Holism and Reductionism Debate
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 person, whole system, whole of behaviour or whole experience
rather than component parts.
You must know the two approaches in psychology that support Holism:
Gestalt psychology and their focus on insight learning & also - "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."
Humanistic psychology and their focus on the drive for self actualisation and sense of complete fulfilment
The interactionist approach
This aims to explain behaviour as links or interactions between different levels of explanations.
They consider several levels of explanation to explain behaviours to have a better understanding of the problem. For example
they would explain schizophrenia as caused by biological, psychological and social factors within the persons family, friends and
community as a whole.
Give an accurate description from the topic of gender how masculinity is the cause of biological, psychological and
social factors. Use studies to support……
Biological study
Psychological study
Social study
In the context of the holism reductionism debate, explain what is meant by holism. (4 marks).
Evaluations of Holism
Evaluations
Positive or negative?
The holistic/interactionist approach brings together many different levels of
explanation and thus provides a more complete and realistic understanding of
behaviour compared to the reductionist approach.
It is difficult to investigate the integration of many different explanations of any
behaviour. Research into mental disorders is beginning to understand how
the social, psychological and physiological causes of depression interact and
as you can guess, this is a highly complex process.
The higher the level of explanation, the more hypothetical they tend to
become. In other words, higher level explanations of behaviours lack the
predictive power of more biological accounts. They are difficult to test
scientifically.
Holism does not ignore the ‘emergent properties’ of higher level phenomena,
i.e. it does not ignore the complexities of human behaviour. For example,
there may be aspects of aggressive behaviour that cannot simply be reduced
to hormonal factors. Higher social explanations must also be considered.
Behaviours are so interchangeable and are determined by some many factors
that it seems ludicrous to search for just one cause which goes against
reductionism and thus supports Holism.
Indeed in some circumstances lower level explanations of behaviour are
important for determining the cause of a behaviour – for example damage to
broca’s area causes damage to speech production, however if a psychologist
wanted to predict how people will vote in the next upcoming election, a
detailed biochemical and physiological examination of their brains would not
be of value here. Thus again supporting the holistic approach
Exam question
1. Identify and describe one strength and one limitation of the holistic approach to understanding human behaviour (4
marks)
2. What is the holism and reductionism debate? (4 marks)
3. What is the interactionist approach in relation to the holism and reductionism debate? (3 marks)
4. Outline two alternatives to reductionism. In your answer state why they might provide a better explanation (4 marks)
5. Describe one study that supports the holistic explanations of behaviour. Remember to refer to the aim, method, results
and conclusion in your answer (5 marks)
Reductionism
Reductionism has been defined by Hayes as: ‘An approach to understanding behaviour which focuses on one single
explanation of behaviour whilst ignoring all others. It is the opposite of holism or interactionism’.
So psychologists will analyse and reduce the whole behaviour into the simplest component parts. For example, our
consciousness isn’t just broken down into psychological thought, but into the physical operations of the brain and then into
simpler parts such as the neurons etc.
Reductionism in psychology results in different levels of explanations. These overlap with sociology (the higher level
explanations) and biology (the lower level explanations). See the handout illustrating a table outlining 6 levels of explanation
applied to the simple behaviour of ‘signing a cheque’.
Task
Once you understand the many levels of explanation for a behaviour I would like you to apply it to the news article I have
provided. Why did John Mayer kiss and tell the details of his relationships with Jennifer Anniston and Jessica Simpson….
Biological Reductionism
Biological reductiomism is the attempt to explain all behaviour only as cause by biological phenomena i.e. as a result of
hormonal, genetic or biochemical levels Ultimately the aim of the reductionism is to account for all phenomena in terms of
‘microphysics’ (Gross, 1996). Thus the simple act of kissing another person will be reduced to neural and muscular activities.
Can you think of a study from previous topics that supports this viewpoint?
Describe it here…..
Evaluations of biological reductionism:
Evaluations
Positive or negative?
It has been argued that ‘organisms are simply very complicated physico-chemical
mechanisms’. (Smart, 1959 Cited in Gross).
Crick (1994) said ‘You, your joys and your sorrows, your memories and
ambitions, your sense of personality and free will, are in fact no more than the
behaviour of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules. If this
is in fact the case then an advantage of the reductionist explanations of behaviour
would be that it makes life for psychologists and psychiatrists etc to be able to
more easily establish cause and effect relationships. And of course if you can
precisely find a cause and effect then this also means that you will have a better
chance of predicting that specific behaviour and also (controlling) treating it.
