How Does Reductionism Work in Psychology

How Does Reductionism Work in Psychology Basics Print How Does Reductionism Work in Psychology? By Kendra Cherry facebook twitter Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author, educational consultant, and speaker focused on helping students learn about psychology. Learn about our editorial policy Kendra Cherry Updated on July 30, 2019 More in Psychology Basics Psychotherapy Student Resources History and Biographies Theories Phobias Emotions Sleep and Dreaming In This Article Table of Contents Expand A Closer Look How It's Used Benefits Drawbacks Examples in Psychology Reductionism vs. Holism View All Back To Top Reductionism is a theory in psychology centered on reducing complex phenomena into their most basic parts. It is often contrasted with holism, which is focused on looking at things as a whole. The purpose of reductionism is to simplify psychological events and processes by looking at their smallest elements, thus “reducing” something rather complex into its most simple. These two approaches are often pitted against one another. Where a reductionist would propose that the best way to understand something is to look at what it is made up of, a holist would argue that the sum-product is more than simply the sum of its parts. Illustration by Emily Roberts, Verywell A Closer Look Reductionism is an approach that is used in many disciplines, including psychology, that is centered on the belief that we can best explain something by breaking it down into its individual parts. If you want to understand something, the reductionist approach would propose simply taking a look at each of its constituent pieces. If you wanted to understand a car, for instance, you would look at each part of the engine, body, and interior. The big question in psychology is not whether or not reductionism has valueâ€"it is to what extent it can be useful. It can be quite helpful in some types of research, but in many cases, the sum is much more than simply the total of its pieces. The complete item in question has what are known as emergent properties that are simply not present in its smaller pieces. In the example of a car, looking at each individual component can tell you a great deal about the mechanics of the vehicle, but you will not know other details such as how comfortable the interior is, how smooth the ride is, or how good the gas mileage will be until the pieces are reassembled back into the whole. How Its Used When trying to understand human behavior, scientists using this perspective would say that the best way to understand it would be to look at the parts that make up each system of the human brain and body. By knowing how each part works, reductionists suggest that we can then form an understanding of the whole based on what we know about each element that contributes to how the whole functions. Within psychology, there also exist different areas in which reductionism operates. At its most basic level, reductionism might focus on the neurons and neurological processes that impact how people think and act. Another very basic level of reductionism would involve looking at DNA and genes to determine how human behaviors are influenced by genetics. This level of reductionism might also focus on the different parts of the brain and how each structure in the brain affects different processes and behaviors. Another level of reductionism would focus on how behavior can be reduced to stimulus-response cycles (ie, behaviorism). The cognitive approach would also represent another aspect of reductionism centered on understanding how people gather, store, process, and use information. Higher levels of the reductionist approach might take a broader look at how specific things such as social interactions and culture impact how people think and act. As you can see in each of these examples, reductionism involves taking psychological topics and breaking it down into a much more narrow focus. Benefits So why would researchers choose to take a reductionist approach when looking at different psychological phenomena? While this process often involves oversimplifying things, there are reasons why reductionism can be useful. Focus One of the major benefits of reductionism is that it allows researchers to look at things that can be incredibly varied and complex such as the human mind and behavior, and break them down into smaller parts that are easier to investigate. It allows researchers to focus on a specific problem. For example, researchers might utilize the reductionism approach when studying a psychiatric condition such as depression. Rather than trying to account for all of the many different forces that may contribute to depression, a reductionist perspective might suggest that depression is caused by biological processes within the body. Make the Complicated Less Intimidating When approaching a truly difficult problem, it can be all too easy to become overwhelmed by all the questions and information that are available. When studying psychological issues, for example, researchers might struggle to even form a basic hypothesis unless they find some way to focus their attention on a very small aspect