Intro to Psych - Reductionism

All sciences are reductionist to some degree.

• True

• False

Reductionism is controversial at times in psychology

• True

• False

The opposite of reductionist approach would be called a ___________________ approach.

• Empirical

• Holistic

• Scientific

• None of the above

Reductionists believe we should at several interacting causes of human behavior

• True

• False

Which type of reductionism does this picture best represent?

• Physiological

• Biological

• Evolutionary

• Experimental

Answer explanation

Biological reductionism assumes we have evolved from lower animals, so those animals can be used to study some human processes because we share many of the same bodily functions with them

Which type of reductionism does this illustration best represent?

• Biological

• Experimental

• Physiological

• Empirical

Which type of reductionism is best illustrated here?

• Physiological

• Biological

• Experimental

• Empirical

Wholists would argue we need to try to understand all aspects of a person to be able to explain why they behave as they do, rather than focus specific parts.

• True

• False

What does this illustration suggest about reductionist and wholistic approaches?

• The approaches should not be used at the same time

• They are both flawed approaches

• Psychologists may want to use both approaches

• Balancing the approaches is not possible