Holism vs. Reductionism

Copy down in your own words! Holism vs. Reductionism The holism reductionism debate in psychology refers to whether it is more appropriate to study behaviour by breaking it down into small component parts or to study many interacting and complex aspects of behaviour as a whole.

Holism

Holism is any approach that emphasises the whole system, the whole person, whole of behaviour or whole experience rather than the component parts. Two examples in psychology are the Gestalt approach and the Humanistic approach.

1. Gestalt approach Applied to the study of perception…. “Behaviours can only be understood in terms of its whole rather than the sum of its parts”. For example: what do you see?

Answer A rectangle… We tend to ignore the gaps or component parts i.e. 4 lines, one line shorter than the others…. And instead we fill in the gaps, put it altogether to make a whole familiar shape or image!

Read this sentence I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd wa ht I was rdanieg….. When participants are asked to read this they never seem to have a problem understanding it….the context in which a word is placed is part of the whole experience…..

Gestalt psychology Therefore… When studying any aspect of human behaviour it is essential to look at unified wholes, complete structures and totalities.

1. Insight learning This is a type of learning whereby a new behaviour is acquired simply through the process of insight rather than trial and error. This has been known as the ‘aha experience’ and is the sudden solution to a problem. It is when all the parts are seen in relationship to each other and it forms a meaningful whole. (the stick, banana, distance, other chimps etc) Kohler (1925) criticises the Stimulus response theory

2. Humanistic approach Humanists believe that to analyse personality in terms of simple component parts is ‘disrespect for the unique quality of the human spirit’ (Matson 1971). This is because Maslows study of the drive for self actualisation gives purpose to the whole of the person, i.e. their feelings, passions, families, work colleagues, adrenaline, motivations, career opportunities, money etc…… Rogers uses CCT to encourage the person to develop a sense of a whole person by maximising their fulfilment in their community as a whole

Interactionist approach This approach considers several different levels of explanation to explain behaviours. For example to explain abnormal behaviours one might take into account, biological causes, social causes and cognitive causes…

Exam questions….

Holism If we want to understand depression for example, what components would we need to discuss to find a cause?

Holism According to Gestalt psychologists the general principle of holism can be neatly summarised as follows; "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

Holism Holism explains behaviour using several levels of explanation including biological, environmental, and psychological.

Perspectives to support See table…

Unscramble the words Read the handout and aim to work out the sentence and keyword answer..

Activity : Unscramble the sentence then try to solve the keyword: 1.component behaviours emphasises the rather approach parts whole that experience than the as the explanation for Any Mliohs 2.assumes approach greater whole sum This that the parts is its than the of Tltaseg 3.error aha as learn Known the this experience, ability is the to solution to come a to a without needing to through trial problem and Thgsini ginnreal 4.that spirit’ personality believe to analyse in component human terms disrespect of parts is ‘simple for the unique quality of the. They Smianumh

Answers! 1.Any approach that emphasises the whole experience rather than the component parts as the explanation for behaviours Holism This approach assumes that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Gestalt Known as the aha experience, this is the ability to come to a solution to a problem without needing to learn through trial and error Insight Learning They believe that to analyse personality in terms of simple component parts is ‘disrespect for the unique quality of the human spirit’ Humanism

Exam question In the context of the holism reductionism debate, explain what is meant by holism. (4 marks).

Levels of explanation The idea that the whole can be reduced to its simplest component parts, that is, reductionism, results in a number of different levels of explanation. Copy and complete table

Holism Lesson Objectives: Recap starter Holism question Evaluations

Think In pairs select a range of science and art subjects. Continue the levels of explanation to the highest (most holistic) and the lowest (greatest reductionism) that you can think of. From this you should see that the levels of explanation represent only a small band in the middle of a much wider spectrum of levels.

Exam question In the context of the holism reductionism debate, explain what is meant by holism. (4 marks).

Answer Holism argues it is best to explain both normal and abnormal behaviours by using several levels of explanation, including environmental, biological and psychological factors. Humanistic psychology is probably the most holistic perspective since it takes into account the whole person, their interactions with people and their social context. A supporter of the reductionist view however would argue it is better to reduce the whole behaviour into its simplest parts (biology and physiology) and then analyse it. This would go completely against the Gestalt theory, ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’.

See handouts Perspectives in support of holism Evaluations for and against holism

Exam question Briefly outline a holistic (interactionist) theory which tries to explain atypical behaviour. Give two advantages of this theory. I.e. takes into account different levels of explanation for the cause of that behaviour: the diathesis stress model

Reductionism To understand human beings we must psychologists have to analyse and reduce the whole into the simplest component parts and then analyse that.

Essay We will prepare an essay once we have finished the Reductionism debate….

Holism So we cannot get a full picture of the whole person by analysing small component parts such as the brain, cognitive processes (memory) or specific personality traits such as aggression. Such a method is inadequate.

Holism to Reductionistic Human conscious thought and experience Brain and brain operations such as visual and motor cortex Psychological components such as memory, attention and emotions etc Neurons and interconnections between neurons Holistic Reductionist THINK Think about a three machines/or any physical – living thing i.e. an aeroplane. If someone had never seen these before and simply observed them in a stationary position, how do you think they might know what each does from looking at all the component parts?

Reductionism involves explaining any behaviour/phenomenon by breaking it down into its smallest parts and then analysing it.