3. free will and determinsim Flashcards
what is the free will verses determinism debate
asks if our behaviour is a matter of free will or if are we the product of a set of internal and/or external influences that determine who we are and what we do.
most approaches in psychology are determined to some extent. however the different approaches disagree on what the precise causes of human behaviour are - for example the biological approach suggests that the causes are internal (could be nature or nurture) whereas the behaviourist approach suggests they are external.
the humanistic approach embraces the concept of free will.
what is free will?
suggests that human beings are essentially self determining and free to choose their own thoughts and actions.
a belief in free will does not deny that there may be biological and environmental forces that exert some influence on our behaviour but implies we are able to reject these forces if we wish as we are in control of our thoughts and behaviour - advocated by the humanistic approach.
it fits in with societies view of personal responsibility as legal system in UK is based on the idea of holding people accountable for their actions.
what are psychological theories of free will
humanistic approach believes humans are unique and plan their own actions. humanists argue that regarding behaviour as determined is dehumanising.
roger - difficult decisions make us unique.
maslow - hierarchy of needs.
what is determinism
the view that an individuals behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces rather than an individuals will to do something - means behaviour should be predictable.
determinism is a scientific account of behaviour and proposes that free will has no place in explaining behaviour.
what is hard determinism
suggests all human behaviour has a cause and it should be possible to identify and describe that cause.
assumes everything we think and do is dictated by internal or external forces that we cannot control - claims that free will is an illusion.
what is soft determinism
view that behaviour may be predictable (caused by internal/external factors) but there is also room for personal choice from a limited range of possibilities (restricted free will).
there is an element of free will in all behaviour yet it is controlled by outside forces so behaviour is a direct result of the environment but only to an extent.
what is biological determinism
belief that our behaviour is caused by biological influences that we cannot control.
the biological approach emphasises the role of biological determinism such as the influence of the autonomic nervous system on the stress response or the influences of genes on mental health.
modern biological psychologists would recognise the mediating influence of the environment on our biological structure.
what is environmental determinism
the belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment (such as systems of reward and punishment) that we cannot control - links with soft determinism.
examples - social psychology (zimbardo and milgram), social learning theory and differential association theory (skinner described free will as an illusion and argued that all behaviour is the result of conditioning).
what is psychic determinism
the belief our behaviour is caused by unconscious psychodynamic conflicts we cannot control.
freud also believed that free will is an illusion but he emphasised the influence of biological drives and instincts - he saw human behaviour as determined by unconscious conflicts repressed in childhood.
freud claimed that there is no such thing as an accident and even something as seemingly random as a ‘slip of the tongue’ can be explained by the influence of the unconscious.
what is the scientific emphasis on causal explanations
one basic principle of science is that every event in the universe has a cause and that causes can be explained using general laws (hard determinism). knowledge of causes and the formulation of laws are important as they allow scientists to predict and control events in the future.
in psychology the lab experiment is the ideal of science as it enables reseachers to demonstrate causal relationships - all variables can be controlled.
what psychological theories are deterministic
psychic determinism = freud. psychodynamic theory suggests internal unconscious process are the cause of behaviours.
environmental determinism = bandura, pavlov, skinner. behaviourists argue that behaviour is learnt from the external environment.
biological determinism = buss and lombroso. biological approach = genetics and hormones are causes of behaviour.
how is the position of the legal system on responsibility a weakness of determinism and a strength of free will
the hard determinist stance is that individual choice is not the cause of behaviour - not consistent with the way in which our legal system operates.
in a court of law, offenders are held responsible for their actions. indeed the main principle of our legal system is that the defendant excercised their free will in committing the crime = suggests in the real world determinist arguments do not work.
how does brain scan evidence limit the support for free will
researched instructed participants to choose a random moment to flick their wrist while he measured activity in their brain. participants had to say when they felt the conscious will to move.
found = unconscious brain activity leading up to the conscious decision to move came around half a second before the participant consciously felt that they had decided to move. could be that most of our basic experiences of free will are actually determined by our brain before we are aware of them.
counter = brain involved in decision making is not surprising and is what we would expect - because the action comes before the conscious awareness of the decision to act does not mean there was no decision to act, just the decision to act took time to reach consciousness = the evidence is not appropriate to challenge free will.
how is practical value a strength of free will
the common sense view is that we excercise free choice in our everyday lives on a daily basis. however even if this is not the case thinking we do excercise free choice can improve our mental health.
researchers looked at adolescents who had a strong belief in fatalism - that their lives were decided by events outside of their control.
found = adolescents were at a significantly greater risk of developing depression. it seems that people who exhibit an external rather than internal locus of control are less likely to be optimistic = even if we do not have free will the fact that we believe we do may have a positive impact on our mind and behaviour.
does determinism or free will have more of a positive influence
determinist approaches helped establish psychology as a science. also hard determinism (biological and behaviourist approaches) has produced many effective real world applications - including therapies and behavioural interventions.
however free will has intuitive appeal - most of us see ourselves as making our own choices rather than being pushed by forces we cannot control. free will may also be liberating for some people in terms of not accepting ones fate - if they come from a criminal background or there is mental disorder in their family for instance.
