Free will and determinism

Question 1

what is free will

Answer 1

humans are self determinig and freeto choose thier own thoughts and actions
- does not deny that there may be biological and environmental forces that exert some influence on behaviour
- implies that we are able to reject these forces if we wish because we are in control of our thoughts and behaviour

Question 2

what is determinism (fatalism)

Answer 2

free will has no place in explaining behavior

Question 3

what is hard determinism

Answer 3

• suggest that all human behavoiur has a cause and it should be possible to identify and describe these causes
• assumes that everything we think and do is dictated by internal or external forces that we cannot control

Question 4

what is soft determinism

Answer 4

• James (1890)
• important feature of the cognitive approach
• it may be the job of scientist to explain what determines our behaviour but it does not detract from the freedom we have to make rational conscious choices

Question 5

what is biological determinism

Answer 5

• biological approach emphasizes the role of biological determinism in behaviour
• influence of the autonomic nervous system on the stress response e or genes on mental health

Question 6

what is environmental determinism

Answer 6

• skinner described free will as an illusion and argued that all behaviour is the result of conditioning
• choice is merely the sum total of reinforcement contingencies that have acted upon us throughout our lives

Question 7

psychic determinism

Answer 7

• freud believed that free will is an illusion but emphasized the influences of biological drives and instincts
• human behaviour is determined by unconscious conflicts repressed in childhood

Question 8

strength of free will

Answer 8

1. practical value
   - thinking we exercise free choice can improve our mental health
   - study by Roberts et al (2000) looked at adolescents who had a strong belief in fatalism and found that they are at significantly greater risk of depression
   - thoses who exhibit an external LOC are less likely to be optimistic

Question 9

limitation of free will

Answer 9

1. research evidence
   - brain scans do not support freewill but they do support determinism
   - liber et al (1983) instructed participants to choose a random moment to flick their wrist while he measured activity in their brains
   - participants had to say when they felt the conscious will to move
   - libert found that the unconscious brain activity leading to the conscious decision to move come 1/2 a second before the participants felt they had decided to move
   - but findings show that the brain is involved in decision making is not surprising

Question 10

limitation of determinist (strength of freewill)

Answer 10

1. the law
   - position of the legal system on responsibility
   - hard determinism is not constant with how the legal system operates
   - offenders are held responsible for their actions
   - defendants exercised their free will in committing the crime