Issues & Debates - EVALUATION Holism and Reductionism Flashcards
Two strengths of Reductionism
-Considered scientific approach to conducting psych,
-REAL-LIFE APPLICATION Practically , reductionism supports the development and empirical testing of treatments like drug therapies
Expand on strength of REDUCTIONISM regarding real life application of reductionism
-supports development and empirical testing of treatments like drug therapies
-these therapies rooted in reductionist theories, have helped millions manage various mental health symptoms by ALTERING NEURAL MECHANISMS
Expand on strength OF REDUCTIONISM regarding-considered scientific approach to conducting psych
-enables objective testing of specific variables in controlled experiments
-helps establish causation
-EXAMPLES INCLUDE:
measuring neurotransmitters, studying stimulus-response in Skinner boxes and testing memory models in labs
TAKING A REDUCTIONIST AND EMPIRICAL APPROACH HAS IMPROVED PSYCH’S SCIENTIFIC STATUS
Two weaknesses of Reductionism
-overly simplistic
-cannot account for complex aspects of human experience
Expand on weakness for REDUCTIONISM regarding it being overly simplistic
-overlooks complex interactions between multiple behavioural causes
E.G focusing solely on biological aspects may disregard valid cognitive, social and unconscious factors.
A connected issue is describing complex phenomena like romantic or infant-mother attachments in an oversimplified way leads to a loss of meaning- most ppl would say their rs are unique and complex -this response lacks face validity
Expand on weakness for REDUCTIONISM regarding it not accounting for complex aspects of human experiences
Understanding the activity of each neuron cannot explain consciousness
-it is like and emergent property not reducible to any one factor
-but coming from the interaction of many processes
Two strengths of Holism
-real-life application, practically resulted in development of therapeutic approaches
-allows for exploring of how multiple factors interact to shape an individual’s experiences and behaviour.
Expand on strength of HOLISM regarding real life application
Practically resulted in development of therapeutic approaches that address multiple aspects of individual’s life
E.G - client-centred therapy- based on holistic theories
-more personalised than drug therapies
Expand on strength of HOLISM regarding exploration of multiple factors interacting to shape an individual’s experiences and behaviour
cognitive processes, social interactions and biological factors interact to shape individuals experiences and behavior
-inclusion of multiple factors likely givesholsitics explanataions for behaviour more validity than reductionist explanations
Two weaknesses of Holism
-complicate the establishment of clear causation
-overlook the significance of specific elements by focusing too broadly on whole
Expand on weakness of HOLISM regarding complicating the establishment of clear causation
-complicates the establishment of clear causation
-as it cannot isolate specific variables for empirical testing
-holistic approach considered UNSCIENTIFIC
Expand on weakness of HOLISM regarding overlooking the significance of specific elements by focusing too broadly on whole
-overlook the significance of specific elements by focusing too broadly on whole
-just as reductionism can miss broader context by focusing too narrowly, holism may fail to acknowledge the importance of individual components, such as role of neurotransmitters in mental health or impact of specific learning experiences on behaviour
