Holism and Reductionism

Question 1

What is the debate

Answer 1

Refers to the difference between explaining behaviour via taking into account all aspects of the individual or breaking it down into components

Question 2

Reductionism

Answer 2

The belief that human behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into smaller components

Question 3

Biological Reductionism

Answer 3

Explaining behaviour in terms of neurons, hormones, brain structure

Question 4

Environmental Reductionism

Answer 4

Psychologists such as behaviourists assume all behaviour can be reduced to stimulus - response and complex behaviours are a series of stimulus - response chains (conditioning)

Question 5

Holism

Answer 5

Human behaviour should be viewed as a whole integrated experience and not separate parts

Question 6

Example of holism

Answer 6

Humanistic psychology which argues humans react to stimuli as a organised whole rather than stimulus - response links

Question 7

Eval - Reductionism is important for psych to be a science (S)

Answer 7

. Most experimental psych is based on studying human behaviour in experiments with complex behaviours being reduced to isolated variables
. Due to lab experiments increasing the internal validity of its findings and reliability as all other extraneous variables can be controlled, making it more scientific
. Strength as reductionism allows for controlling variables and establishing relationships and therefore allows for psych to be a science as part of scientific process

Question 8

Eval - Holism is unscientific (W)

Answer 8

. Don’t break down behaviours in order for it to be studied as they value seeing behaviour as a whole - makes it hard to study and impossible to generalise
^ focus on individuals whole behaviour so ultimately unique to each individual
. Weakness as holistic psychologists don’t establish causation because they don’t examine behaviour in terms of operationalised variables that can be manipulated and measured
^ impossible to be scientific

Question 9

Eval - Impact of scientific reductionism (S)

Answer 9

E.g: bio reductionism led to the development of bio therapies such as drugs
. Soomro et al = SSRI’s more effective than placebo’s at treating symptoms of OCD and reduce symptoms for up to 3 months after treatment
. Strength = without bio reductionism SSRI’s and other drug therapies wouldn’t have been created and wouldn’t have been able to help many individuals

Counter - argument = CBT (holistic approach) and drug therapies are most beneficial way of treating disorders such as depression and OCD - both part of the debate need to work together to create best treatments