2.2: Free will and determinism Flashcards
A psychology student carried out a study of excitement at a theme park. She measured the heart rate of people waiting in the queue for a roller coaster. The student’s tutor said, ‘Using heart rate as a measure of excitement is an example of biological reductionism.’
Explain why measuring heart rate in this situation could be an example of biological reductionism (2 marks)
Measuring heart rate in this situation could be an example of biological reductionism, because:
- Excitement is a broad construct/complex behaviour/has many aspects
- Heart rate is a narrow, biological/physical component/unit/element/factor in overall excitement
Which two of the following statements describe a strongly deterministic view?
A: People are always responsible for their own actions
B: People behave in a random fashion
C: People’s behaviour always has a cause
D: People exercise full choice over how they behave
E: People have no choice about how to act
(2 marks)
C and E
Explain the distinction between hard determinism and soft determinism (2 marks)
Hard determinism is the view that all behaviour is caused by forces outside a person’s control or that behaviour caused by coercion, whereas soft determinism is the view that behaviour is still caused, but not by coercion or by external events or the environment, but by a person’s own conscious desires or wishes
Outline the free will and determinism debate in psychology (2 marks)
Free will is choice and behaviour and thought under the control of the will or volition of an individual.
Determinism is behaviour caused by internal or external forces
Explain one reason why a belief in free will conflicts scientific enquiry (2 marks)
A belief in free will conflicts scientific enquiry, because science aims to predict and control behaviour, whereas free will implies that behaviours and thinking result from a person’s complete freedom to control what he or she
does and thinks