of a phenomenon. While this point of view neglects other factors that might contribute, such as genetics, social relationships, and environmental variables, it gives researchers a more narrow focus of their studies. By using reductionism to simplify what they want to study, researchers can explore a component is much greater depth. Drawbacks While reductionism has some important benefits, it also has a few significant downsides that should be noted. Ignores All Factors Contributing to a Problem The clear downside of reductionism is that it is so totally focused on the smaller elements that contribute to a phenomenon that it fails to account for other forces that might play a role as well. In our above example, researchers taking a biological approach for explaining depression might focus their studies on chemical reactions and balances within the body that contribute to symptoms of depression. While this type of research might lead to important medical advances in the treatment of depression, it excludes other variables such as cognitions, hereditary influences, personal problems, substance abuse, and other variables. Does Not Account for the Whole While reductionism can lead to exploring components of a phenomenon in greater depth, it also misses how these variables interact with one another. Few things have only one simple cause. Reductionism might allow researchers to look at each component individually, but it does not really explore how each of these smaller elements work together. Complex systems are dynamic and always changing, and it is often by looking at how things work together as a whole that we can gain a clearer picture of how something works. Examples in Psychology There are a number of different approaches to psychology that are reflective of a reductionist approach to science. These include: Biopsychology The biological approach to psychology is centered on understanding how the underlying biological processes contribute to human behavior. This represents a type of reductionism because researchers are focused on a smaller part of the human experience. When approaching a psychological condition, for example, biopsychologists would suggest that the problem is the result of a biological process in the brain and body. To treat the condition, they would recommend medications that treat the problem at the physiological level. Understanding the Field of Biopsychology Behaviorism The behaviorist approach to psychology focuses on how interactions with the environment contribute to learning and human behavior. At its strictest, behaviorism suggests that all human behaviors can be thought of in terms of conditioning and reinforcement. This reductionism approach ignores other factors such as cognition and biology in favor of simply focusing on environmental influences. A behaviorist might look at a psychological condition in terms of how to present behavior has been caused by past learning. To treat the condition, a behaviorist would recommend utilizing behavior modification techniques to weaken old associations and form new ones. Cognitive Psychology The cognitive approach focuses on studying how internal mental processes can be carefully and objectively studied. This approach is reductionist because it focuses only on cognitions and neglects other factors that might contribute to behavior. A cognitive psychologist might explain a psychological condition in terms of the underlying thought patterns that contribute to the person’s feelings and behaviors. They might recommend a treatment approach centered on changing the unhealthy cognitions in order to replace them with more positive, realistic ones. How Cognitive Psychology Explains the Science Behind Mental Processes Reductionism vs. Holism The reductionist approach to science is frequently contrasted with the holistic approach, which approaches things as a whole rather than focusing on the individual parts. The holistic approach does not discount the importance of each individual component but instead suggests that understanding the whole requires looking at how these parts work on different levels as well as how they interact and influence one another. There are many areas of psychology that tend to take a more holistic approach to the science of human thought and behavior. Social psychology, humanistic psychology, and positive psychology, for example, are more focused on understanding how people function on the whole rather than simply looking at a tiny slice of the human experience. A Word From Verywell Critics of reductionism often suggest that his approach oversimplifies complex things, but this does not mean that the reductionist approach is not useful. Human behavior is often so varied and complex that breaking certain things down into smaller parts allows researchers a way to understand problems in different ways. While relying solely on reductionism might lead to gaps in knowledge, using this approach to learn more about some topics can be quite useful and informative. Whether a more reductionist or holistic approach would be the most beneficial way to think about the problem often depends upon the specific topic and situation. How Theories Are Used in Psychology

