Reductionism Vs Holism

Reductionism is the belief that human behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into simpler component parts.

A Reductionist stance would argue that the best way to understand why we behave as we do is to look closely at the very simplest parts that make up our systems, and use the simplest explanations to understand how they work. In psychology, the term is most appropriately applied to biological explanations for example, making the assumption that complex human behaviours such as schizophrenia, gender and aggression can be explained by the inheritance of a gene or an increase or decrease in neurotransmitters.

Reductionism is explaining a behaviour by breaking it down into smaller component parts. This is done through the use of experiments because it is breaking it down into smaller component by studying them individually in isolation i.e. isolating the one variable and controlling for others in order to establish cause and effect.

Holism The idea that human behaviour should be viewed as a whole integrated experience, and not as separate parts.

Holism argues that behaviour cannot be understood in terms of the components that make them up. This is commonly described as ‘the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.’ Psychologists study the whole person to gain an understanding of all the factors that might influence behaviour. Holism uses several levels of explanation including biological, environment and social factors. Holistic approaches include Humanism. Imagine you were asked to make a cake. If I simply told you that you needed 3 eggs, 75 grams of sugar, and 75 grams of self raising. Would that be enough information for you to make a sponge cake? What else would you need to know? In this way a cake is more than the sum of its parts. Simply putting all the ingredients into a tin and sticking in the oven would not result in a sponge cake!

The ‘Levels of explanation’ suggests that there are different ways of viewing the same phenomena in psychology – some more reductionist than others.

The lower levels of explanation focus on basic components, and higher more holistic levels focus on how multiple factors effect behaviour.

Here we can see that the highest level is the most holistic. Humanism is the most holistic because it considers the person as a whole and does not try to break down or simplify their behaviour. As the levels go down, they become more reductionist, with the cognitive approach and behaviourism. These approaches appreciate some interaction of factors but still aim to determine causal relationships through scientific investigation. The most reductionist approach, or the approach at the lowest level of explanation, is the biological approach. This is the most reductionist as it assumes complex behaviour can be explained by a simple biological component. For example, believing that schizophrenia can be caused by an imbalance in neurotransmitters.

Evaluation of Reductionism:

Reductionism leads to clearly defined and isolated variables which can be operationalised and observed objectively which allows for cause and effect.
Furthermore, due to heavy use of lab experiments, there is high control and replicability to check consistency of results an therefore is deemed more scientific.
Reductionist neurochemical explanations in mental disorders has led to the development of effective chemical treatments such as anti-depressants.
Reductionism leads to loss of meaning – components do not add up to reflect whole experience, limiting its ability to fully understand behaviour.
Use of lab based experiments and collection of quantitative data means that research may not be valid when applied to every day situations as they simplify and strip away detailed information.

Evaluation of Holism:

Studying and valuing human experience as a whole, considering meaning, feeling, personal experience/context. Only by studying the whole can we really understand human experience.
Holistic stances of investigation preferred by humanistic psychologists such as Maslow and Rogers – use of case studies, diaries, interviews – yield richer, more detailed information in comparison to numerical data in reductionist.
It can also be extremely difficult to avoid bias when analysing holistic explanations because they are open to interpretation. In addition, it does not lend itself to the scientific method and empirical testing – difficult to understand cause and effect.

Exam Question – Model answer:

There are different levels of explanation in psychology, ranging from reductionism to holism. Discuss levels of explanation in psychology. Refer to one or more topics in your answer.

AO1: The levels of explanation depict a scale between holism, where the whole individual and their ideas, experience and life are all considered, and there is no attempt to reduce behaviour down in order to determine cause and effect. Reductionism is the process by which a single factor is identified and tested as a root cause of behaviour, and only this factor in unison is researched. The levels of explanation start with the most holistic approach, the Humanistic approach, at the top of the levels of explanation. This is because the humanistic approach makes no attempt to reduce behaviour into cause and effect, and appreciates the intricate interaction of all aspects of a person and their life. As the levels go down, they become more reductionist, with the cognitive approach and Behaviourism. These approaches appreciate some interaction of factors but still aim to determine causal relationships through scientific investigation. The most reductionism approach, or the approach at the lowest level of explanation is the biological approach, which looks to determine scientific cause and effect, and largely looks at solely biological factors in unison as the root cause of behaviour.

AO3: By taking a reductionist approach to behaviour, there has been the implementation of treatments which have drastically improved the quality of life for those with psychological ailments or conditions. The most reductionist approach, the biological approach, which is a lower level of explanation, has led to the development of drug therapy. By taking a reductionist approach to behaviour, biological psychologist has stated that mental illnesses such as OCD are a result of imbalanced neurotransmitters. In OCD, biological psychologists have hypothesised that OCD is a result of high levels of dopamine and low levels of serotonin, leading to a lack of mood regulation and increase in desires. This leads to an increase in compulsions and obsessions, which are treated using SSRI’s. These work by blocking the reuptake of serotonin, increasing the concentration within the synapse, leading to an increase in mood stabilisation. Drug treatments have been proven to be effective at reducing symptoms, for example March found that antidepressants are effective in 81% of patients. This leads to an increased integration within society and can lead to people getting jobs and maintaining jobs which positively contributes to the national economy, and allows further investment in mental health research.

AO3: On the other hand, by taking a reductionist approach, the influence of other factors such as faulty cognition is not considered, and the fact that no one drug that is 100% effective in treating 100% of patients, displays the idea that there must be other factors involved. March found that when CBT and Drug therapy were combined, there was a greater improvement in symptom reduction compared to drug therapy alone, which increases the credibility that there are other factors involved and that the root cause of mental health issues is multi-faceted. This suggests that taking a holistic approach to behaviour may be more applicable as it can look at the person as a whole and acknowledges the interaction of many different factors. On the other hand, without the biological perspective identifying possible root causes by utilising reductionism, and the lowest levels of explanation, those who have been positively impacted by drug treatment would not have benefitted in the same way.

AO3: The highest level of explanation, or the most holistic approach, humanism, is not very scientific. Whereas, the use of reductionism has enabled causation to be established. This is because being reductionist means involves isolating a variable in order to understand its effect on behaviour. The holistic stance believes that behaviour cannot be condensed down into cause and effect. For example, within the humanistic approach, Carl Rogers utilises a holistic stance in client centered therapy in order to understand the whole person in great depth, so that they can develop their own solutions to their issues. This makes it less scientific because if multiple factors are considered, it would be difficult to understand which factors have the biggest impact on behaviour. This suggests that solely taking a holistic approach to human behaviour is not the most effective approach, and that a combination between holism and reductionism will be more useful. However, the highest level of explanation, holism, is utilised within the humanistic approach, and this to has led to useful applications of client centered therapy. By acknowledging a range of factors, and stating that the cause of behaviour is not simply a gene, an individual can work to increase their likelihood of reaching self-actualization and being able to maximise their potential. By taking a humanistic (holistic) approach to behaviour, optimism is promoted and patients feel more supported and facilitated to reach their potential.

Compromiser: Overall, a tandem approach of reductionism and holism, acknowledging the importance and interaction of different factors, and by utilising a more central level of explanation, psychology can progress. It is important to continue to appreciate behaviour in a holistic manner, and then be able to hone in on individual differences for a more in-depth investigation