They draw premature conclusions because people tend to leap to conclusions
on the basis of a few studies. This is especially a problem when media headlines
describe ‘dramatic breakthroughs’. For example, news that dopamine levels
are implicated in schizophrenia, that viral infections may be involved and that
there is likely to be a genetic component, ‘cannot account for all cases of
schizophrenia’. (Cardwell et al 1996)
They may draw unwarranted conclusions about cause and effect. We usually
think our biology affects our experience, for example it has been suggested that
low serotonin levels cause depression. But it is possible that the opposite might
be true, i.e. the experiences of depression can cause serotonin levels to lower.
They may exaggerate the power of genes. We tend to assume the possession
of specific genes is the only cause of the phenomena. The language of genetics
implies greater influence than is, perhaps the case, as when we say that genes
‘determine’ or ‘control’ phenomena. (Cardwell et al 1996). An example of this is
Hamer’s 1993 discovery of the gay gene shared by some 33/40 pairs of gay twin
brothers. The problem however is that there are so many criticisms of this
research like this….all the social factors that are intertwined such as the fact that
brothers are raised in the same environment – so concordance rates may in fact
be due to similar environments and not similar genes.
Read the study by Alexander et al (1978) and make notes on what argument it has
formed based on the topic of biological reductionism…
In the context of the holism and reductionism debate in psychology, explain what is meant by reductionism.
(4 marks) [AO1 – 2, AO2 – 2]
Structuralist Reductionism
Wilhelm Wundt’s (1832-1920) devised the first ever psychological laboratory where he would try to reduce thoughts to their
simplest component parts in a better way of understanding the human mind (introspection).
This technique he argued paralleled with the way natural sciences were scientifically investigated (i.e. in the same way physics
explains atoms, the mind explains conscious thoughts). Subjects were highly trained. They didn’t just write down what they
were thinking, but they would describe the sensory elements that made up an object or one they were made to think of.
Edward Titchener (1867-1927) developed the structuralist school of psychology – in the hope of producing a mental
catalogue of mental structures – processes. Titchener further subdivided human consciousness into smaller quantifiable parts –
sensations, feelings and images. This was more objective and would measure aspects like intensity, quality and duration of
feelings etc. Sweet Experiment
Describe the following processes
Sensations
Feelings
Image
What is the smell of grass like
to you?
How would you feel at the
death of a cousin?
Describe what a typical house
found in Leigh looks like.
Evaluations
Can you think of any advantages of using an Introspectionist approach:
Even though the whole idea of structuralism is to reduce the human consciousness to elementary sensations and then to
physiological operations, there are many problems….




Individual differences meant no two people could ever agree on the same thing due to different cognitive and perceptual
abilities.
It was too difficult to keep track of all these different sensations.
Introspectionist techniques are subjective and so difficult to analyse due to individual differences.
Nothing in this field actually helped to understand thought processes. Eventually Titchener himself moved to a more
holistic approach when attempting to understand consciousness.
So far – what small mark questions do you think could possibly come up in the exam this June?
Hint
Think 5 mark question – i.e. study to support a specific debate?
Think 3 mark question – i.e. a definition
Think 4 mark question - -i.e. give an advantage of _________ or a disadvantage of _________
Behaviourist reductionism
Watson (1913) argued that the ‘mind’ was not suitable for valid scientific research, because it could only be examined
subjectively. He argued then that the only truly scientific study of psychology was to study things that could only be objectively
observed. That is, use people’s external behaviours as a guide to what they are thinking. These concepts alone are used to
explain all behaviour. This is also referred to as environmental reductionism since it is a result of all simple environmental
factors.
Watson identified stimulus-response (S-R) connections as the basic understanding of psychology. In other words,
reinforcement and/or punishment. Can you think of any studies that would tie in neatly with the fact that behaviour was simply a
result of S-R activities?
AIM
METHOD
RESULTS
CONCLUSION
EVALUATION
Evaluations
Behaviourists can be seen as having an environmental reductionist approach. For example, learning theorists have focused
upon the role of reinforcement in shaping behaviours in a variety of different species (Cardwell et al 1996). By breaking
behaviours like this into smaller parts means it can be more easily tested.
However, behaviourists cannot explain the fact that different animals appear to be ‘biologically prepared’ to acquire specific
skills. Animals are less likely to acquire skills for which they have not been biologically prepared, e.g. in one study pigs trained
to drop wooden ‘coins’ into a ‘piggy bank’ readily resorted to pushing coins along the floor with their noses (which actually
delayed the reinforcement).
