Free will and determinism Flashcards
What is free will?
- Humans are self-determining and free to choose their own thoughts and actions
- Does not deny bio/environmental influences but suggests we can reject these forces if we have control over our thoughts/behaviours
What is determinism?
- An individual’s behaviour is shaped and controlled by internal or external forces
What are the 5 main types of determinism?
- Hard
- Soft
- Biological
- Environmental
- Psychic
What is hard determinism?
- Also known as ‘fatalism’
- All behaviour has a cause and it is possible to identify and describe these causes
- Behaviour dictated by internal and external forces that are out of our control
What is soft determinism?
- Scientists explain who determines our behaviour but this does not detract from the freedom we have to make rational, conscious choices
- James- suggests notion of soft determinism is a feature of the cognitive approach
What is biological determinism?
- Recognises the mediating influence of environment on our biological structures
- Used by biological approach (e.g: influence of ANS of stress response/ genes on mental health)
What is environmental determinism?
- ‘Choice’ is the sum of reinforcement contingencies that have acted upon us throughout our lives
- Skinner- ‘free will is an illusion’- suggests all behaviour is the result of past conditioning
What is psychic determinism?
- Behaviour determined by unconscious conflicts, repressed in childhood
- No accidents- a ‘slip of the tongue’ is due to the influence of the unconscious
- Freud- ‘free will is an illusion’ but emphasises influence of biological drives and instincts
What is the scientific emphasis on causal explanations?
- Science= every event has a cause, causes explained using general laws (hard determinism)
- Knowledge of causes/formulation of laws allow scientists to predict and control future events
- Lab experiments allow for demo of causal relationships (ideal of science)
Strength-
I- Practical value
D- Thinking we exercise free will can improve mental health. Roberts et al looked at adolescents with strong fatalistic beliefs. Significantly greater risk of depression
E- Even if we do not have free will, if we believe we do, our mind and behaviour may be positively impacted
Limitation-
I- Brain scan evidence supports determinism
D- Libet et al’s participants chose random moment to flick their wrist (brain activity measured- ‘readiness potential’). Participants to say when they felt conscious will to move. Unconscious brain activity came 1/2 a second before conscious desire to move hand
E- May be interpreted as meaning even our most basic experiences of free will may actually be determined by our brains before we are aware
Strength-
I- Brain scan evidence is flawed
D- Findings show brain is involved in decision-mkaing. Just because action comes before conscious awareness to act doesn’t mean there was no decision to act- decision took time to reach consciousness
E- Suggests evidence is not appropriate to challenge free will
Limitation-
I- Position of legal system on responsibility
Determinism
D- Hard determinism suggests individual choice is not the cause of behaviour. This is inconsistent with the way out legal system works. In a court of law, offenders are held responsible for their actions- excerise free will to commit crime
E- Suggests determinist arguements do not work in the real world
Evaluation extra-
I- Free will vs determinism debate
D- Determinist approaches helped establish psychology as a science (credible ‘human science’). Hard determinism produces real-world application (therapy, treatment, behavioural interventions)
D- Free will has intuitive appeal, face validity. May be liberating for some in terms of not accepting fate. Determinist approaches suggest we are doomed to repeat family behavioural patterns
E- Determinist stance useful to position psychology as a natural science but common-sense experience better understood by free will
