1. Arrange the cards in order

2. Conscious thought & experience
Reductionism: formulating explanations of phenomena by breaking them down into more fundamental units and processes (the whole consists of its parts and the relations between them).
memory, attention, perception, emotion
Cerebral cortex, limbic system, brainstem
Neurones, synapses,
Holism: formulating explanations of phenomena by breaking them down into more fundamental units and processes (the whole is greater than the sum of its parts).
Cell membranes, ion channels, receptors
Na & K ions, proteins

3. Human behaviour can be approached at different levels of explanation.
Sociology
Social Psychology
Human behaviour can be approached at different levels of explanation.
Individual psychology
Brain structures & systems
Cellular structures & processes

4. Debates about reductionism
What is the most appropriate level of explanation in psychology?
Are some psychological processes irreducible (e.g. consciousness)

5. Mr S came to work this morning because the state required him to function as tool of late capitalist hegemony, maintaining its divide and rule strategy by inculcating young people with the twin myths of individual autonomy and meritocracy.
Mr S gave your essay a low mark because changes in 5-HT receptor density had permitted greater than normal fluctuations in DA. This led to reduced inhibition of his nucleus accumbens, and a readiness to reject associated stimuli.

6. How effective a strategy is reductionism in your opinion?

7. How might your position on reductionism affect your choice of research methods?

8. Where do the major theoretical perspectives stand in relation to reductionism?