Case Study 3 Bipolar Disorder. Steven Fry Made A Documentary

Case Study 3: Bipolar Disorder Steven Fry made a documentary about individuals who suffer from bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, and even includes his own personal experience with the disorder. Many of them are well-known in the public eye and have decided to speak out about their disorder. Not every person in the documentary had the same experience and Steven Fry also spoke with many professionals about possible explanations to bipolar disorder and possible age of onset/diagnosis. He talked about his own personal story of suffering from bipolar depression, including details such as getting expelled from school, stealing, slapping a teacher, getting arrested, and attempting suicide all before the age of seventeen. Listening†¦show more content†¦It was also quite informative to hear about inheritance of the disorder and related aspects. A mom who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder had children and I never really considered pregnancy having such an effect on the disorder. The doctor explain ed to Steven Fry that pregnancy and child birth are both extremely hard for women diagnosed with manic depression. The woman, Gaynor Thomas, was talking about how she believed her child was the messiah, she was sent from God to have this child, and they would change the world together. The influence her pregnancy had on her disorder made her fearful of having another child. Rick Stein also worried about him inheriting the condition after his father dived off a cliff near his house. Rick also worries about his sons having the condition as well. These people know first-hand the struggles and repercussions of bipolar disorder and are justifiably worried about their loved ones going through the same experience. I think the most educational part of this documentary was when Steven Fry spoke to others who have manic depression that he would not have guessed had the disorder. Robbie Williams for example, a very popular performer talked about his extremely low lows dealing with the depressi on part of bipolar disorder. A majority of people would not have been able to recognize that Robbie was very depressed because he did not show it all the time. He was a performer,

The Odyssey and Dantes Inferno - 1300 Words

Governments come and go; religions rise and fall, but there is perhaps one thing that remains constant throughout the history of mankind: story-telling. It can be said that there is no better way to captivate and provoke the imagination of a person than being told the tale from the heart of a poet, whether it be romance, adventure or simply a story from experiences. And perhaps there are no better poets that are better able to drag their willing audience along a journey than Homer and Dante. The epic tales of The Odyssey and Inferno, respectively, were seemingly written along a parallel train of thought when describing their characters journey, easily engaging the creative functions of the reader with adventurous tales of hope and adventure. Their characters, Odysseus and Dante himself, reflect upon their like and equal struggles in the quest to return home and the help that they received along the way that helped them make the return possible. The Odyssey begins far ago when Odysseus had finished his duty as a soldier, fighting in the Trojan War, ultimately winning, while the opening setting of Dante’s Inferno eventuates with Dante himself in the dark forest. The similarities are set in motion nearly from the beginning, with both seemingly lost in life, yearning for the path to normality that seemingly evades them. Though the way seems daunting initially, each receives guidance and protection from a divine intervention, seemingly bent on ensuring that they make itShow MoreRelatedEssay about Comparing the Underworlds in Dante’s Inferno and The Odyssey2108 Words   |  9 PagesDante’s Inferno is a narrative poem, with a very complicated rhyme scheme, originally written in Italian. It documents the author’s, Dante, trip through hell, where he learns how hell is organized and the way in which sinners are punished. Dante is guided by the great poet Virgil, who leads him throughout hell. 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Wisdom in Revenge Free Essays

