Reductionism & Holism

Q: Levels of Explanation in Psychology (Rose, 1976)

There are several levels of explanation to psychology. __Rose (1976)__ put these levels in an order from most reductionist and to most holistic. The more reductionist, the more scientific the study and vice versa.

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Reductionism and Holism

Holism is an approach that believes human behaviour cannot be broken down into simpler parts - one must examine the all of the influences. Reductionism explains behaviour as being broken into simpler constituent parts.

Reductionism

Reductionism breaks down behaviour into the simplest or most basic parts.
For example, the multi-store model of memory is reductionist.
It breaks down memory into basic functions (recall, rehearsal, forgetting) and stores (short term and long term).
Rather than looking at complex theories entirely, the theories are broken down into basic parts.

Reductionism and deterministism

Reductionism tends to be deterministic because researchers look for cause and effect relationships in behaviour.

Testability

The reductionist approach is also more scientific than other approaches as cause and effect relationships can more easily be tested through the scientific method.
A disadvantage of the reductionist approach is that these experiments can be too simplistic. They are narrow and can ignore other influences.

Holism

Holism takes a broader approach to the study of behaviour.
Rather than breaking behaviour down into its constituent parts, it looks at the interaction of all influences - whether they be social, biological, genetic or other factors.
Often, these influences all effect each other so rather than breaking it all apart, which could miss out important factors, they are collectively scrutinized.

Limitations of holism

A limitation of holism is that variables are difficult to control and isolate.
So the holistic approach does not lend itself easily to scientific method testing because there can be many extraneous variables. The cause and effect relationships can be difficult to find.

Levels of Explanation in Psychology (Rose, 1976)

There are several levels of explanation to psychology. Rose (1976) put these levels in an order from most reductionist and to most holistic. The more reductionist, the more scientific the study and vice versa.

Molecular level (physics)

Starting on the most reductionist end is the molecular level.
This can be referred to as the ‘physics’ level.
- For example, atomic structure and elements.
This is rarely if ever studied in terms of psychology.
- One example could be the role of sodium and chlorine in neuron action potential conduction. This is important in sending impulses around the brain and body.

Cellular level (biochemistry)

The next step up is the cellular level, also referred to as the biochemistry.
For example, the structure of neurons is important in the understanding of brain communication.

Parts of the individual (biology)

Next is looking at the parts of the individual, i.e. organs. This could be examining the role of brain structure in behaviour.
This is also known as biology.

Psychology

Next is the study of the behaviour of the entire individual.
This is, of course, known as psychology.

Sociology

Finally, psychologists can study the behaviour of groups of individuals.
This is known as sociology.
- For example, the study of crowd behaviour and ‘mob-mentality’.
Sociology is the most holistic approach in the levels of explanation and so the least scientific.