Reductionism and holism

Question 1

reductionist

Answer 1

we can understand behaviour by studying it in simpler parts

Question 2

holistic

Answer 2

view that we must study behaviour as a whole

Question 3

what are 2 reductionist theories

what are 2 holistic theories

Answer 3

biological and environmental reductionism and they are scientific as study cause and effect

psychodynamic and humanistic approach and they are not scientific as you can study cause and effect

Question 4

2 strengths of reductionism

1 weakness

Answer 4

support by the principle of parsimony which suggest if there are many different explanations which choose the simpler one.

can isolate cause of mental disorders and successfully treat symptoms of those disorders.

can be more effective to consider holistic explanations

Question 5

interactionism between different levels of explanations

strength and weakness

Answer 5

however for complex interactionist we should look at variety of levels of explanations

• interaction between different levels consider both high and low explanations
• involves more holistic level of explanations which are difficult to test scientifically
• interactionism violates the principle of parsimony