Issues and Debates - Holism v Reductionism Flashcards
Key terms
1) Holism - the idea that various systems should be viewed as wholes, not merely a collection of parts
2) Reductionism - the idea that associations between phenomena can be described in simplistic terms and in terms of fundamental concepts; it interprets a complex system, as a sum of its parts
3) Biological reductionism - the way that biological psychologists try to reduce behaviour to a physical level and explain it in terms of neurons, neurotransmitters, hormones, brain structures or genes
4) Environmental reductionism - stimulus-response reductionism, where behaviourists assume that all behaviour can be reduced to the simple building blocks of stimulus response associations and that complex behaviours are a result of stimulus response chains
What is holism?
- Holism is an argument or theory which proposes that it only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than its constituent parts.
- This is because behaviour and experience can only be understood by analysing a person or behaviour as a whole i.e. how various components ‘interact’.
- Therefore, the focus is always on the whole system or person.
- The assumption is that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’
Example of holism - Humanistic Approach
- ‘Trying to understand behaviour in terms of laws of conditioning or biological processes is disrespectful of our unique differences.’ (Rogers)
- Humanistic psychologists see successful therapy as bringing together all aspects of the ‘whole person.’
- They also believe that the individual reacts as an organised whole, rather than a set of stimulus-response links. What matters most is a person’s sense of unified identity. A lack of identity or sense of ‘wholeness’ leads to mental disorder.
Examples of holism - Insight learning
- Insight learning suggests that individuals look at all elements of a situation and ‘invent’ a solution.
- For example, Kohler (1925) found that chimpanzees are able to solve problems using all materials available (e.g. using a stick within reach to ‘rake’ in a banana out of reach). This can only occur when all elements of a problem (arm, stick, banana, distance) and the inter-relationship between them are understood as a meaningful whole
What is reductionism?
- Reductionism is the belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into smaller constituent parts. Therefore it studies underlying elements.
- It is based on the idea of parsimony: that all behaviour should be explained using the most basic (lowest level) principles i.e. the simplest and easiest explanations.
Levels of reductionism
- This is the idea that there are different ways of viewing the same phenomena in psychology, where some are more reductionist than others.
- Explanations vary from those at a lower or fundamental level focusing on basic components to those at a higher more holistic multivariable level.
1) Socio-cultural (least) - cultural and social explanations of how our social groups affect our behaviour - An example of this in OCD is repetitive hand washing which is considered odd or irrational by most of society
- e.g. a kiss is a symbolic gesture of love and affection in society, a kiss forms part of social communication – it tells a person how you feel.
2) Psychological - psychological explanations of behaviour such as the cognitive approach to depression
- OCD example - having obsessive thoughts about germs
- Kissing example - e.g. by kissing, we can suggest our emotional and mental state.
3) Physical level - focuses on observable behaviour that can physically be measured as explanations of behaviour
- OCD example - learning to associate hand washing with reduced anxiety, leading to further hand washing
- Kissing - learn to associate kissing with love, positive reinforcement.
4) Physiological level (strongest) - biological explanations of how hormones, genes, neurochemistry, neurophysiology and evolution affects our behaviour
- OCD example - low levels of serotonin or high levels of dopamine
- Kissing - motor cortex co-ordinating the behaviour, kissing is due to pattern of neurons firing in brain.
Types of reductionism
1) Biological reductionism is a form of reductionism which explains behaviour is terms of genetic, neurochemical, evolutionary and physiological mechanisms.
- Examples -> The biological approach, Biological explanations of OCD, Biological therapies for OCD, Genetic and neural explanations of crime, Bowlby’s theory of attachment, Biological explanations of schizophrenia, Localisation of function (language)
2) Environmental reductionism is a form of reductionism which explains behaviour in terms of simple stimulus-response links learned through experience.
- The behaviourist approach
- The learning explanation of attachment
- The two-process model of phobias
Discussing holism v reductionism - for reductionism
1) It is possible to break behaviour down into its constituent parts and scientifically test them - in order to create operationalised variables it is necessary to break target behaviours down into constituent parts and this is beneficial because it means that the cause and effect of behaviours can be established more easily through experiments
- Experiments and observations can be recorded in a way that is meaningful and reliable e.g. using behavioural categories and the behavioural approach was able to demonstrate how complex learning could be broken down to simple stimulus response links in the lab
- This gives psychology greater credibility, placing it on equal terms with the natural sciences lower down in the reductionist hierarchy
2) It also recognises the importance of biological explanations in human behaviour; it explains the relevance of genetics and neurochemistry and has allowed us to create drug treatments that help individuals feel better when dealing with illnesses such as schizophrenia and OCD, and these tend to be more beneficial for those not ready to engage in therapy or who are too busy to rely on therapy
Discussing holism v reductionism - against reductionism
1) These explanations oversimplify complex behaviour and phenomena - in examples such as explaining memory through models or attachment as a simple activation of adult attachment systems does not recognise the nuances of these processes, such as the processes of forgetting, memory training or different parenting styles that impact attachment. Therefore, reductionism oversimplifies complex behaviour
2) Many different theories of cognitive functioning such as memory, perception and language have been created in psychology, but little attempt has been made to combine the theories together. This is an issue because behaviour is often the result of a combination of things together which means that they don’t reflect real-life behaviours and so cannot be considered to be valid.
Discussing holism v reductionism - for holism
1) These explanations remind us that behaviour of the whole is not just a sum of its parts - it recognises the complexity of the interactions between different factors and what can be done as a result to change this. As a result, it is a more powerful insight into processes such as memory and social influence as it recognises different factors and their relative contributions to each other - more valid
2) These explanations also provide a more complete understanding of behaviour; Zimbardo’s prison study provided a powerful insight into the range of factors that are involved in making prisons violent places and causing poor mental health in prisoners. Because he recreated the situation, he was able to understand a range of nuances instead of focusing on one part of prison behaviour, and instead used innocent participants to understand how prison impacts people without predispositions of offending.
- Therefore, holistic approaches provide more complete insights into behaviour - more valid
Discussing holism v reductionism - against holism
1) These explanations tend to be difficult to test rigorously and test scientifically - approaches such as the humanistic approach reject the scientific method and therefore it is impossible to determine the scientific backing of processes such as client centered therapy and so there is no way to provide objective backing for their theories, or prove their theories to be true
- It also undermines the claim that psychology is a science, and prevents much needed study of biological or environmental contributions to behaviour
2) It is difficult to establish how much each individual factor contributes to any particular behaviour. For instance, if we accept that there are many factors
that contribute to depression, it becomes difficult to establish which is most influential, and therefore which one to use as a basis for therapy. This suggests that when it comes to finding solutions for real-world problems, lower levels of explanations may be more appropriate.
