Free Will and Determinism Flashcards
What is free will + moral responsibility?
-Suggests humans are essentially self-determining + free to choose our thoughts + actions.
-Does not deny there may be biological + environmental forces that exert some influence, but we are free to reject these forces as masters of our identity.
-Moral responsibility = individual is in charge of own actions, i.e. can exercise free will.
-The law states children and mentally ill do not have this responsibility, but ‘normal’ adult behaviour is self-determined.
-Humans are accountable for actions regardless of innate factors or influences of early experiences.
What is an example of free will?
The Humanistic Approach:
-Maslow + Rogers argue self-determination was a necessary part of human behaviour or self-actualisation is not possible.
-Rogers - as long as individual remains controlled by other people, they cannot take responsibility for behaviour so cannot change.
-Only when take responsibility is personal growth possible, resulting in psychological health.
What is determinism? (Hard + Soft)
-Our behaviour is controlled by external or internal factors acting upon them.
Hard = all behaviour has a cause, should be possible to identify and describe these causes. There is not room for free will - incompatible.
Soft = all behaviour has a cause but is some room for element of free will
What is biological determinism?
Emphasises importance of physiological and neurological processes that may not be under our conscious control.
What is an example of biological determinism?
Biological explanations of psychopathology:
-Neurotransmitters - high dopamine found in schizophrenic patients - dopamine hypothesis, suggesting dopamine is major determinant in schizophrenic behaviour.
-Genes - behaviour is inherited which thus determines our behaviour. Twin studies - MZ twins are genetically identical so should display similar behaviours, Miguel found if 1 MZ twin had OCD 53%-87% other develops, demonstrating condition is greatly influenced by genetic inheritance.
What is environmental determinism?
-All behaviour is caused by previous experience, through processes of classical and operant conditioning.
-May think we are acting independently, our behaviour has been shaped by environmental events + agents of socialising e.g. parents, institutions.
What is an example of environmental determinism?
Modelling, vicarious reinforcement + aggression:
-Bandura - behaviour determined by role of models, observed children imitate role models displaying aggressive/non-aggressive behaviour with Bobo doll, especially when model rewarded = vicarious reinforcement.
-Demonstrates that children’s aggressive behaviour is determined by models exposed to e.g. parental behaviour, TV, video games,es etc.
What is psychic determinism?
Human behaviour is the result of unconscious forces + instinctive urges which are caused by childhood experiences + innate drives.
What is an example of psychic determinism?
Psychodynamic explanation of criminal behaviour:
-Freud - criminal behaviour caused by internal, unconscious conflict throughout psychosexual stages of development.
-Superego develops at 4 during phallic stage as an outcome of Oedipus complex or Electra complex.
-Child who does not identify with same-sex parent or absent parent develops weak + underdeveloped superego.
-So has little control over anti-social behaviour and likely to act in ways that gratify instinctual id impulses.
What are 2 strength of free will + determinism?
Support for role of biological determinism in psychopathology:
-determinism consistent with aims of science - notion that behaviour is orderly and obeys laws.
-prediction and control of research of behaviour led to beneficial treatments + therapies e.g. drugs for schizophrenia.
-experience of mental disorders - sufferers experience total loss over thoughts + behaviour - doubt on concept of free will.
In terms of mental illness, behaviour would appear to be determined.
Choice and control has benefits:
-everyday experiences = impression we are constantly exercising free will through everyday choices - face validity to concept of free will.
-research suggests people with internal locus of control tend to be more mentally healthy - Robert’s et al demonstrated adolescents with strong belief in lives depending on events outside of control were significantly greater risk of developing depression.
Suggests even if we do not have free will, the fact we think we do may have positive impact on mind + behaviour.
What are 2 limitations of free will + determinism?
Determinist explanations are unfalsifiable:
-based on idea that causes of behaviour will always exist even though may not have yet been found.
-it is impossible to live same life twice or experience same situation twice under different circumstances to compare the influence of certain deterministic factors on the outcomes.
Suggests the determinist approach to behaviour may not be as scientific as it first appears.
Case against free will:
-neurological studies - Benjamin Libet demonstrated brain activity that determines outcome of choices may predate our knowledge of making that choice.
-found activity related to whether to press a button with left or right hand occurs in brain up to 10 secs before reporting conscious awareness of making decision.
Shows even our most basic experiences of free will are decided + determined by our brain before we are aware of the choice.
What is a compromise for free will + determinism?
An interactionist approach:
-approaches with a cognitive element, such as social learning theory, adopt a soft determinist position.
-Bandura argues although environmental factors in learning are key, we are free to choose who or what we attend to and when to perform certain behaviours.
