Issues and debates: Holism vs Reductionism

Question 1

What is Holism?

Answer 1

An argument or theory which proposes that it only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than its constituent parts.

The view that we can’t understand things by breaking them down into simpler parts but have to study them as a whole.

Question 2

What is Reductionism?

Answer 2

The belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into smaller constituent parts.

Question 3

What is biological reductionism?

Answer 3

Biological reductionists argue that all human behaviour can be explained, or reduced to, a physical explanation. Genes, neurotransmitters, hormones and more can all influence our behaviour, which is why biological reductionists believe that biology alone can explain human behaviour.

Question 4

What is environmental reductionism?

Answer 4

Environmental reductionists believe that behaviour can be reduced to a relationship between stimulus and response links in the environment and that behaviour is explained by past experiences. For example, the social learning theory proposes that children will copy the behaviour of their role model (often a same-sex parent).

Question 5

What is experimental reductionism?

Answer 5

Experimental Reductionism is where a complex behaviour is reduced to a single (isolated) variable for the purpose of testing.

Question 6

What’s an example of Biological reductionism?

Answer 6

Psychopathology- the biological approach claims that OCD is caused by high levels of dopamine and lower levels of serotonin.

Question 7

What’s an example of environmental reductionism

Answer 7

Psychopathology - Behaviourist approach claims that phobias are initiated through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning.

Question 8

What is the principle of parsimony?

Answer 8

The principle of parsimony states that if there are several different explanations that completely explain something, we should choose the simplest one.

Question 9

What are the levels of reductionism?

Answer 9

Highest level: social and cultural explanations for behaviour
Middle level: psychological explanations for behaviour
Lowest level: biological explanations for behaviour

Question 10

What are the types of holism?

Answer 10

• Gestalt psychology
• Humanistic psychology
• Cognitive psychology

Question 11

What is gestalt psychology?

Answer 11

Founded in Germany in the early 20th century, Gestalt psychology focussed on perception and argued that explanations only make sense as a whole, and that looking at individual elements won’t make sense on their own.

Question 12

What is humanistic psychology?

Answer 12

The humanistic approach argues that actions as a whole form an identity; so a lack of ‘wholeness’ or identity leads to a mental disorder.

The concept creates awareness of who an individual is and who they can be, leading to self-actualisation.

Question 13

What is cognitive psychology?

Answer 13

Cognitive psychologists believe that the network of neurons in our brain (which are formed and destroyed by environmental experiences) acts differently as a whole than as individual components.

Question 14

A03: Holism vs Reductionism

Answer 14

• For holism
• Against holism
• For reductionism
• Against reductionism
• The interactionist approach

Question 15

A03: For holism

Answer 15

Some aspects of social behaviour cannot be understood at the level of the individual group, e.g. conformity to social roles. SPE, the de-individuation of prisoners and guards could not be understood by studying individuals. This shows that holistic explanations provide a more complete understanding of behaviour than reductionist approaches.

Question 16

A03: Against holism

Answer 16

Holistic explanations become more vague as they become more complex. Higher level explanations that combine many different factors can make it difficult to establish which is most influential and for depression which one to use as a basis for therapy. This suggests then when finding solutions to real world problems, a lower level explanation may be more appropriate.

Question 17

A03: For reductionism

Answer 17

In order to create operationalised variables it is necessary to break target behaviours down into constituent parts. This makes it possible to conduct experiments or record observations in a way that it meaningful and reliable. This gives psychology greater credibility, placing it on equal terms with the natural sciences lower down in the reductionist hierarchy.

Question 18

A03: Against reductionism

Answer 18

Criticised for oversimplifying complex phenomena leading to a lack of validity. For example explanations of the gene, neurotransmitter or neuron do not include analysis of the social context. This means that reductionist explanations can ever form part on an explanation

Question 19

A03: The interactionist approach

Answer 19

An alternative to reductionism is the interactionist stance. Whilst holism is more concerned with higher level explanations of behaviour, such as behaviour of individuals, interactionism considers how different levels of explanation may combine and interact. It provides a more multidisciplinary approach.