Holism and Reductionism Quiz

What is reductionism?

• The theory that one should make as many assumptions as possible

• The belief that human behaviour should be viewed as a whole integrated experience

• The idea that complex phenomena should be explained in the most complex terms possible

• The belief that human behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into simpler component parts

What is parsimony?

• The idea that complex phenomena should be explained in the simplest terms possible

• The theory that one should make as many assumptions as possible

• The idea that complex phenomena should be explained in the most complex terms possible

• The belief that human behaviour should be viewed as a whole integrated experience

What does the lowest level of reductionist explanation consider?

• Environmental explanations

• Social and cultural explanations

• Psychological explanations

• Physiological (biological) explanations

What is biological reductionism?

• Reducing behaviour to a series of S-R (stimulus-response) chains

• Viewing human behaviour as a whole integrated experience

• Reducing complex behaviour to a single variable for testing

• Reducing behaviour to a physical level and explaining it in terms of neurons, neurotransmitters, hormones, brain structure, etc.

What is environmental reductionism also known as?

• Holism

• Stimulus-response reductionism

• Biological reductionism

• Experimental reductionism

What is experimental reductionism?

• Reducing behaviour to a physical level

• Reducing complex behaviour to a single variable for testing

• Viewing human behaviour as a whole integrated experience

• Reducing behaviour to a series of S-R (stimulus-response) chains

What does holism mean?

• The theory that one should make as many assumptions as possible

• The idea that complex phenomena should be explained in the simplest terms possible

• The idea that human behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into simpler component parts

• The idea that human behaviour should be viewed as a whole integrated experience

What approach does Gestalt psychology adopt?

• An experimental approach to perception

• A reductionist approach to perception

• A biological approach to perception

• A holistic approach to perception

What is a criticism of biological reductionism?

• It views human behaviour as a whole integrated experience

• It can lead to errors of understanding because it ignores the complexity of human behaviour

• It reduces behaviour to a series of S-R (stimulus-response) chains

• It reduces complex behaviour to a single variable for testing

What is a critique of environmental reductionism?

• It reduces behaviour to a physical level

• It reduces complex behaviour to a single variable for testing

• It views human behaviour as a whole integrated experience

• It often uses non-human animals as subjects