Free Will And Determinism Flashcards
Free will-determinism debate
Most psychological approaches are determinist
Biological- internal cause
Benaviourist-external
Humanistic-free will
Free will
Humanistic advocate
Self determining- choose own thought and actions
Can reject forces
Determinism
No free will
Hard determinism- all behaviour has a cause. Dictated by internal and external forces we can’t control
Soft determinism- James - scientists job to explain what determines our behaviour.still have freedom
Environmental determinism
Skinner- free will is an illusion- results of conditioning
Think we are acting independently that we don’t notice learned behaviours effect on us
Psychic determinism
Freud-illusion -influence of biological drives and instincts. Unconscious mind bubbles up into consciousness as behaviour
Repressed unconscious conflicts- no such thing as accident- even a ‘slip of tongue ‘
Biological determinism
Biological approach- genes, hormones, autonomic nervous system influences our behaviour
Still recognises influence of environment
Scientific emphasis on causal explanations
Every event has a cause- explained using general laws
Allow prediction and control of events in the future
Lab expts ideal-casual relations
Strengths of free will
Practical value-thinking we have it improves mental health
Robert’s-young ppl who believe in determinism =higher risks of depression
External LOC less likely to be optimistic
Free will positively impact well-being
Strength of determinism
Brain scan doesn’t support free will
Libet-ppts to flick their wrist- measured brain activity-had to say when they felt conscious will to move Measured brain activity
Unconscious was half a second before conscious
Limitations of determinism
Legal system on responsibility
Not consistent with todays legal system- offenders held responsible for their actions
Defendant exercised free will in committing crimes
Do not work in real world
Criminal gene? Bad parenting?
Counterpoint to Libet
Just because we are not consciously aware of our decision at first doesn’t mean we don’t have free will
