Free Will and determinism Flashcards
What is Free Will
the notion that all humans can make choices and that their behaviours and thoughts aren’t determined by internal (biological) or external (environmental) forces
what is determinism
the view that an individual’s behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal (biological) or external (environmental) forces, rather than an individuals free will to do something
what is the difference between hard/soft determinisms
hard: AKA ‘fatalism’, all behaviour has a cause and free will isn’t possible. everything is determined by internal/external cues
soft: all behaviours/events have causes, but behaviour can also be influenced by our conscious choices
what’re the 3 types of determinism
biological
environmental
psychic
what is biological determinism
- determined by our biological makeup
- e.g. hormone levels/neurotransmitters, neural structures, and our genes and nervous system
( neg eval for the biological approach )
what is environmental determinism
- behaviour has been chosen for us due to a combination of all the reinforcement/punishment we have received in our lives
- therefore shaped by parents, schools, peers etc
( neg eval for behavioural approach )
what is psychic determinism
- sexual drives and instincts determine our behaviour
- e.g. psychosexual stage conflicts and repressed traumas (defence mechanisms) that occur in childhood dictate our future adult behaviour
what’re 2 Pros FOR determinism/against free will
highly scientific
establishes psychology as a science
how is determinisms scientific standards a strength for determinism/weakness of free will
- highly objective, scientific evidence supporting
- Libet instructed participants to randomly flick their wrist whilst he was measuring their brain activity, and were asked to report when they felt the conscious decision to move the wrist, and found that unconscious brain activity leading up to the conscious decision to move came half a second before the conscious thought to move came
- this suggests that our unconscious brain has pre-determined choices before consciously making the decision
how is establishing psychology as a science a strength of determinism/weakness of free will
- helps establish psychology as a science
- approaches like the behaviourist and biological are both highly scientific, and have led to psychological advances such as therapies (SD and flooding, token economy systems, and drug treatments such as SSRIs)
- these are both deterministic approaches, whereas ones that that take a ‘free will’ stance, eg humanism, tend to be less scientific with fewer real world applications
what is a weakness of the argument FOR determinism/against free will
- determinism is worse for mental health
- Roberts found that adolescents who believe in fatalism are at a higher risk of being depressed, compared to those who believe in having free will
what’re arguments AGAINST determinism/for free will (negative)
- the free will stance is compatible with law whereas determinism isn’t.
- variables such as genetics are rarely considered when determining guilt, as offenders are responsible for their own crimes
- if deterministic ideas were used in court, anyone could argue blame onto their biology, that they were ‘predetermined to commit the crime’, avoiding punishment
what’s 1 argument AGAINST determinism/for free will (positive)
- free will has more ‘face validity’
- everyday experience gives the impression that we constantly exercise free will via the choices we make.
- this gives it face validity
how does the interactionist approach compromise between free will and determinism
- some psychologists take an interactionist approach, offering a compromise
- psychological approaches with a cognitive element eg SLT/cog take this stance
