Biological reductionism and environmental (stimulus-response) reductionism
Reductionism means explaining complex behaviour using only one simple level of analysis. Biological reductionism uses brain chemistry or genes. Environmental reductionism uses learned stimulus-response links.
Real World
Watson and Rayner's (1920) Little Albert study reduced a child's fear of white rats to a simple stimulus-response association formed through classical conditioning, ignoring Albert's thoughts, personality, or family background.
Exam Focus
Evaluate reductionism as both a strength (scientific, testable) and a limitation (oversimplifies) for balanced AO3 marks.
Evaluation Scaffold
A four-step framework for high-quality evaluation. Use this for 'assess', 'evaluate', and 'to what extent' questions.
How well did you know this?