Free Will and Determinism Flashcards

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1
Q

Bob and Mike each have a daughter. Both girls are talented swimmers.

Bob says his daughter was destined to be a good swimmer because her grandfather was a great swimmer when he was young.

Mike says it was inevitable that his daughter would be a good swimmer because she was given lots of praise in swimming lessons when she was little.

Use your knowledge of determinism to explain Bob’s and Mike’s comments.

A

Both fathers’ comments could suggest a deterministic view.

  • Bob suggests biological determinism, his daughter’s swimming ability is genetic, she has inherited her swimming talent from her grandfather who was a good swimmer.
  • Mike suggests environmental determinism, his daughter’s early experience/positive reinforcementin swimming lessons has influenced her swimming ability.
  • Both fathers’ comments suggest hard determinism as they imply the daughters had no free choice/free will – Bob refers to ‘destiny’ and therefore unavoidable; Mike says it was ‘inevitable’ and therefore pre-determined.
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2
Q

Outline what is meant by soft determinism

A

The idea that whilst behaviour is constrained by biology and environment that individuals still have some capacity to make their own choices.

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3
Q

A psychologist investigated the effect of the presence of a friend on mood. She used a controlled laboratory experiment. She asked a group of participants to rate their happiness on a scale.

In Condition 1 (Alone Condition), participants completed the scale after sitting alone in a room for 30 minutes.

In Condition 2 (Friend Condition), the same participants completed the same scale after sitting for 30 minutes in a room with a friend.

The conditions were counterbalanced.

The psychologist analysed the results of the study using a Wilcoxon test. The analysis showed that happiness ratings were significantly higher in the Friend Condition.

The psychologist claimed to have demonstrated a causal explanation for happiness.

What is meant by a causal explanation? Explain why it was appropriate to claim that there was a causal explanation in this case.

A
  • a causal explanation is based on the scientific notion that behaviour is caused by internal/external factors − there is a cause and effect relationship

-the experiment was a controlled laboratory study so the only thing that changed was the IV (presence of friend or not), all other variables were controlled and there was a (significant) effect on the DV (happiness ratings).

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4
Q

Jonny is 25 years old. He is a very anxious person. Colleagues tease him at work because he chews his pen all the time and spends hours tidying his desk. He finds it difficult to make friends and has never had a girlfriend.

Use your knowledge of psychic determinism to explain Jonny’s behaviour.

A

psychic determinism suggests that adult behaviour, e.g. anxiety, pen-chewing, is determined by childhood experiences and by innate, unconscious drives ie Jonny has no free will

  • experiences that occurred during stages of psychosexual development have unconsciously influenced Jonny’s adult behaviour/experience
      
  • Jonny is unaware of these early experiences as his memory has been repressed, but they manifest themselves in symbolic outward behaviours. Jonny is a slave to his unconscious
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5
Q

What is meant by a paradigm shift?

A
  • a paradigm is a set of shared assumptions/beliefs about how behaviour is studied/explained eg a focus on causal explanations of behaviour
  • a shift occurs where members of a scientific community change from one established way of explaining/studying a behaviour to a new way, due to new/contradictory evidence

*- this shift leads to a ‘scientific revolution’ eg the cognitive revolution in the 1970s and the current emphasis on cognitive neuroscience.

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6
Q

What is meant by determinism - refer to 3 types:

A

determinism – understanding that behaviour is controlled and we do not exercise free will over our own behaviour

  • biological determinism – behaviour is controlled by aspects of biology eg genes, chemicals etc –
  • environmental determinism – behaviour is controlled by external influences eg parents, society
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7
Q

With reference to the item above, identify one influence of nature on our behaviour and one influence of nurture on our behaviour.

A

nature is indicated by reference to genetic inheritance ‘runs in families’

nurture is indicated by reference to environment or experience ‘serious social problems’, ‘traumatic events in the past’.

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8
Q

What is meant by the scientific emphasis on causal explanations?

A

All variables are controlled except for light conditions (the IV)

*   Any change in the number of details correctly recalled (the DV) must therefore be due to/caused by the manipulation of light intensity (the IV)

*   Use of control enables the researcher to infer causality/cause and effect

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9
Q

With reference to a behaviour, explain the distinction between hard determinism and soft determinism.

A

Hard determinism is the view that all behaviour is caused by forces outside a person’s control / behaviour caused by coercion whereas soft determinism is the view that behaviour is still caused but not by coercion / force / external events / environment but by their own wishes / conscious desires.

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10
Q

Joel has learned to get his own way at school by having fights with other children. His two older brothers were both excluded from school for injuring other children. Recently, Joel has also been excluded from school for attacking another child.

Explain what is meant by determinism. Refer to Joel’s aggressive behaviour in your answer

A

Biological – brothers were also aggressive

Environmental – learned to get his way (desirable / positive consequences of aggression) / brothers as role models.

Psychic – use of displacement / fighting with other children

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