Possible content:

reductionism – explaining/studying complex and meaningful behaviour/experience by breaking it down into smaller component parts/constituents/elements
levels of explanation – basic unit level to more complex holistic level
types of reductionism: biological – explaining behaviour at the level of genes, brain chemicals etc; environmental – explaining behaviour at the level of stimulus-response units; experimental reductionism; machine reductionism – explaining behaviour in terms of mechanistic models
objectivity, use of empirical methods – basic scientific principle that evidence should be observable and unaffected by opinion/subjective interpretation.

Possible application:

Links between reductionism and objectivity/empirical methods:

explaining/understanding behaviour at the basic component level of biological units is objective and empirical, eg measurement of levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine
explaining/understanding behaviour at the basic component level of stimulus-response links (eg classical/operant conditioning) is objective, empirical as it involves manipulation of stimuli and observation/recording of responses
explaining information processing at the level of processing units each with separate features (eg multistore model) is objective – involves empirical manipulation/observation of variables in experiments.

Possible discussion points:

the reductionist approach fits well with psychology’s drive for scientific status and the consequent focus on objectivity and empiricism
reductionism leads to clearly defined variables which can be operationalised and observed objectively which allows for the inference of causal relationships – establishing a cause and effect relationship
reductionism leads to loss of meaning – components do not add up to reflect whole experience
contrasts with 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
some behaviours, particularly social behaviours can only really be investigated in the holistic context in which they occur
usefulness of reductionist treatments, eg use of drugs – effectiveness can be empirically tested
contrast with the types of investigation preferred by humanistic psychologists such as Maslow and Rogers – use of case studies, diaries, interviews – to yield richer, more detailed information
difficulty of finding a balance between objective, empirical method and the striving for meaningful information
comparison of approaches in terms of reductionism/objectivity/empirical approach.

Credit other relevant material.

Holism & Reductionism (AQA A Level Psychology)

Topic Questions