Issues & Debates: Holism & Reductionism TW

Question 1

What is meant by the term holism?

Answer 1

Examining an individuals complex behaviour by taking into account all aspects of their experience, including culture

Question 2

What is meant by reductionism?

Answer 2

Examining complex behaviour by reducing it down into small basic components

Question 3

Is the biological approach reductionist or holistic?

Answer 3

Reductionist

Question 4

Is the behaviourist approach reductionist or holistic?

Answer 4

Reductionist

Question 5

Is the humanistic approach reductionist or holistic?

Answer 5

Holistic

Question 6

Is family dysfunction as an explanation of schizophrenia reductionist or holistic explanation?

Answer 6

Holistic

Question 7

Why is the biological approach reductionist?

Answer 7

It reduces complex human behaviour into simple basic units of genetics / neurochemistry / neuroanatomy

Question 8

Why is the behaviourist approach reductionist?

Answer 8

It reduces complex human behaviour into simple basic units of stimulus, response and associations

Question 9

Why is the humanistic approach holistic?

Answer 9

As it takes into account personal experience when trying to explain behaviours such as incongruence / self-actualisation

Question 10

Are the explanations of OCD you have studied in Paper 1 reductionist or holistic? Why?

Answer 10

Reductionist - it reduces the complex human behaviour of OCD into simple basic units of mutated genetics (SERT) / imbalance of neurochemistry / and hypersensitivity of the basal ganglia

Question 11

Is the explanation of acquiring phobias you have studied in Paper 1 reductionist or holistic? Why?

Answer 11

Reductionist - it reduces the complex human behaviour of phobias into simple basic units of associations to the phobic stimulus

Question 12

Is the explanation of maintaining phobias you have studied in Paper 1 reductionist or holistic? Why?

Answer 12

Reductionist - it reduces the complex human behaviour of phobias into simple basic units of response to avoiding the phobic stimulus

Question 13

Is the genetic explanation of schizophrenia you have studied in Paper 3 reductionist or holistic? Why?

Answer 13

Reductionist - it reduces the complex human behaviour of schizophrenia into simple basic units of the inheritance of a schizogene (e.g. PCM-1)

Question 14

What is meant by reductionism?

Answer 14

Examining complex behaviour by reducing it down into small basic components

Question 15

What is meant by the term holism?

Answer 15

Examining an individuals complex behaviour by taking into account all aspects of their experience, including culture

Question 16

AO3: How can we criticise the use of holistic approaches?

Answer 16

Do not use scientific methods

Question 17

AO3: Why do holistic approaches lack scientific methods?

Answer 17

By being holistic, it makes concepts vague and untestable

Question 18

AO3: What is a strength of reductionist approaches?

Answer 18

They are more likely to lead to practical applications

Question 19

AO3: Why are reductionist approaches more likely to lead to practical applications?

Answer 19

By studying a single basic unit of behaviour, allows an application to be developed more easily

Question 20

AO3: Give one example of a practical application which has come from a reductionist approach

Answer 20

• SSRI’s treat OCD (neurochemical explanation)
• typical and atypical antipsychotics treat schizophrenia (neurochemical explanation)
• Nicotine Replacement Therapy for nicotine addiction

Question 21

AO3: What is a problem of using reductionist approaches?

Answer 21

They could oversimplify a behaviour

Question 22

AO3: What is the effect of oversimplifying behaviour?

Answer 22

Lowering the internal validity of the explanation