A Savage Wisdom is a novel that chronicled the fictionalized life of Toni Joe Henry as inspired by the life and crime of Annie Beatrice McQuiston. She was the first and only woman to suffer the penalty of dying in an electric chair at a basement in a courthouse at Lake Charles. She was convicted of murdering a Houston businessman that was her lover. We will write a custom essay sample on Wisdom in Revenge or any similar topic only for you Order Now She turned into a cold-blooded murderer because she was consumed with passion and feelings of betrayal. However, at the beginning of the novel she is depicted as beautiful, naà ¯ve, Southern girl that would elicit sympathy from the readers. Because of her naivety, she was taken advantage by Herald Nevers. It is unknown to the girl that Nevers is selling indecent pictures of her. Furthermore, Nevers allowed other men to watch them make love with each other. She then realized that this man has turned her into a prostitute. She was eventually rescued by Arkie Burk. One incident leads her to the killing, while she and Burk were traveling; they encountered a hitchhiker that turned out to be Nevers. Consumed by anger, she lost control and killed Nevers. After the death of her ex-lover, she was imprisoned. While in prison, she had a love affair with a deputy that impregnated her. Before she was executed, she gave birth to a child. The author has been successful in inciting feelings of sympathy towards the protagonist from the readers. That is exactly what I feel towards the protagonist’s predicament. I do not necessarily like and agree to her life’s choices and her life’s decisions; however, she is not to blame. She appears to be a very beautiful, good, and naive girl that deserves love and attention more than what was given to her by Nevers. I pity her because her naivety was taken advantage of by Nevers. Her act of killing him is a kind of revenge for the humiliation that he has done. Women abuse are palpable because of a common belief that women are naturally, biologically, and emotionally weak in relation to men. Cases of sexual abuse spawned from another common belief that it is difficult for women to defend themselves. However, this was proven wrong by Toni Jo Henry. Her act of killing Nevers is exemplary. It serves as a model for men and even for women to take heed on the fact that women should not in any way be taken advantage of because they have the capacity to defend themselves by any means. This is where the title of the novel best works. It suggests the wisdom and realization that people get from the incident despite a savage one. While the act of killing may serve a purpose and Henry had a reasonable justification for it, I still believe that she deserves to be punished. I understand that she did the crime because Nevers has done her wrong. She needs to fight for her right as a woman and as a human being that should be respected despite her status in life. But that does not justify the killing itself. I believe that she has to be punished for the crime that she has done. It was no doubt an act of retaliation and revenge that would not be justified in the eyes of criminal justice. For her to attain justice is to make the law work for her and not against her. A wrong done would not be made right by doing another wrong. I believe she has reasons to kill but those reasons are never justified in the eyes of the law and morals. Works Cited German, Norman. A Savage Wisdom. Thibodaux: Thunder Rain, 2008. How to cite Wisdom in Revenge, Papers

Romeo And Juliet Essays (1181 words) - Film, Romeo And Juliet

Romeo And Juliet ROMEO AND JULIET Consumed by Fire - by Scott Walters I hate and I love. Why I do so, perhaps you ask. I know not, but I feel it and I am in torment. Gaius Valerius Catullus Too hot, too hot! William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale For a love story, Romeo and Juliet has more violence and bloodshed than most TV mini-series. The play begins with a riot, ends with a double suicide, and in between has three murders. And all this takes place in the span of four short days. Of course, when you're dealing with love and passion, you're operating on an elemental level. The funny thing is that they have their roots in the same soil. How many times have you seen love turn to hate, and vice versa, in the blink of an eye? Love and hate are twin sons of different mothers, separated at birth. They have a doubleness. This ambiguity is reflected throughout Romeo and Juliet, whose language is riddled with oxymorons. O brawling love, O loving hate, Romeo cries in the play's very first scene, using a figure of speech and setting up a theme that will be played out during the next five acts. Like the poles of an electrical circuit between which runs the high voltage of emotions, love and hate create a dialogue and a dialectic, a dynamic tension which powers the action and generates heat. Hot Enough for You? When I noticed that two of the plays this season had settings in Verona, I decided to find out a thing or two about the place. Reading the section on climate in Harold Rose's rather chatty book Your Guide to Northern Italy, I noted that Italy is very hot in summer and that Rose recommends that the smart traveler should avoid August if you can because it is the hottest month. Checking another book, I discovered that Rose, in a typically English way, was understating the severity of the summer weather rather considerably. The second book pointed out that there are times when Scirocco winds sweep Saharan conditions northward; winds which, by the time they reach Italy, bring humid, stifling weather with temperatures commonly topping the 100 degree mark. After reading this, a great deal of the violence in Romeo and Juliet became more understandable: they're all short-tempered because of the heat! This is even noted by Benvolio when he warns Mercutio that The day is hot, and Capulet's abroad,/ And if we meet we shall not scape a brawl,/ For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring. Unfortunately, he warns too late, and the brawl he seeks to avoid is met in the form of Tybalt. The mad blood is stirring... Think back a few summers to the drought that plagued Illinois: after days and days of humid, 90+ temperatures, didn't you want to kill somebody? Tempers explode when it's hot. At the end of a ten-day heat wave, one newspaper reported that a knife fight broke out when one man asked another, Hot enough for you? The connection between heat and violence is well-known and documented. In 1968, the United States Riot Commission, investigating the ghetto riots that had taken place the previous year found that In most instances, the temperature during the day on which the violence first erupted was quite high. In fact, in 9 of 18 riots, the temperature reached 90 degrees or more during the day, and in all but one of the remaining cases, the temperature had been in the 80s. The long, hot summer of 1967 was just that. Perhaps it is not too great a stretch to postulate that Verona is experiencing just such a long, hot summer. Something must have happened to have touched off the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets. By the time Romeo and Juliet begins, the violence is already under way. The play opens with a riot, after which the Prince angrily notes that Three civil brawls...have thrice disturbed the quiet of our streets. Obviously, this violence has not been continual, for it is still young enough for people to keep count of the fights. No, this is a new outbreak of an older conflict, as the Capulets and Montagues from ancient grudge break to

