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Psychology Paper 3 A* NOTES - Holism and Reductionism,Idiographic and Nomothetic approaches,Ethical implications of research studies and theory,Schizophrenia
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Psychology Paper 3 Notes Nathan MilletHolism and Reductionism
AO1 Holism = People and behaviour should be studies as a whole system.
Psychologists claimed that ‘the whole is greater than the sumo its parts’. Breaking up
behaviour and experience is inappropriate as these can only be understood by analysing
the person or behaviour as a whole.
The view is shared by Humanistic Psychologists who see successful therapy as bringing
together all aspects of the whole person.
Reductionism = Human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into Consider that
Reductionism is
constituent parts. more to do with
explaining
Reductionist approaches analyse behaviour by breaking it down into smaller units. particular
behaviours or
phenomena at
This is based on the scientific principle of parsimony - all phenomena should be the simplest
explained using the most basic, lowest level and simplest principles (e.g. behaviour of level possible.
individual cells).
Levels of explanation from social cultural to neurochemical:
The notion of levels of explanation suggests there are different ways of viewing the same
phenomena in psychology - some are more reductionist than others.
For example, OCD may be understood in different ways:
Social-cultural level - it involves behaviour most people would regard as odd (e.g.
repetitive hand washing).
• Psychological level — the individuals experience if having obsessive thoughts.
• Physical level — the sequence of movements involved in washing one’s hands.
• Physiological level — hypersensitivity of the basal ganglia.
• Neurochemical level — underproduction of serotonin.
Which of these is the ‘best’ explanation of OCD is a matter of debate, but each level is
more reductionist than the one before.
Psychology can be replaced by Hierarchy of reductionism:
Psychology can be placed in hierarchy of science, with the more precise and ‘micro’ of
these at the bottom (e.g. physics), and the more general and ‘macro’ at the top (e.g.
sociology).
Researchers who favour reductionist accounts of behaviour see psychology as ultimately
being replaced by explanations derived from those sciences lower down in the hierarchy.
1
, Psychology Paper 3 Notes Nathan Millet
Biological Reductionism = Biological reductionism refers to the way that biological
psychologists try to reduce behaviour to a physical level and explain it in terms of
neurones, neurotransmitters, hormones, brain structure, etc.
We are biological organisms made up of physiological structures and processes - all
behaviour is at some level biological and can be explained through neurochemical,
neurophysiological, evolutionary and genetic influences.This assumption has been
successfully applied to the explanation and treatment of mental illness.
Environmental Reductionism = The attempt to explain all behaviour in terms of
stimulus-response links that have been learned through experience.
The behaviourist approach is built on environmental reductionism - behaviourists study
observable behaviour and break complex learning up into simple stimulus response links.
So the key unit of analysis occurs at the physical level - the behaviourist approach is not
concerned with cognitive processes at the physiological level. The mind is regarded as a
‘black box’ - irrelevant to our understanding of behaviour.
AO3 + One strength of Reductionism is its scientific credibility:
A reductionist approach often forms the basis of scientific research. Target behaviours
are reduced to constituent parts to create operationalised variables.
This makes it possible to conduct experiments or record observations (behavioural
categories) in meaningful and reliable ways.
Thus gives psychology greater credibility, placing it on equal terms with the natural
sciences lower down in the reductionist hierarchy.
+ Another strength of Holism is it can explain key aspects of social behaviour:
There are some social behaviours that only emerge within a group context and cannot
be understood at the level of individual group members.
For example, if we accept there are many factors contributing to depression, it is
difficult to establish which is most influential and which to use as a basis for therapy.
This suggest that when it comes to finding solutions for real world problems lower level
explanations maybe be more applicable.
— One limitation of holism is that it is impractical:
Holistic explanations tend not to lend themselves to rigorous scientific testing and
become vague and speculative as they become more complex.
For example, the effect of de-individuation of prisoners and guards in the Stanford
prison experiment could not be understood by studying the participants as individuals
- it was the interactions between the people that mattered.
This suggest that when it comes to finding solutions for real world problems lower level
explanations maybe be more applicable.
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