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Workings of the Mind > Automatic Behavior and Free-Will > Flashcards

Automatic Behavior and Free-Will Flashcards

1
Q

Some thoughts and behaviors seem to occur “automatically”

A

Without my intention and beyond my control

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2
Q

Who is in charge?

A

Intuitively we feel as though we are the ones making the conscious decisions

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3
Q

Evidence against free-will

A

Behavior can occur before awareness is possible

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4
Q

Types of Automatic Behaviors

A
  • Reflexes and Instincts
  • Unconscious Behavior
    • Sleepwalking
    • Patient with neurological conditions
  • Preconscious Behavior
    • Behaviors on autopilot
    • Priming effects
  • Habits
    • Frequently repeated behaviors
    • Behavioral Conditioning
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5
Q

Triggers for habitual behaviors may not be consciously known

A

Habit of constantly checking your phone?
Could be triggered by feelings of boredom or awkwardness? Could be triggered by a desire to avoid doing other things (procrastination) ?

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6
Q

Automatic Habits - Rats run the same maze over and over

A

as the rat repeats the maze, brain activity decreases over time

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7
Q

Habitual behaviors require…

A

less conscious effort

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8
Q

THE HABIT LOOP

A

Cue, Routine, Reinforcer

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9
Q

Cue (Habit Loop)

A

A stimulus that triggers the behavior

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10
Q

Routine

A

The behavior is triggered

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11
Q

Reinforcer

A

The subjective benefits that comes from the behavior

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12
Q

Conditioning

A

Learning to associate stimuli with specific behavior responses

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13
Q

Conditioning can be learned without…

A

conscious awareness

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14
Q

Classical Conditioning

A

Learned association between a neutral stimulus and a different stimulus that triggers a behavioral response (eventually the neutral stimulus will trigger the response)

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15
Q

Operant Conditioning

A

Learning through reinforcement and punishment (reinforced behaviors increase, punished behaviors decrease)

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16
Q

Operant conditioning involves learning to behave specific ways to ……

A

get benefits or avoid punishments

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17
Q

Animal Training

A

Operant Conditioning (Reward behavior you want, punish bevaior you don’t want)

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18
Q

Animal Recognizing the sound of a treat cabinet

A

Classical Conditioning (the neutral stimulus is causing a behavioral response)

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19
Q

B. F. Skinner

A

All forms of human behavior could be explained by patterns of reward and punishments

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20
Q

Positive Reinforcement

A

Behavior to increase - because you were given a pleasant reward (Dog gets a treat to sit)

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21
Q

Negative Reinforcement

A

Behavior to increase - because you took away something bad (Kids crying so that their parents will buy them toys because they want to “take away something bad”)

22
Q

Positive Punishment

A

Behavior to decrease - because a averse stimulus is received (A child stops crying because they are spanked)

23
Q

Negative Punishment

A

Behavior to decrease -
because a pleasant stimulus is removed
(a child stops misbehaving because their freedom is taken away by being grounded)

24
Q

Classical conditioning is learning that….

A

there is an association between two things

25
Q

Habits lead to reinforcement

A
  • Positive reinforcement - get something good
  • Negative reinforcement - avoid something bad
26
Q

Procrastination

A

Reinforcer - do something enjoyable, avoid what’s not enjoyable

27
Q

Eating Junk/fast food

A

Reinforcer - taste good immediate gratification, avoidance of cooking

28
Q

You didn’t choose your genes, your parents, your elementary school…

A
  • You weren’t even self aware until you were about 3 years old
29
Q

Every decision you make is…

A

caused by internal and external factors

30
Q

The discovery of the scientific and physical laws of the world…

A

lead us to understanding the physical world in linear cause and effect (everything that happens was caused by what came before)

31
Q

Determinism

A

Free-will can’t exist because human beings are physical beings - physical beings must follow cause and effect

32
Q

Agentic Causation

A

Free will cna exist because human beings have minds - minds do not have to follow the law of cause an effect

33
Q

Democritus

A

Ancient Greek Philosopher - argued free-will does not exist - humans as physical objects, everything that has happened and will happen is predetermined

34
Q

Modern science, medicine, and technology are all based on deterministic laws

A

scientific observation shows the universe operates according to principles of cause and effect

35
Q

Indeterminism

A

Aristotle and Epicurus - Argued humans are responsible for their own actions, thus determinism must be false (or else no one would be responsible for their crimes)

36
Q

Randomness does not equal choice….

A

It means you can’t predict what will happen
- It doesn’t mean you can choose what happens

37
Q

Compatibilism (Soft determinism)

A

David Hume
- A middle way between determinism and agentic causation - Reconciling moral responsibility and agentic causation (Free will and determinism can both be true) We don’t observe the full “truth” of reality
- Even thought what we may see as cause and effect, there is more to it than we can see

38
Q

Compatibilism allows for moral responsibility

A

“passions” may be beyond our control, but the moral person uses “reason” to veto passionate impulses

39
Q

Libertarianism (type of indeterminism)

A

Free-will must exist, therefore… determinism must not be true (cause of human actions must be seperate from causes in the physical world)

40
Q

Kant proposed that determinism MUST be true for the physical world but….

A

there must also exist another (non-physical) world outside of physical space and time (non-physical events could cause changes in the physical world)

41
Q

Free-will Debate

A
  • How much of the world is pre-determined?
    • Is it possible that everything that will ever happen has already been set in motion? (Determinism)
42
Q

How can you have free will if God already knows what you will do?

A

If God knows everything that is going to happen…
then wouldn’t God also be responsible for every choice that was ever made?
- If God doesn’t know what choice you’ll make… then God can’t be all-knowing

43
Q
  • The dorsalateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is associated with conscious decisions to move
A
  • Or, maybe just associated with the feeling that we decided to act
    - But, does this brain area actually caused us to act?
44
Q

Readiness potential

A
  • Activity in the brain’s motor cortex that precedes a movement
  • Brain activity gradually increases prior to a voluntary movement
  • THe readiness potential begins up to one second before the actual movement
45
Q

Libet’s Study of Voluntary Action

A
  • Record and time brain and muscle activity while subjects made voluntary decisions about motor movements
    • Does the readiness potential start before the person has decided to move?
46
Q

Timing of three events

A
  • 1) Start of the muscle movement (M)
  • 2) Start of the readiness potential (RP)
  • 3) When the intention to move occurs (W)
    • This was labeled “W” for “will”
47
Q
  • Timing of the Will
    • Participants watch a clock-like display
      • A spot of light that moves in clockwise in a circle
A
  • Mentally track where the clock was when they felt intention to move
    • Method had led to accurate reports of when participants had received a sensory stimulus
  • After moving, they report the “time” when they felt the decision to move
48
Q

Results

A
  • Readiness potential began about 550ms before the action
    • Conscious intent was about 200ms before the action
    • Readiness potential came before the decision to act!
      • Brain already started the behavior 350ms before the person “detected to act”
49
Q

Libets interpretation - - Rules of cause and effect suggest…

A

The brain initiates the action independent of conscious will
- The conscious mind simply becomes aware that the action is going to happen

50
Q

We can’t control out impulses to initiate an action - But…

A

when we become consciously aware of an impulse
- Our conscious minds can “veto” the action

Workings of the Mind (15 decks)

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