Definition and Examples of Narrators

Definition and Examples of Narrators A narrator is a person or character who tells a story, or a voice fashioned by an author to recount a narrative.   Professor Suzanne Keene points out that the  nonfiction narrator  is strongly identified with the author, whether a first-person self-narrator  in autobiography or a third-person historian or biographer (Narrative Form, 2015).An unreliable narrator (used far more often in fiction than in nonfiction) is a first-person narrator whose account of events cant be trusted by the reader. Examples and Observations The term narrator can be used in both a broad and a narrow sense. The broad sense is one who tells a story, whether that person is real or imagined; this is the sense given in most dictionary definitions. Literary scholars, however, by narrator often mean a purely imaginative person, a voice emerging from a text to tell a story. . . . Narrators of this kind include omniscient narrators, that is, narrators not only who are imaginary but who exceed normal human capabilities in their knowledge of events.(Elspeth Jajdelska, Silent Reading and the Birth of the Narrator. University of Toronto Press, 2007)Narrators in Creative Nonfiction- Nonfiction often achieves its momentum not just through narrativetelling the storybut also through the meditative intelligence behind the story, the author as narrator thinking through the implications of the story, sometimes overtly, sometimes more subtly.This thinking narrator who can infuse a story with shades of ideas is what I miss most in much nonfic tion that is otherwise quite compellingwe get only raw story and not the more essayistic, reflective narrator. . . . [I]n telling nonfiction stories we cant as writers know anybodys interior life but our own, so our interior lifeour thought process, the connections we make, the questions and doubts raised by the storymust carry the whole intellectual and philosophical burden of the piece.(Philip Gerard, Adventures in Celestial Navigation. In Fact: The Best of Creative Nonfiction, ed. by Lee Gutkind. W.W. Norton, 2005)- Readers of the nonfiction work expect to experience more directly the mind of the author, who will frame the meaning of things for herself and tell the readers. In fiction, the writer can become other people; in nonfiction, she becomes more of herself. In fiction, the reader must step into a believable fictional realm; in nonfiction, the writer speaks intimately, from the heart, directly addressing the readers sympathies. In fiction, the narrator is generally not the author; in nonfictionbarring special one-off personas as encountered in Jonathan Swifts A Modest Proposalthe writer and narrator are essentially the same. In fiction, the narrator can lie; the expectation in nonfiction is that the writer wont. Theres an assumption that the story is, to as great an extent as possible, true; that the tale and its narrator are reliable.(New York Writers Workshop, The Portable MFA in Creative Writing. Writers Digest Books, 2006) First Person and Third Person Narrators[S]imple, direct storytelling is so common and habitual that we do it without planning in advance. The narrator (or teller) of such a personal experience is the speaker, the one who was there. . . . The telling is usually subjective, with details and language chosen to express the writers feelings. . . .When a story isnt your own experience but a recital of someone elses, or of events that are public knowledge, then you proceed differently as narrator. Without expressing opinions, you step back and report, content to stay invisible. Instead of saying, I did this; I did that, you use the third person, he, she, it, or they. . . . Generally, a nonparticipant is objective in setting forth events, unbiased, as accurate and dispassionate as possible.(X.J. Kennedy et al., The Bedford Reader. St. Martins, 2000)- First-Person NarratorOnce there, beside the ocean,  I felt a little frightened. The others didnt know Id gone. I thought of the violence in t he world. People get kidnapped on the beach. A sneaker wave could take me out, and no one would ever know what had happened to me.(Jane Kirkpatrick, Homestead:  Modern Pioneers Pursuing the Edge of Possibility. WaterBrook Press, 2005)- Third-Person NarratorLucy felt a little frightened, but she felt very inquisitive and excited as well. She looked back over her shoulder and there, between the dark tree-trunks, she could still see the open doorway of the wardrobe and even catch a glimpse of the empty room from which she had set out.(C.S. Lewis,  The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 1950) Narrators and ReadersIt is well known that in linguistic communication I and you are absolutely presupposed one by the other; likewise, there can be no story without a narrator and without an audience (or reader).(Roland Barthes, An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative, 1966) Pronunciation: nah-RAY-ter

