L6 - Holism & Reduction Flashcards
1
Q
Biological reductionism
A
- refers to the way that biological psychologists try to reduce behaviour to a physical level and explain it in terms of neurons, neurotransmitters, hormones, brain structure, etc.
2
Q
Environmental reductionism
A
- also known as stimulus-response reductionism.
- Behaviourists assume that all behaviour can be reduced to the simple building blocks of S-R (stimulus-response) associations and that complex behaviours are a series of S-R
chains
3
Q
Holism
A
- comes from the Greek word ‘holos’, which means ‘all’, ‘whole’ or ‘entire’ and is the idea that human behaviour should be viewed as a whole integrated experience, and not as separate parts.
4
Q
Levels of explanations
A
- explanations vary from those at a lower or fundamental level focusing on basic components or units (reductionist) to those at a higher more holistic multivariable level
5
Q
Parsimony
A
- is the idea that complex phenomena should be explained in the simplest terms possible.
6
Q
Reductionism
A
- is the belief that human behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into simpler component parts
7
Q
Holism (detail)
A
- the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ – this view is known as holism
- idea that to understand the person as a whole, any behaviour or experience shouldn’t be broken up
- Gestalt psychology adopts a holistic approach to perception: when we perceive something in the real world, we do so as a whole rather than as a collection of bits and pieces.
- some cognitive psychologists take a holistic approach e.g. the cube
- Humanistic psychology also advocates a holistic approach, as it argues that humans react to stimuli as an organised whole, rather than as a set of stimulus-response links.
- As an approach, it uses qualitative methods to investigate all aspects of the individual, as well as the interactions between people
8
Q
Reductionism (detail)
A
- the idea that to understand the person, their behaviours and experiences should be broken up and analysed individually
- reductionism is the breaking down of behaviour into its constituent parts
- all phenomena should be explained using the most basic (lowest level) principles - is the simplest, easiest & most economical level of explanation
9
Q
What is reductionism based on?
A
-Reductionism is based on the idea of parsimony.
- Parsimony is similar to the idea of Occam’s Razor, which was established by William of Ockham in the 14th century.
- Like parsimony, reductionism states that one should not make unnecessary assumptions and
that the answer to a problem is often the simplest
10
Q
Levels of explanations (detail)
A
- Almost all behaviours can be considered at various different levels of explanation.
- These explanations vary from the most reductionist- focusing on basic components- to
those at a higher more holistic, multi-variable level (.i.e. considering a range of interacting factor) - lowest most reductionist level of explanation focused on physiological factors i.e. genes, brain area, neurotransmitters
- highest levels of explanations tend to focus on sociocultural factors explanations (.i.e. values, customs and areas of tension in society)
- Between these extremes there are behavioural, cognitive and social explanations.
11
Q
Levels of explanations to explain SZ
A
- biological reductionism (lowest level) - biological explanation such as genetics, high or low dopamine levels & anatomical changes in the brain such as the hippocampus are the causes of SZ and can be seen and measured
- environmental reductionism (middle level) - e.g. family dysfunction such as the SZ mother or double bind theory. Family dysfunction theory states that the cause of SZ is due to a dysfunctional family in childhood
- machine reductionism (middle level) - Cognitive explanations (which compare human mind to a computer) state that SZ is caused by dysfunctional thought processes
- holism - interaction isn’t approach - diathesis stress model stats that causes of SZ is a combo of genes & environmental influences such as stressful life events
12
Q
What can psychology be placed into?
A
- Psychology itself can also be placed within a hierarchy of science with the more precise and ‘micro’ of these disciplines at the bottom, and the more general ‘macro’ at the top.
- Researchers who favour reductionist accounts of behaviour would see psychology as ultimately being replaced by explanations derived from those sciences lower down in the hierarchy e.g. biopsychology
13
Q
Types of reductionism
A
- biological reductionism
- environmental reductionism
14
Q
Biological reductionism (detail)
A
- refers to the way that biological psychologists try to reduce behaviour to a physical level & explain it in terms of neurons, neurotransmitters, hormones, brain structure etc..
- explanations of psychological disorders are often biologically reductionist, as genes & neurochemical imbalances are offered as the main cause.
E.g. a meta-analysis of 14 twin studies of OCD found that monozygotic twins were more than
twice as likely to develop OCD in comparison to dizygotic twins if their co-twin also had the disorder (Billett et al., 1998), thus suggesting a genetic link
15
Q
Environmental reductionism (detail)
A
- known as stimulus-response reductionism
- Behaviourists assume that all behaviour can be reduced to the simple building blocks of S-R (stimulus-response) associations and that complex behaviours are a series of S-R
chains.
E.g. behaviourists reduce the complex behaviour of attachment down to a stimulus-response link, where the mother becomes the conditioned stimulus who becomes associated with the pleasure from feeding. - Therefore the child comes to feel pleasure (conditioned response) when he or she encounters their mother, leading to the formation of an attachment.
16
Q
Interactionist approach
A
- argues that several levels of explanation are necessary to explain a particular behaviour, ranging from lower (biological) to higher levels (social and cultural).
