holism and reductionism

A01 (reductionism)

breaks behaviour down into simpler components

A01 (holism)

the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

A01 (biological reductionism)

behaviour = activity of neurons, neurotransmitters, hormones > e.g. OCD = low serotonin + high dopamine

A01 (environmental reductionism)

behaviour = stimulus - response links > e.g. phobias > formed by CC maintained by OC

A01 (holism - humanistic psych)

studies whole person > body + mind > maslow + rogers > self actualisation = motivation of whole individual

A01 (interactionist approach)

combines bio, psych and social explanations > e.g. mental illness = mix of factors > holistic understanding

A03 (reductionism - scientific)

allows psychologists to operationalise variables > controlled, replicable experiments > helps make predictions

A03 (reductionism - practical APP)

bio reductionism > drug development > e.g. Soomro et al > meta analysis > SSRI’s more effective than placebo for OCD > SSRI’s reduce anxiety > improves lives

A03 (reductionism - oversimplification)

complex behaviour = more than biological/behavioural parts > e.g. SZ not only cause by dopamine > influenced by EE > incomplete understanding

A03 (reductionism - low validity)

fails to explain meaning/context of behaviour > e.g. measuring neurotransmitters does not explain what someone is feeling > lacks eco validity

A03 (holism - complete understanding)

includes social, psych and bio factors > e.g. interactionist approach in mental health = more realistic > combines drugs + therapy > more effective in treatment

A03 (holism - functional explanation)

explains why people behave a certain way > e.g. not just brain chemicals cause aggression but also past trauma or life stress > helps give better support

A03 (holism - unscientific)

holistic ideas are complicated > difficult to study or prove in experiments > hard to know what’s really causing behaviour

A03 (holism - not always practical)

too vague to help in real life > e.g. talking about many factors in SZ does not help find one clear treatment > reductionism is clearer