reductionist vs holism Flashcards
Define holism
An argument or theory which proposes that it only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than its constituent parts (which is the reductionist approach).
Define Reductionism
The belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into smaller constituent parts.
Why is the humanistic approach holistic?
- focuses on the individual’s experience, which is not something that can be reduced
- Humanistic psychologists use qualitative methods to investigate the self
- Instead themes are analysed rather than breaking the concept into component behaviours.
What is the procedure in Kohler’s chimpanzee research? (Holism)
- set hungry chimpanzees a puzzle. A banana and stick were placed outside of a chimpanzee’s cage with the stick positioned within reach but the banana was out of reach.
- they first tried to grasp the banana and failed.
- after a short pause, suddenly, using a planned and co-ordinated sequence of actions, grabbed the stick and used it to drag the banana over to the cage.
What were the findings in Kohler’s chimpanzee research? (Holism)
- It like they had a ‘eureka’ moment in which the solution had become clear ‘in a flash’.
- Such insight learning can only occur when all the elements of a problem (arm, stick, banana, distance), and the interrelationship between them, are understood as a meaningful whole.
What is parsimony?
that all phenomena should be explained using the simplest (lowest level) principles.
What are levels of explanation? reduc
- Socio-cultural level
- Psychological level
- Physical level
- Environmental/behavioural level
- Physiological level, e.g. abnormal functioning in the frontal lobes.
- Neurochemical level
What is biological reductionism?
A form of reductionism which attempts to explain behaviour at the lowest biological level (genes, hormones
- includes: neurochemical and physiological levels and also evolutionary and genetic influences.
What is environmental reductionism?
The idea that all behaviour is learned and acquired through interactions with the environment.
- focusing on simple stimulus-response links, reducing behaviour to these basic elements.
What is a limitation of holism in regards to being not practical?
P: One LIMITATION of the holism approach is that it may lack practical value
EE: Holistic accounts of human behaviour tend to become hard to use as they become more complex.
This can present researchers with a practical dilemma. If we accept, from a humanistic perspective, that there are many different factors that contribute to depression (the person’s past, their present relationships, their job and family circumstances) then it becomes difficult to know which is most influential.
It is then difficult to know which to prioritise as the basis of therapy, for instance.
L: This suggests that holistic accounts may lack practical value (whereas reductionist accounts may be more practical).
What is a strength of reductionism in regard to being scientific?
P: One STRENGTH of reductionist approaches (and limitation of the holistic approach) is that they often form the basis of a scientific approach.
EE: In order to conduct well-controlled research we need to operationalise the variables to be studied - to break target behaviours down into constituent parts. This makes it possible to conduct experiments or record observations (behavioural categories) in a way that is objective and reliable. E.g., research on attachment (the Strange Situation) operationalised component behaviours such as separation anxiety.
L: This scientific approach gives psychology greater credibility, placing it on equal terms with the natural sciences.
What is a counterpoint of reductionism being scientific?
P: Counterpoint
EE: Reductionist approaches have been accused of oversimplifying complex phenomena, leading to reduced validity. Explanations that operate at the level of the gene or neurotransmitter do not include an analysis of the social context within which behaviour occurs - and this is where the behaviour may derive its meaning.
E.g. the physiological processes involved in pointing one’s finger will be the same regardless of the context.
However, an analysis of these will not tell us why the finger is pointed - it might be to draw attention to some object or person, as an act of aggression, etc.
L: This suggests that reductionist explanations can only ever form part of an explanation.
What is a limitation of reductionism in regard to not being able to explain high level behaviour?
P: One LIMITATION of reductionism is that some behaviours can only be understood at a higher level.
EE: Often, there are aspects of social behaviour that only emerge within a group context and cannot be understood in terms of the individual group members. E.g. the effects of conformity to social roles in the prisoners and guards in the Stanford prison study could not be understood by observing the participants as individuals. It was the interaction between people and the behaviour of the group that was important.
There is no conformity ‘gene’ so social processes like conformity can only be explained at that social level.
L: This suggests that, for some behaviours, higher level explanations (or even holistic ones) provide a more valid account.
What is a limitation of reductionism in regard to ‘the explanatory gap’ ?
P: One LIMITATION of reductionism is that it explains consciousness in terms of brain activity
EE: A reductionist account of consciousness would argue this is the case, that we are thinking machines.
This is the basis of cognitive neuroscience - that cognitive processes, (what we think and feel), are associated with physical processes in the brain. However, what neuroscientists struggle to explain is the subjective experience of the same neural process. E.g, thinking about the colour blue involves exactly the same region and activity in the brain as thinking about the colour red, yet the thought we experience is different. This is referred to as the ‘explanatory gap’ in brain science (Levine 1983) and may suggest that thinking is at least one step beyond what is happening in the brain (activity). The mind and the body/brain are not one and the same but influence each other in many complex ways that are not yet fully understood.
L: This suggests that not all aspects of consciousness, particularly individual differences in experience, can be explained by brain activity.
