L6 Holism vs reductionism

Question 1

Define reductionism

Answer 1

Reductionism is the belief that human behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into simpler component parts.

Question 2

Why is reductionism considered the best method

Answer 2

Reductionism considers this process to be desirable
because complex phenomena are best understood in terms of a simple explanation

Question 3

Define biological reductionism

Answer 3

Biological reductionism 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.

Question 4

Give an example of biological reductionism

Answer 4

schizophrenia is caused by excessive activity of the
neurotransmitter dopamine because drugs that block this neurotransmitter reduce schizophrenic symptoms.

Question 5

Define environmental reductionism

Answer 5

is 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.

Question 6

Give an example of environmental reductionism

Answer 6

The complex emotion of attachment is reduced to a set of probabilities: the mother is likely to provide food which is reinforcing. Hence, she is a rewarding individual and so becomes a ‘loved one’.

Question 7

What is reductionism based on

Answer 7

parsimony - breaking complex ideas into simple components, often compared to occam’s razor (the simplest explanation is preferable to the complex one)

Question 8

What does reductionism use

Answer 8

Levels of explanation

Question 9

What are the levels of explanation and give an example in terms of OCD

Answer 9

Highest level – cultural and social explanations of how our social groups affect our behaviour e.g. an individual with OCD may constantly be washing their hands and others will see this as odd and irrational.

· Middle level – psychological explanations of behaviour – e.g. the experience of obsessive thoughts when an individual may suffer from OCD.

· Lower level – biological explanations of how genes, neuroanatomy or biochemistry affects behaviour – for example a person with OCD may have low levels of serotonin.

Question 10

Define holism

Answer 10

Holism 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.

Question 11

What approach advocates holism

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

Evaluation of holism (provides a more complete picture eg. Zimbardo)

Answer 12

Some examples of behaviour can only be understood
at the holistic level, such as the conformity and deindividuation of Zimbardo’s prisoners
and guards in his Stanford Prison Experiment. Research into resisting conformity, such as
Gamson’s work into the role of social support in groups, also makes use of holistic
explanations by looking at the interactions within and between groups. Therefore, holistic
explanations may provide a more ‘complete’ picture of behaviour

Question 13

Evaluation of holism (not scientific)

Answer 13

Holistic approaches do not lend themselves to rigorous scientific testing and can become vague and complex. -For example 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.

Question 14

Evaluation of holism (cause and effect not established)

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

Evaluation of holism (realistic understanding of human behaviour)

Answer 15

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.

Question 16

Evaluation of reductionism (scientific, cause and effect)

Answer 16

scientists (including psychologists) are drawn to reductionist explanations as a method of research. For example, 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

Question 17

Evaluation of reductionism (questionable lab study results)

Answer 17

experimental research has produced a wealth of findings, the results of highly controlled laboratory studies are often questionable. For example, 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).

Question 18

Evaluation of reductionism (ignores complexity of behaviour)

Answer 18

Reductionist explanations may lead to a loss of
validity because they ignore the social context where behaviour occurs, which often gives
behaviour its meaning. For example, from a reductionist viewpoint, the act of speaking
would be the same across all scenarios due to each individual having the same biological
mechanism for this. However, such a view ignores the social context of this speaking, such
as with the aim of alerting someone, voicing an opinion etc. Therefore, reductionist
explanations may simplify complex phenomena too much.

Question 19

Evaluation of reductionism (practical applications, drug therapy)

Answer 19

A reductionist approach
towards researching and explaining mental disorders has led to the development of
powerful and effective drug therapies e.g. SSRIs to treat depression, based on the view
that a deficiency in serotonin causes depression (biological reductionism). This also reduces need for institutionalisation, where sufferers can continue with their day to day lives through the use of non-invasive treatment and without regular hospital visits.
Therefore, reductionist approaches have had a positive impact on people’s lives.