- Interactionism is subtly different from holism as interactionism considers how different levels of explanation interact, whereas holism is
more concerned with understanding the whole experience, rather than individual explanation
17
Q
biological reductionism vs biological determinism
A
- biological determinism - internal/external factors which you don’t have control over
- biological reductionism - simplifying explanations
18
Q
Evaluation of reductionism
A
strengths
- method of research (+ counter argument)
- scientific
weaknesses
- errors of understanding
- methodological criticism
19
Q
Method of reductionism
A
- strength of the reductionist explanation is that scientists (including psychologists) are drawn to reductionist explanations as a method of research.
E.g. most experimental psychology is based on the assumption that human behaviour can be studied effectively through relatively simple experiments, where complex behaviour is reduced to isolated variables (known as experimental reductionism). - This allows researchers to study the different factors that influence human behaviour in a
controlled manner while establishing a causal relationship. - This would not be possible if psychologists attempted to study all of the factors that influence human behaviour at once, as it would be too complex to interpret the findings
20
Q
Method of reductionism - counter argument
A
- However, although experimental research has produced a wealth of findings, the results of highly controlled laboratory studies are often questionable.
E.g. the findings of laboratory research examining the reliability of eye- witnesses (e.g. Loftus and Palmer) have not been confirmed by studies examining real- life witnesses (e.g. Yuille and Cutshall).
21
Q
Scientific
A
- both biological and environmental reductionism are viewed as scientific.
- Breaking complex behaviours into small constituent parts means that they can be scientifically tested, and over time explanations based on scientific evidence will emerge.
- In addition, biological reductionism has led to the development of biological therapies, such as drugs.
E.g. SSRIs are more effective than placebos at treating the symptoms of OCD and reduce the symptoms for up to three months after the treatment (Soomro et al., 2008). - The use of SSRIs in patients with OCD has helped to reduce the anxiety associated with OCD, thus providing relief for some patients.
22
Q
Errors of understanding
A
- Some psychologists argue that biological reductionism can lead to errors of understanding because it ignores the complexity of human behaviour.
E.g. to treat conditions like ADHD with drugs in the belief that the condition consists of nothing more than neurochemical imbalances is to mistake the symptoms of the phenomenon for its true cause. - Ritalin may reduce these symptoms, but the conditions which gave rise to the ADHD have not been addressed.
- Whether or not this is true depends on what one thinks of as causation, but since success rates of drug therapy are so highly variable, the purely biological understanding seems inadequate
23
Q
Methodological criticism
A
- critique of environmental reductionism is as much methodological as it is substantive.
- Much of the relevant research in the behaviourist tradition has made use of non-human animals as subjects.
- Pavlovian experiments are an iconic example.
- But is human behaviour simply a scaled-up version of that of dogs or rats?
- Critics of reductionism point to the social context in which humans are embedded from
the earliest moments of life, and to hard-to-measure factors like cognition, emotion,
and intentionality. - In this case as well, the reductionist position seems, if not clearly incorrect, then at least inadequate
24
Q
Evaluation of holism
A
strengths
- aspects of behaviour within group
- blends levels of explanations
weaknesses
- not scientifically tested
- causation
- unscientific
25
Q
Aspects of behaviour within group
A
- A strength of holism is that there are aspects of social behaviour that can only emerge within a group context and cannot be understood by looking at analysing each group member
E.g. conformity and de-individuation can only be studied by looking at the group behaviour as a whole and not the individuals. - This explains how holism needs to be studied in psychology especially social psychology
26
Q
Blends levels of explanations
A
- The holistic explanation attempts to blend different levels of explanation; holistic theory and approaches attempt to provide a complete and realistic understanding of human behaviour.
E.g understanding that the causes of schizophrenia is a combination of many factors such as genes, upbringing and stressful events allows us to understand the complexity of the disorder by not breaking it down. - It also helps us to understand that a combination of treatments for schizophrenia such as family therapy, CBT and drugs would benefit the sufferer much more that just one specific treatment
27
Q
Not scientifically tested
A
- Holistic approaches do not lend themselves to rigorous scientific testing and can become vague and complex.
E.g. the Humanistic Approach which takes the holistic view to behaviour tends to be difficult to test scientifically and is criticised as being a loose set of concepts. - For example, how do we scientifically test if someone has reached self actualisation
28
Q
Causation
A
- Also, holistic explanations do not establish causation because they do not examine behaviour in terms of operationalised variables that can be manipulated and measured.
- This means that holistic explanations are viewed as unscientific.
- For example, what causes someone to become self actualised
29
Q
Unscientific
A
- finally, when we study holistic explanations that combine many different aspects, leave the researchers with a practical dilemma
E.g, if we say that depression may be due to neurochemistry, parental upbringing, stressful life events etc, then it becomes difficult to decide upon the treatment and which factor is more influential. - holistic explanations do not establish causation because they do not examine behaviour in terms of operationalised variables that can be manipulated and measured.
- This means that holistic explanations are viewed as unscientific.
