Issues And Debates: Holism And Reductionism Flashcards
What is Holism?
(The humanistic explanation). Highest level of explanation (referred to as Gestalt psychology), it argues that behavior cannot be understood in terms of the components that make them up. ‘The whole being greater than the sum of its parts’. A more complete understanding of behavior, also beneficial as it’s a lot more reflective of how humans behave, it also accepts and deals with the complex nature of behavior and is useful as it explains the fact that behavior is influenced by many factors, however it’s hard to distinguish contributions to any particular behavior, meaning explanations are unsatisfactory and its more hypothetical and not based on empirical evidence. It also lacks prediction power of scientific explanations and neglects the importance of biological influence
What is reductionism?
Lowest level of explanation (extreme reductionism. The theory that all complex systems can be completely understood in terms of their components, it is based on the scientific principle of parsimony: that all phenomena should be explained by its most basic principles. (Biological and behaviorist perspectives). It’s consistent with the scientific approach, can use an empirical method as components are broken down, and it’s easier to predict behaviors and to explain them in concrete, concise terms. Practical applications e.g. SSRI treatment for OCD
What is biological reductionism?
One of the lowest levels of explanation, we are biological organisms made up of physiological structures and processes. All behaviour is at some level biological and can be explained through neurochemicals, neuropsychological, evolutionary and genetic influences
What is environmental reductionism?
Less reductionist, behaviourist approach, studying observable behaviours, learning is broken down into stimulus response
Which approach is the most holistic (high level) of explanation?
Humanism
Which approach is the most reductionist (low level) of explanation?
Biological
Which approach is in the middle between reductionism and holism (middle level) of explanation?
Cognitive
Which approach is reductionist (but not the least) (lower level) of explanation?
Behaviourist
Which approach is holistic (but not the highest) (higher level) of explanation?
Psychodynamic
