free will and determinism Flashcards
what is free will, briefly?
- Free Will:
Full choice over actions
No influence or manipulation from internal (genes etc) or external (peers etc) influences.
what is determinism, briefly?
- Determinism:
Behaviours are caused by something
Little actual control
Determinants are variables that cause our behaviour
explain freewill and give an example?
- Individuals have an active role in controlling their behaviour and are not controlled by biological or external forces.
- The humanistic approach in Psychology is one of the few that proposes individuals have free will to control their own actions regardless of their internal or external pressures and are thus able to work towards self-actualisation.
explain determinism??
An individual’s behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces, rather than their own will.
Internal forces could include biological factors (genes, NT levels, brain damage); innate behavioural tendencies proposed by Freud / psychodynamic approach; or faulty thinking patterns (cognitive approach).
External factors could include learnt associations and stimulus-response links (behaviourism), imitating role models (SLT).
what is hard determinism?
HARD DETERMINISM:
- Suggests that ALL human behaviour has a cause and it is theoretically possible to identify and describe all these causal factors.
- This approach fits with the goals of science to establish universal laws governing behaviour.
Hard determinism does not allow for any element of free will. - Hard determinists believe that if it is true that every thought, action, and occurrence in the world is predetermined by the series of events that preceded them, it is impossible for people to have free will or be truly morally responsible for their behaviors.
what is soft determinism?
SOFT DETERMINISM:
- Suggests that, whilst all human behaviour may have a cause, individuals do have the capacity to make conscious choices about their behaviour
- It suggests that, although behaviour is predictable, this does not make it inevitable.
Individuals are free to choose their behaviour, although this may be from a limited repertoire dictated by internal and external forces. - Conformity could be regarded as being a soft determinist behaviour due to the illusion of choice in an environment that does constrain our behaviour.
- For example, hard determinism cannot exist here due to the fact that some people do resist conformity. This represents a middle ground; you do have a choice to conform or not, but it is somewhat constrained by internal and external factors (social pressure).
what are the three types of determinism?
- biological
- environmental
- psychic
what is biological determinism?
- Behaviour is the result of internal processes within the body.
3 biological causes of behaviour:
Genetics;
Brain physiology; Biochemistry
Genetics are very influential. Although they do not definitively cause behaviour, they can increase likelihood of that behaviour, disorder, syndrome or condition occurring.
- Eg- Biological explanation of OCD… biochemistry= low serotonin, low dopamine + faulty genes (SERT and COMT gene) can also impact serotonin and dopamine levels.
what is environmental determinism?
Behaviour is the result of our physical environment.
E.g., social influence.
Milgram and Zimbardo - their ppts acted out of pressures from their environments. It could be argued they wouldn’t have normally acted like this, but their environment determined their behaviour.
- Eg- Behavioural explanation of phobias:
Phobia developing is determined by the environment (trauma) as through stimulus- response.
what is psychic determinism?
- Links very closely to the psychodynamic approach.
Behaviour is caused by our unconscious mind.
PD argues that this is why some individuals do not know why they take a certain course of action.
Has roots in explaining criminality.
- Eg- Freud- every behaviour has an initial cause and that behaviour was initiated in a part of our mind we cannot access.
what are the positive evaluations of free will and determinism?
- Determinism in Psychology allows for a more scientific approach.
Taking a deterministic approach seeks to identify exact causes of behaviour. Hence, identifying the exact causes of behaviour naturally leads to being able to predict behaviour in future.
For example, identifying OCD as being caused in part by faulty genetics can help establish a general law (e.g. anyone with these genes are vulnerable to the disorder).
Therefore, taking a deterministic and scientific approach can help people at risk, purely because the causes have been identified.
- Point - Even if free will is an illusion, research has suggested that it is desirable for humans to believe they have some element of control over their lives otherwise they could suffer negative consequences.
Evidence - Roberts, et al. (2000) found adolescents with a strong belief in fatalism (a belief that their lives were determined by factors outside their control) were at significantly greater risk of depression.
Elaboration - Further, individuals with a high internal locus of control (so believe they have some degree of free will) tend to be mentally healthier.
Link back - Hence, believing in an element of free will can be seen to protect our mental health as it is essential for a good quality of life and avoiding feelings of hopelessness and demoralisation.
what are the negative evaluations for free will and determinism?
- Point - There is evidence from the field of neuropsychology that suggests free will is a fallacy.
Evidence - For example, Chun Siong Soon et al (2008) found that brain activity relating to whether to press a button with the left or right hand occurs in the brain up to 10 seconds before participants report being consciously aware of making such a decision.
Elaboration - This suggests that that there are neurological processes occurring in the background that cause the decision we make, meaning our ‘free will’ choices could be the result of biological factors.
Link back - This suggests…. therefore, free will and the idea of choice may not exist and in fact all behaviour we consider as such is biologically predetermined.
- Case of Stephen Mobley (1994) who was found guilty of shooting a pizza shop manager, the legal team’s request for genetic testing to see if he had inherited a ‘criminal gene’ had to be thrown out of court.
The notion that this crime may have been committed completely outside of Mobley’s control conflicts with the legal systems idea that the crime was entirely voluntary.
A conflict therefore exists between what psychology and the criminal justice system suggest is the cause of all human behaviour.
Therefore, the resolution of this debate would have far-reaching consequences, particularly for those who would have criminal sentences quashed on the notion that they were always ‘destined’ to commit crime, with no ability to avoid doing so.
