free will and determinism Flashcards
what is free will
idea that humans have control over their behaviour
what is determinism?
what is hard determinism
+ soft determinism
what are 3 types of determinism?
determism - idea that an indivuals behaviour is shaped and controlled by internal and external forces rather indivual will to do something.
hard determism = we never have control over our behaviour
soft determinism = idea that behaviour has a cause but our behaviour can also be determined by own choices.
biological determinism = belief that behaviours is caused by biological influences that we can not control
environmental determinism = belief that behaviours is caused by features of the environment we can not control
psychic determism = the belief that behaviours is caused unconscious conflicts that we can not control
evaluation for free will and determism
strength for determism:
determism is consistent with the aims of science the notion that human behaviour is orderly and obeys laws places psychology on equal footing with other more established sciences. also prediction and control of human behaviour has led development of treatments, therapies and behavioural interventions.
weakness
- however hard determism - suggesting the indivuals do not have control over the behaviour has implication on legal system as offenders are held accountable for their actions.
- unfalsifiable = based on idea that causes of behaviour will always exist although it has not been found yet.
strength of free will
- has face validity it makes cognitive sense as we constantly excersing free will through the choices we make. also research suggest people that internal locus of control tend to be more mentally healthy. study by Robert et al 200 demonstrated that people that external locus of control were at greater risk of developing depression. suggest that even if we don’t have free will the idea that we think we do has positive impact on the mind.
however it can lead to people being blamed for behaviour that wasn’t there fault when it could have been other factors such as biological and enviromental
