Reductionism vs Holism debate

The reductionism vs holism debate

Whether it is best to understand the complexity of human behaviour by reducing it to their simplest parts or to view human behaviour as a whole integrated experience

Reductionism

The scientific view that human behaviour is best explained by reducing it down to its basic units or component parts

Behaviour as a whole is best understood if we explore the parts contributing to the system

Based on the scientific assumption of parsimony

Parsimony

The idea that all should be explained in the simplest terms possible,

The simplest explanation is always the best and there is no point over complicating something - also more economical

When faced with two equally good hypotheses choose the simpler one

Biological reductionism

Example

Reducing behaviour to its physical level andsingle biological components e.g. genetics, hormones, neurones etc.

• explanations of psychological illness that highlight a biological cause e.g. the theory that schizophrenia is caused by an excess of neurotransmitter dopamine reduces schizophrenia to the single component of dopamine

• Rose’s lowest level of explanation

Environmental reductionism

Example

Supports the concept of classical continuing and reduces behaviour to a simple stimulus-response where behaviour is shaped by learnt associations.

Complex behaviour are explained by a series of stimulus-response chains

• Complex behaviour of attachment reduced to stimulus-response : infant responds naturally when pleasure when caregiver feeds them- a learnt association is then formed and the caregiver becomes the conditioned stimulus who alone will create a conditioned response of pleasure in the infant

• Rose’s middle level of explanation

Rose’s Level of Explanations

There are different levels of explanations:

• lowest level: includes biological explanations, where behaviour is explained in its smallest parts (genetics, neurochemicals, neurology) - at this level explanations are considered reductionist “true reductionism”

• middle level: reduce behaviour to psychological explanations (e.g, cognitive, behavioural) - not considered reductionist. (Eg. CC +OC)

• Highest level: holistic, multi variable level, considers both social and cultural explanations where behaviour is explained in regard to the influence on social groups (e.g. schemas)

Use each of Rose’s level of explanations to explain memory- all of these levels can be used to explain any behaviour

1. Bio explanations: bio psychologists have found that memory is localised in areas of the brain, such as hippocampus

2. Psychological explanations: cognitive psychologists explain memory through theoretical models such as the multi-store model of memory (MSM)- supported by research by Peterson and Peterson, Sterling etc.

3. social and cultural explanations: Bartlett’s schema theory- memory can be explained through cultural expectations as research suggests that socially learnt schemas affect what we remember and how we recall

Example of holistic, multi variable explanation - social and cultural factors

OCD is different in different cultures (Ozcanli)

• Collectivist cultures- fear bad outcomes

• Individualist cultures- fear bad self

Holism

The argument that human behaviour should be viewed as a whole integrated experience, not through separating parts

Human behaviour is too complex to be broken down in to simple parts - holistic psychologists consider the whole individual as the sum of its parts

Example of holistic approach

Humanism - human experience stimuli as a whole

Humanists such as Maslow propose theories such as the ‘hierarchy of needs’ which consider all contributors to human behaviour

Humanists use qualitative methods to support their holistic investigation of psychology

AO3- Reductionism is scientific

P- reductionism supports a scientific approach, unlike Holism

E- studying basic units of behaviour underpins the scientific way of studying behaviour and so is more objective and provides empirical support for psychological theory (eg. Role of dopamine In the symptoms of schizophrenia.

E- Holism has been criticised due to its untestable nature and its inability to objectively evidence behaviour, as it looks as vague concepts like motivation and free will

L- reductionists argue that science is a reductionist endeavour and if psychology is a true science it should be to

AO3- Holism is a more effective way of explaining behaviour

P- a holistic way of explaining behaviour may be considered more appropriate as reductionism is considered the lowest level of explanation

E- reducing behaviour to component parts (e.g. depression is caused be low seretonin) may result in other variables being overlooked which can lead to an incomplete understanding of the behaviour

E- Reducing psychological illnesses to a biological level doesn’t focus on the complexity, context and function of such behaviour. Whereas, adopting a more holistic and interactionist approach in considering psychological explanations can lead to more holistic explanations which have been found to be more effective in explaining the causes of conditions such as schizophrenia and depression- looks at the context they occur in

L- holism and an interactionist approach considers that body and mind will inevitably and intensely interact together

AO3- treatment

P- biological reductionism has led to successful therapies.

E- for example, by reducing depression to a single cause such as low serotonin, it has allowed drug therapies such as SSRIs to be developed, which have been successful at reducing symptoms of depression and allowing people to return to normal life

E- however some would argue that this is a limited way of treating behaviour as if a person stops taking the drugs the symptoms will return. Those who advocate a holistic, interactionist to treating mental illnesses would suggest that looking at biological and psychological therapies in combination is more effective- which is supported by Craighead and Dunolp’s research which found a combination of drugs and CBT is more effective than either of them separately

L- holistic treatments are more effective long term than reductionist ones