Reductionism vs Holism

Question 1

What is the debate

Answer 1

What level of detail is appropriate and useful to describe human behaviour

Question 2

Reductionism

Answer 2

Human behaviour is best explained when it is broken down into it’s constituent parts as we are explaining behaviour

Question 3

Holism

Answer 3

We can only examine human behaviour by looking at the whole person or meaning is lost

Question 4

Biological reductionism

Answer 4

Explaining behaviour due to genetic/ biochemics

Question 5

Environmental reductionism

Answer 5

Explains behaviour as a result of stimulus-response links. You are the product of your environment.

Question 6

Machine reductionism

Answer 6

Behaviour is like a machine

Question 7

Gestalism

Answer 7

‘The whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts’ e.g Zimbardo prison experiment

Question 8

Levels of explanation

Answer 8

Some behaviour can be viewed in different levels of detail e.g genes/environment.

Question 9

Interactionism

Answer 9

Not competing concepts, some behaviours are explained at different levels of explaination

Question 10

Strengths of holism

Answer 10

Some behaviours can only be explained with situation (a high level) e.g Zimbardo

Question 11

Against Holism

Answer 11

May lack practical value as we cannot pinpoint behaviour e.g for therapy

Question 12

For reductionism

Answer 12

Can be operationalised so well controlled for scientific research e.g strange situation is reliable and objective.

Question 13

Against reductionism

Answer 13

doesn’t consider social context so we can’t tell emotionally why something happened.