free will and determinism Flashcards
what is free will?
the idea that humans can make choices and their behaviour/thoughts are not determined by biological/external factors
what approach advocates for free will
humanistic approach
what are the strengths to free will
- free will is one of the most valuable assets an individual could have. Is an essential component to what it means to be human.
- id holistic and idiographic. Considers the whole of an individual within real contexts. Therefore has high validity in theory and methods used to explore the theory
what are weaknesses for free will
- remains vague and is difficult to test. There are problems operationalising the concepts. Means it lacks reliability.
- the concept may be incompatible with certain cultures that place an emphasis and value on community and duty rather than individualism. Therefore it may be ethnocentric and lacking in cultural relativism.
what is determinism
the view than an individual is shaped/controlled by internal/external forces rather than an individual’s will to do something.
what is hard determinism also known as
fatalism
what is hard determinism
the view that all human behaviour is caused by something (internal/external factors) so free will is an illusion.
what is soft determinism
the view that behaviour may be predictable but there is also room for personal choice from a limited range of possibilities.
what are the different types of determinism
- biological
- environmental
- psychic
what is biological determinism
belief that behaviour is caused by genetic, hormonal, evolutionary influences that we cannot control.
give an example of biological determinism
- the influence of the automatic nervous system on the stress response
- influence of genes on mental health
what is environmental determinism
belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment such as systems of reward/punishment that we cannot control
what is psychic determinism
behaviour is caused by unconscious psychodynamic conflicts that we cannot control. Repressed in childhood
what kind of determinism does the behaviourist approach take
- hard determinism
- environmental determinism- token economies
what kind of determinism does the cognitive approach take on?
- soft determinism- schema
what kind of determinism does the biological approach take on?
- biological determinism - theory of localisation
what kind of determinism does the psychodynamic approach take on
- psychic determinism - psychosexual stages of development, Little Hans who had a horse phobia because he hadn’t overcome conflicts at oedipus complex.
what is the scientific emphasis on causal explanations
- basic principles of science is that everything has a cause.
- explained using general laws (hard determinism).
- lab experiments used to establish causal relationships due to their highly controlled environments.
what are the strengths to determinism
- principles are in line with features of science e.g. observable behaviours must be measured objectively using lab experiments. Makes methods linked to hard determinism high in reliability
- some behaviours may be determined by external factors rather than the product of free will e.g. PTSD being the result of being exposed to abuse, abuse, neglect.
what are the weaknesses to determinism
- if determinism is a 100% valid theory it would mean that everyone born under the same circumstances would end up w the same experiences or outcomes which is untrue. e.g. people born in a criminal family who choose to follow a different path in life.
- determinism is unfalsifiable as it cant pinpoint/explain exactly the causes of behaviour- particularly when that behaviour seems contradictory. e.g. a rich women steals a bottle of wine from a shop.
