus-response links -> uses qualitative methods to investigate all aspects of the individual & the interactions between people

Question 6

Using OCD, describe the three levels of reductionism?

Answer 6

Socio-cultural -> produces repetitive behaviours e.g. handwashing
Psychological -> obsessive thoughts
Biological -> underproduction of serotonin

Question 7

What is biological reductionism?

Answer 7

Behaviour that is reduced to a physical level & explained in terms of neurons, neurotransmitters, hormones & brain structure e.g. OCD

Question 8

What is environmental determinism?

Answer 8

Behaviour reduced into simple stimulus-response units -> e.g. phobias initiated through classical conditioning & maintained through operant conditioning (mowrer).

Question 9

What is parsimony?

Answer 9

A concept in which the simplest scientific choice taken that fits the evidence is advocated

Question 10

EVALUATION: What is the case for holism?

Answer 10

There are aspects of social behaviour that only emerge in groups contexts (conformity to social roles -> ZIMBARDO (interactions between the group was most important)) -> shows holistic explanations provide a more complete understanding of behaviour than reductionist approaches

Question 11

EVALUATION: What is the case against holism?

Answer 11

Holistic explanations can become vague and tend to not go through vigorous scientific testing e.g. humanistic psychology is criticised for its lack of empirical evidence
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Practical dilemma -> regarding every factor that contributes to a disorder (e.g., depression) makes it difficult to establish which is most influential & which one to use (for therapies)

Suggests lower level explanations may be more appropriate

Question 12

EVALUATION: What is the case for reductionism?

Answer 12

Often forms the base of scientific research -> to create operationalised variables you need to break target behaviours down into parts so experiments/observations (behavioural categories) can be conducted

Behaviourism -> able to demonstrate how compel learning can be broken down into simple stimulus-response links within the lab

Gives psychology greater credibility -> places it with established sciences

Question 13

EVALUATION: What is the case against reductionism?

Answer 13

Accused of oversimplifying complex phenomena-> loss of validly e.g. explanations that operate as level of gene dont include analysis of social situations which they take place in, where the behaviour derives its meaning

Means reductionist explanations only ever form part of the explanation

Question 14

EVALUATION: What is the Interactionist approach to the holism-reductionism debate?

Answer 14

It considers how both sides of the debate interact and how different levels of interaction combine

Question 15

EVALUATION: What is the example of the Interactionist approach?

Answer 15

The diathesis-stress model -> when disorders seem to be expressed due to a predisposition (genetics) which is triggered by a stressor (experience) -> led to more multidisciplinary & holistic approach to treatment (drugs & family therapy) associated with low relapse rates