ALDENHAM PSYCHOLOGY
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  • Paper 1: Research Methods
    • Paper 1: What the paper is like >
      • Research Methodology of the Core Studies
    • The 4 main research methods
    • Populations and Samples
    • Ethical Issues
    • Self-reports
    • Observations
    • Correlations
    • Experiments
    • Reliability and Validity
    • Descriptive Statistics >
      • Distribution Curves
    • Inferential Statistics
    • Reporting, Referencing and Design your Own >
      • Sections of a Psychology Report
      • Harvard Referencing
      • Peer Review
  • Paper 2: Core Studies
    • Paper 2: What the paper is like
    • Areas and Perspectives >
      • Social Area >
        • Milgram
        • Bocchiaro
        • Piliavin
        • Levine
      • Cognitive Area >
        • Loftus
        • Grant
        • Moray
        • Simons & Chabris
      • Developmental Area >
        • Bandura
        • Chaney
        • Kohlberg
        • Lee
      • Biological Area >
        • Sperry
        • Casey
        • Blakemore and Cooper
        • Maguire
      • Individual Differences Area >
        • Freud
        • Baron Cohen
        • Gould
        • Hancock
      • Behaviourist Perspective
      • Psychodynamic Perspective
    • Debates >
      • Nature v Nurture
      • Free Will v Determinism
      • Reductionism v Holism
      • Individual v Situational
      • Usefulness
      • Ethical Considerations
      • Socially Sensitive Research
      • Psych as a Science
      • Methodological Issues
      • Ethnocentrism
  • Paper 3: Applied Psychology
    • Issues of Mental Health >
      • Historical Context of Mental Health
      • The Medical Model
      • Alternatives to the Medical Model
    • Paper 3: Options
    • Child Psychology >
      • Intelligence
      • Pre-adult brain development
      • Perception
      • Cognitive Development
      • Attachment
      • Impact of Advertising
    • Criminal Psychology >
      • What makes a criminal?
      • Forensic Evidence
      • Collection of Evidence
      • Psychology & the Courtroom
      • Crime Prevention
      • Effect of Imprisonment
    • Environmental Psychology
    • Sport and Exercise Psychology
Free Will v Determinism Debate
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Summary of the Debate
Reductionism
  • All psychological can be reduced to simple parts.
  • Claims behaviour is predictable as it is determined by one factor.
Strengths
  • Allows detailed look at components that affect behaviour.
  • Explains certain types of behaviours
  • Scientific and open to testing.
Weaknesses
  • Over simplifies complex behaviours.
  • Does not take into consideration other factors affecting behaviour.         
Holism
  • Looks at the whole picture/ individual
  • Useful when studying individuals
Strengths
  • Looks at everything that may impact on behaviour.
  • Considers more than one cause.
Weaknesses
  • Non- scientific.
  • Does not explain mental illness adequately.
  • Over complicates behaviours which may have a simple explanation
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Listen to OCR Psychology's podcast on Reductionism v Holism debate here
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Don't worry that the clip says AQA - it is just as relevant to OCR
comparing_the_debates.pptx
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File Type: pptx
Download File

Comparing the Debate with Other Debates
Free Will / Determinism
Determinism and reductionism have similar assumptions about behaviour being predictable and using a scientific approach to explain human behaviour.  

Nature/nurture

The nature view is reductionist because it focuses on establishing cause and effect, particularly when investigating genetics. Nurture also tends to be reductionist as it suggests that upbringing and the environment directly cause behaviour, and this ignores the impact of personality.

Individual/ situational explanations

Situational explanations are often hard to quantify when explaining how other people and the environment causes behaviour and so a more holistic approach is needed.

Usefulness

Being reductionist is very useful when trying to develop treatments; but biological treatments may lack effectiveness in the long-term as behaviours return. Being holistic is useful for developing therapies that will work for individuals whereas reductionism helps the development of very measurable treatments

Ethics

Narrowing the cause of behaviour to single variables (reductionism) may cause psychologists to deceive Ps when they are researching or fail to get informed consent.

Psych as a Science

Being scientific tends to make the research and explanations of behaviour reductionist.

Socially sensitive research

Reductionist as often socially sensitive research focuses on a specific trait such as sex or race, as the cause of a behaviour.
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Photo used under Creative Commons from Rosmarie Voegtli
  • Everything else
    • Year 11 into A Level >
      • Week 1 Mental Health
      • Week 2 Memory
      • Week 3 Attachment
      • Week 4 Social Attitudes and Influence
    • Year 13 Pre-U Programme
    • Independent Learning
    • Revision
    • Exams >
      • Mock Exams
      • Past papers
    • Assessment Objectives
    • Teachers
    • For Parents
    • Classrooms
    • UCAS >
      • Results Day
      • Criminology
    • Trips
    • Aldenham Attributes >
      • Aspiration
      • Co-operation
      • Courage
      • Curiosity
      • Independence
      • Respect
  • Paper 1: Research Methods
    • Paper 1: What the paper is like >
      • Research Methodology of the Core Studies
    • The 4 main research methods
    • Populations and Samples
    • Ethical Issues
    • Self-reports
    • Observations
    • Correlations
    • Experiments
    • Reliability and Validity
    • Descriptive Statistics >
      • Distribution Curves
    • Inferential Statistics
    • Reporting, Referencing and Design your Own >
      • Sections of a Psychology Report
      • Harvard Referencing
      • Peer Review
  • Paper 2: Core Studies
    • Paper 2: What the paper is like
    • Areas and Perspectives >
      • Social Area >
        • Milgram
        • Bocchiaro
        • Piliavin
        • Levine
      • Cognitive Area >
        • Loftus
        • Grant
        • Moray
        • Simons & Chabris
      • Developmental Area >
        • Bandura
        • Chaney
        • Kohlberg
        • Lee
      • Biological Area >
        • Sperry
        • Casey
        • Blakemore and Cooper
        • Maguire
      • Individual Differences Area >
        • Freud
        • Baron Cohen
        • Gould
        • Hancock
      • Behaviourist Perspective
      • Psychodynamic Perspective
    • Debates >
      • Nature v Nurture
      • Free Will v Determinism
      • Reductionism v Holism
      • Individual v Situational
      • Usefulness
      • Ethical Considerations
      • Socially Sensitive Research
      • Psych as a Science
      • Methodological Issues
      • Ethnocentrism
  • Paper 3: Applied Psychology
    • Issues of Mental Health >
      • Historical Context of Mental Health
      • The Medical Model
      • Alternatives to the Medical Model
    • Paper 3: Options
    • Child Psychology >
      • Intelligence
      • Pre-adult brain development
      • Perception
      • Cognitive Development
      • Attachment
      • Impact of Advertising
    • Criminal Psychology >
      • What makes a criminal?
      • Forensic Evidence
      • Collection of Evidence
      • Psychology & the Courtroom
      • Crime Prevention
      • Effect of Imprisonment
    • Environmental Psychology
    • Sport and Exercise Psychology