Free will and determinism : Debates Flashcards
Define determinism in psychology.
Determinism refers to the belief that behavior is controlled by external or internal factors acting upon the individual.
-emphasis on causual explanations
IV and DV (example of attachment research)
-proposes that free will has no place in explaining behavior
-soft and hard determinism
hard determinism
(biological, psychodynamic, and behavioural explanation)
-Individuals have little or almost no chance of exerting free will
refers to as fatalism (all human behaviour has a cause, compatible with aims of science, actions are dictated by internal and external forces)
-cause and effect
(involves control of variables and testable hypothesis ex lap expts)
biological determinism
-genetic influences and how it determines our behaviours and physical characteristics
-genes influence brain structure and neurotransmitters
environmental determinism
-CC and OC indirectly or directly shape behaviors (ex of how a phobia is formed)
-learning theory also applied to aggression and eating behaviour
psychic determinism (Freud)
psychoanalytic theory of personality suggests adult behaviours is determined by mix of innate drives and early experience( internal and external)
-behaviours driven by libido (mouth/anus)
-(external forces)overindulged -> libido remains tied and individual is fixated to that zone
-way of obtaining satisfaction in the stage will dominate adult personality
soft determinism
(cognitive and social learning theory)
-an individual can exert some degree of free will but is still based on determinism
-acknowledges human actions have a cause (basics are determined ex schemas) but also room for conscious mental control over behaviors
-change to adjust as result of own experience
define free will in this context
(humanistic approach)
Free will refers to individuals are self-determining and free to decide and act upon their own wishes
-morally responsible for our own behaviours
-imply we are able to reject biological and environmental forces as we are “masters of our own destiny”
humanistic approach
self-determination based on self-development and self-actualisation
–Roger’s client-centred therapy - clients change their own life (not referring to them as patients) idea of self vs ideal sense of self, individual achieve congruence
moral responsibility
-ability to exercise free will
-humans are accountable for own actions, regardless innate factors or influence of early experience
soft determinism upholds an interactionist position
supported by Bandura
-through environmental factors are key to learning we are free to choose who or what we attend to (example motivation as a mediating factor in social learning theory)
+ve and -ve psychic determinism
+ve case study Hans shows how it is a must to undergo psychodynamic theory as it’s out of their control to resolve conflicts (about unconscious minds)
-ve case studies as a research method lack validity and is not scientific enough (unable to establish cause and effect)
against free will !!!
-neurological studies of decision-making shows how brain activity determines the outcome of simple choices
-simple task
such as pressing a button occurs in our brain for 10s before we are consciously aware of making the decision
-BASIC experiences of free will are determined by brain before we are aware !!
HOWEVER free will might still exist as the brain activity might just be a “readiness to act”
application of environmental determinism
Little Albert - develop and maintain phobia through associating with stimulus and making response connections
-systematic desensitisation based on CC, counter-conditioning
-support for scientific emphasis associated with determinism (lab experiments) however like biological approach it might oversimplify human behaviours
+ve and -ve of biological determinism
+ve schizophrenia, extreme nature of hallucinations leave almost no free will for patients (determinist nature)
- aims of science
prediction and control of human behaviours led to the development of treatments and therapies
-ve hard deterministic stance -> leaves no responsibility for individuals, not justifiable in reality
(individuals will claim that their behaviours are determined by aggressive tendencies to avoid being punished)
-For example, Mobley justified his murder by saying that he is “born to kill”
-conditions such as premenstrual syndrome to justify for action/ crime
-genetic environmental deternism are neither sole determining factors
( only 80% for identical twins in intelligence and 40% for depression) -> suggests an interactionist approach would be better
evaluation for scientific determinism
-no such thing as total determinism!!!
casual relationships are probabilistic rather than deterministic (the butterfly result, small changes result in major changes)
-increasing probability instead of being the sole determinist
-tend to oversimplify human behaviours