Behaviourism of course wasn’t the only approach in psychology at the time. A strong challenge to the reductionist approach
was put forward by the Gestalt psychologists. They argued that human behaviour was much more than just S-R connections
but all the sum of the parts. Gestalt psychologists devoted much time to those areas of human experience which could not be
broken down in S-R ways, especially problem solving.
For example, Kohler (1887-1967) a Gestalt psychologist rebelled against the structuralist/behaviourists approaches and
demonstrated what seemed to be much more holistic forms of learning than just SR learning known as ‘insight learning’ when a
sudden cognitive restructuring of the whole problem leads to rapid problem solving (the aha experience) instead of trial-anderror. Köhler observed the how chimpanzees solve problems, such as that of retrieving bananas when positioned out of reach.
He found that they stacked wooden crates to use as makeshift ladders, in order to retrieve the food. If the bananas were placed
on the ground outside of the cage, they used sticks to lengthen the reach of their arms. Köhler concluded that the chimps had
not arrived at these methods through trial-and-error (i.e. stimulus response) but rather that they had experienced as insight (also
sometimes known as an “aha experience”), in which, having realised the answer, they then proceeded to carry it out in a way
that was, in Köhler’s words, “unwaveringly purposeful.”
This is related creativity and thinking in humans. Gestalt psychology lacks rigorous experimental approaches, but did
influence the development of cognitive psychology.
If we only look at one factor at a time, as often happens in the laboratory, we can ‘miss the complexity of influences on any
one behaviour’ (Cardwell et al 1996). Each of our behaviours may be influenced by many different factors and so it is very
difficult to decide what caused them.
Exam question
The following statement was made by a psychologist;
“The best way to understand human beings is to reduce the whole to the simplest component parts”
Describe and discuss the holism and reductionism debate in psychology. Refer to at least one topic that you have studied in
psychology to illustrate your answer. (12 marks)
[6 AO1- 6 AO2]
AO1 Allow two marks for an outline of the debate, e.g. the debate as to whether or not an explanation or theory based upon all
the parts of the whole and the inter-relation of the parts is more adequate or an explanation based upon an analysis and
reduction of the whole into the simplest component parts. Other marks can be for an outline of the types of reductionism, e.g.
structuralism (Wundt), behaviourism (S-R psychology), biological reductionism. Accept descriptions of levels of explanation. For
holism marks can be awarded for descriptions of the concept such as that the whole person has to be studied, e.g. humanistic
psychology. Accept descriptions of Gestalt psychology, e.g. insight learning.
AO2 The discussion should evaluate each approach in the context of topic(s). For reductionism the advantages of parsimony
and analysis may be contrasted with the reduced validity or the questionable value of the explanation. This may then be
contrasted with holism and the more complete and realistic account of behaviour offered by the approach. Credit relevant
references to research / studies as application of knowledge.
Max of 8 if no topic included
In his research, Köhler observed the manner in which chimpanzees solve problems, such as that of retrieving bananas
when positioned out of reach. He found that they stacked wooden crates to use as makeshift ladders, in order to retrieve the
food. If the bananas were placed on the ground outside of the cage, they used sticks to lengthen the reach of their arms.
Köhler concluded that the chimps had not arrived at these methods through trial-and-error (i.e. stimulus response) but rather
that they had experienced an insight (also sometimes known as an “aha experience”), in which, having realised the
answer, they then proceeded to carry it out in a way that was, in Köhler’s words, “unwaveringly purposeful.”
cognitive trial and error, as if they were experimenting in their minds before manipulating the tools. The pattern of these
behaviors--failure, pause, looking at the potential tools, and then the attempt--would seem to involve insight and planning, at
least on the first occasion.

Kohler argued that animal problem solving could not always be reduced to automatic responses to stimuli (the
behaviourist view) or to any such sensations.
Biological reductionism
Reduction as
methodology
This refers to the way
in which scientists try
to
simplify
the
interacting processes
Structuralist reductionism
Theory reduction
This is the scientists
aim to understand as
much of the world as
possible in as ‘few
Behaviourist reductionism
Philosophical
reductionism
This is the idea that
separate disciplines of
sciences
will
ultimately be reduced
Reductionism as
ideology
This is the popular
idea that genes can
be identified and may
determine a whole
of the complex world
by isolating variables
in the laboratory.
reductionism:
laws as possible’.
to the physics which is
the most fundamental
one.
range of behaviours –
including alcoholism,
sexual orientation and
personality.
According to Rose (Cited
in Gross, 2001) these are
4
main
types
of