Tips on Writing a Strong Personal Essay

Tips on Writing a Strong Personal Essay Tips on Writing a Strong Personal Essay If commenting on different essay types, one should definitely underline the issue of a personal essay. This is a free piece of writing where the author tells about his or her experience. Nonetheless, either narration or opinion style, the task is pretty complicated. There are certain things that belong to this type of essays. These are as follows: No search of official data is needed. No in-depth research is required. An author should write judging on his/her own experience and feelings. With the regard to the mentioned above statements, the writing process will be rather specific. The common structure (the introduction, main plot, and conclusion) will be kept. Nonetheless, there are several prompts you should keep in your memory for good. Our experts have collected the main guidelines to complete this specific piece of writing. In addition, you will learn some other smart tips. The sum of these recommendations and tips will help you craft a really impressive and correct personal essay. Begin with Engaging Opening Your introduction should be captivating and interesting. Use something unique and special. Write in a positive tone. You should get the attraction of your audience. Mind that your introductory part ought to present the fundamental question of your story. If you wish to write about your strongest trait, dwell upon this point and begin the story. Write from Your Personal Experience Commonly, all essays are dependent on the found information. Besides, it’s needed to stick to a definite writing style. Nonetheless, one of the most distinguished advantages of this particular assignment is the full freedom of thought. You have no restrictions on what to write about. This is up to you what events, personal traits or stories to reveal to your readers. You will write from your own experience and can choose any theme. In comparison to other essay types, you can likewise use any style you wish. Accordingly, this is a tremendous possibility to impress your readers and your academic supervisor with the fullest power of your originality. Therefore, be unique and creative. Stick to the Structure Though you are free to choose the topic and style, you cannot ignore the standard structure. Firstly, introduce your readers what your main aim is. Provide them with the thesis statement and start telling your story. Mind that you should describe the chosen topic from different angles. Don’t forget to mention all people or certain events that became the major influencers for your particular case. The real-life experience is supposed to flow smoothly. Write it naturally as if you were retelling it during a conversation with your friends. Be Honest One more essential point for this essay type is the truth. It should be authentic. Show your honesty and curiosity. Even if there are some events or personality traits you don’t really like, you are expected to reveal them. This is important because it makes your story full and real. Life isn’t perfect and there happen some misfortunes and black days. Therefore, uncover the hidden truth whatever its origin might be. Though it might be uncomfortable to reveal something sacred to other people, your honesty will be appreciated. It will show that you had fully depicted your private story and did not hide anything. Accordingly, your work will bring you the desired high grades. Useful Ideas You can likewise take into your consideration some smaller elements, which will help write a good personal essay. While composing your paper, consider the â€Å"to do† and â€Å"not to do† things. There are the next things you should do: Focus on personal aspects. Tell the truth. Select topics relevant to readers. Concentrate on positive concepts. Use originality and your own style. Use details. You should not: Be impersonal. Repeat the same statements. Tell lies. Choose boring topics. In the occasion, you still have no idea of how to compose this paper use samples. This is a dependable resource, which contains samples to understand this special essay better. Of course, you will receive only partial elements of a full paper. Nonetheless, you will get a better comprehension on how to fulfill each stage and section of your research.