Discuss holism and reductionism (16 marks)
The holism-reductionism debate is the question of whether holism or reductionism is a better
approach to use in order to understand human behaviour. There is no continuum between holism
and reductionism.
The holistic approach studies human behaviour as one whole intergrated experience and not as
seperate or subdivided parts. Gestalt psychology adopts a holistic approach to perception: when we
perceive something in the real world, we do so as a whole rather than as a collective bits or pieces.
What we see only makes sense when we consider the whole image, rather than the individual
elements that make up our vision. Consequently, some cogntive psychologists also take a holistic
approach. For example, within the area of perception, visual illusions demonstrate that humans
perceive more than the sum of the sensations on the retina. Humanistic psychology also advocates a
holistic approach as it argues that the humans react to stimuli as an organised whole, rather than a
set of stimulus-response links. As an approach, it uses qualitative methods to investigate all aspects
of the individual, as well as the interactions between people.
Reductionism is the belief that human behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into its basic
biological units and simpler components. Those who take a reductionist position believe that the
best way to understand behaviour is to look closely at the parts that make up our systems, and then
use the simplest explanations to understand how they work. Reductionism is based on the scientific
assumption of parsimony: the idea that complex phenomena should be explained in the simplest
terms possible. The reductionist approach suggests that there are different levels of explanation. The
lowest level considers physiological (biological) explanations, where behaviour is explained in terms
of neurochemicals, genes and brain structure; the middle level considers psychological explanations
(e.g. cognitive and behavioural) and the highest level considers social and cultural explanations,
where behaviour is explained in terms of the influence of social groups. Any behaviour can be
explained using these levels. Examples of reductionism include behaviourism and Biopsychology.
Behaviourism is built on environment reductionism, proposing that all behaviour is learned and
acquire through interactions with the environment. Behaviourists explain all behaviour by reducing
it to stimulus- response units and say that complex behaviour is a series of stimulus response chains.
In Biopsychology, explanations for the cause of mental illnesses are often reductionist. Genetics, and
neurochemical imbalances are frequently highlighted, as being the main cause of these disorders. In
the case of schizophrenia for example excess production of the neurotransmitter dopamine is seen
as a possible cause and in OCD low levels of serotonin. This view clearly has implications for
treatment. Gender can also be reduced to biological factors (e.g. hormones). Another example of
biological reductionism is aggression – e.g. testosterone levels.
One limitation of the holism approach is that it may lack practical value. Holistic accounts of human
behaviour tend to become hard to use as they become more complex. This can present researchers
with a practical dilema. If we accept, from a humanistic perspective, that there are many different
factors that contribute to depression eg the person’s past, their present relationships, their job and
family relationships, then it becomes difficult to know which is the most influential. It is then difficult
to know which to prioritise as the basis of therapy for instance. This is a limitation of holism as it
suggests that holistic accounts may lack practical value such as lacking the ability to improve the
quality of someone’s life due to not being able to identity the cause, whereas reductionist accounts
may be better as they can pin point the cause and respond more effectively eg with drug therapy.
One strength of reductionist approaches is that they often form the basis of a scientific approach. In
order to conduct well-controlled research we need to operationalise the variables to be studied to
break target behaviours down into constituent parts. This makes it possible to conduct experiments
The holism-reductionism debate is the question of whether holism or reductionism is a better
approach to use in order to understand human behaviour. There is no continuum between holism
and reductionism.
The holistic approach studies human behaviour as one whole intergrated experience and not as
seperate or subdivided parts. Gestalt psychology adopts a holistic approach to perception: when we
perceive something in the real world, we do so as a whole rather than as a collective bits or pieces.
What we see only makes sense when we consider the whole image, rather than the individual
elements that make up our vision. Consequently, some cogntive psychologists also take a holistic
approach. For example, within the area of perception, visual illusions demonstrate that humans
perceive more than the sum of the sensations on the retina. Humanistic psychology also advocates a
holistic approach as it argues that the humans react to stimuli as an organised whole, rather than a
set of stimulus-response links. As an approach, it uses qualitative methods to investigate all aspects
of the individual, as well as the interactions between people.
Reductionism is the belief that human behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into its basic
biological units and simpler components. Those who take a reductionist position believe that the
best way to understand behaviour is to look closely at the parts that make up our systems, and then
use the simplest explanations to understand how they work. Reductionism is based on the scientific
assumption of parsimony: the idea that complex phenomena should be explained in the simplest
terms possible. The reductionist approach suggests that there are different levels of explanation. The
lowest level considers physiological (biological) explanations, where behaviour is explained in terms
of neurochemicals, genes and brain structure; the middle level considers psychological explanations
(e.g. cognitive and behavioural) and the highest level considers social and cultural explanations,
where behaviour is explained in terms of the influence of social groups. Any behaviour can be
explained using these levels. Examples of reductionism include behaviourism and Biopsychology.
Behaviourism is built on environment reductionism, proposing that all behaviour is learned and
acquire through interactions with the environment. Behaviourists explain all behaviour by reducing
it to stimulus- response units and say that complex behaviour is a series of stimulus response chains.
In Biopsychology, explanations for the cause of mental illnesses are often reductionist. Genetics, and
neurochemical imbalances are frequently highlighted, as being the main cause of these disorders. In
the case of schizophrenia for example excess production of the neurotransmitter dopamine is seen
as a possible cause and in OCD low levels of serotonin. This view clearly has implications for
treatment. Gender can also be reduced to biological factors (e.g. hormones). Another example of
biological reductionism is aggression – e.g. testosterone levels.
One limitation of the holism approach is that it may lack practical value. Holistic accounts of human
behaviour tend to become hard to use as they become more complex. This can present researchers
with a practical dilema. If we accept, from a humanistic perspective, that there are many different
factors that contribute to depression eg the person’s past, their present relationships, their job and
family relationships, then it becomes difficult to know which is the most influential. It is then difficult
to know which to prioritise as the basis of therapy for instance. This is a limitation of holism as it
suggests that holistic accounts may lack practical value such as lacking the ability to improve the
quality of someone’s life due to not being able to identity the cause, whereas reductionist accounts
may be better as they can pin point the cause and respond more effectively eg with drug therapy.
One strength of reductionist approaches is that they often form the basis of a scientific approach. In
order to conduct well-controlled research we need to operationalise the variables to be studied to
break target behaviours down into constituent parts. This makes it possible to conduct experiments
