Free will and determinism Flashcards
Free will
- the idea that an individual can make choices
- and their behaviour is not determined by internal or external forces
Free will
Approach
-humanistic approach
Determinism
- the idea that individual cannot make choices
- and that their behaviour is determined by internal or external forces
Types of determinism
List
Hard determinism Soft determinism Biological determinism Environmental determinism Psychic determinism
Hard determinism
- implies that free will is not possible
- and that all out behaviour is controlled by internal or external forces
Soft determinism
- implies that all events have causes
- but that behaviour can also be determined by our conscious choices in the absence of coercion
Soft determinism
Person
William James (1890)
Soft determinism
Approach
-cognitive approach
Biological determinism
-the belief that behaviour is caused by BIOLOGICAL INFLUENCES that we cannot control
└e.g. genetic, hormonal, evolutionary
Biological determinism
Approach
-biological approach
Environmental determinism
-the belief that behaviour is caused by FEATURES OF THE ENVIRONMENT that we cannot control
└e.g. systems of reward and punishment
Environmental determinism
Approach
-social learning theory
Psychic determinism
-the belief that behaviour is caused by UNCONSCIOUS CONFLICTS that we cannot control
Psychic determinism
Approach
-psychodynamic approach
Determinism
Strengths
-determinism is consistent with the aims of science
-led to the development of treatments e.g. psychotherapeutic drug treatment in controlling schizophrenia
-mental illness seems determined
└e.g. schizophrenia, no one would ‘choose’ to have schizophrenia
Determinism
Limitations
-not consistent with our legal system
└offenders morally accountable for their behaviour
-unfalsifiable
└can’t prove wrong= less scientific
Free will
Strengths
-face validity- makes cognitive sense, looks like we have free will
-internal locus of control= more mentally healthy
-Roberts et al (2000)
└fatalism= higher risk of depression
└even if we don’t have free will, its positive if we think we do
Free will
Limitations
-neurological studies show evidence against free will
-Libet (1985) and Soon et al (2008)
└brain activity that determines the outcome of simple choices occurs before we have consciously made the choice
└if the press a button left or right- brain activity occurred up to 10 seconds before conscious decision
Internationalist approach
Evaluation
- compromise
- e.g. social learning theory- soft determinism
