reductionism vs holism

Question 1

define holism

Answer 1

tendency to form wholes that are greater than the sum of the parts

Question 2

define reductionism

Answer 2

the theory that all complex systems can be completely understood in terms of their components
reducing a behaviour down to its simplest explanation

Question 3

what are some studies that can be linked to the reductionist side of the debate?

Answer 3

chaney: only focused on reinforcement from the funhaler ignoring other factors such as parental attitudes

Gould: yerkes saw intelligent as racially/genetically determined

loftus and palmer: only focused on leading questions ignoring other factors such as stress which could affect eyewitness recall

Question 4

what are the studies that can be associated with the holism side of the debate?

Answer 4

bocchario : looked at man different variable,es such as 6 personality traits, faith, decomposed games measures

piliavin: examined lots of variables to understand helping behaviour e.g race, gender, no. of bystanders

Levine: examined lots of different variables to help understand helping behaviours such as pace of life, simpatia, economic wellbeing, individualism/collectivism

Question 5

what is a strength of reductionism?

Answer 5

tends to be scientific as they focus solely on a single cause for behaviour

Question 6

what is a weakness of reductionism?

Answer 6

oversimplifies human behaviours

Question 7

what is a strength of holism?

Answer 7

more likely to explain why things happen and gives a more valid and complete picture of the human experience

Question 8

what is a weakness of holism?

Answer 8

it’s harder to control extraneous variables and measure accurately