Free Will & Determinism

Question 1

What is free will?

Answer 1

The control that we have over our behaviour.

Question 2

What does free will believe in?

Answer 2

We are free to choose how we thin, how we behave, and what we want out of life.

Question 3

What is an example of free will?

Answer 3

Humanistic approach (Maslow’s hierarchy of needs), using client centred therapy to provide unconditional positive regard.

Question 4

What did Robert (2000) discover about free will?

Answer 4

Robert (2000) discovered that adolescents with a strong sense of ‘fatalism’ (internal locus of control) were more likely to suffer from depression than those who didn’t have this outlook.

Question 5

Evaluation points for free will:

Answer 5

-Holds people accountable for their actions.
-Even if we don’t actually have free will, the belief that we do can have a positive impact on out lives (external locus of control).
-Impossible to scientifically measure the vague term ‘free will’.

Question 6

What is determinism?

Answer 6

The idea that we have no control over our behaviour.

Question 7

What are the two types of determinism?

Answer 7

-Hard determinism.
-Soft determinism.

Question 8

What is hard determinism?

Answer 8

The idea that human behaviour is governed by forces that are out of our control.

Question 9

What is soft determinism?

Answer 9

The idea that behaviour is only governed by forces to a certain extent, leaving us capable to exercise free will.

Question 10

What are the types of hard determinism?

Answer 10

-Biological determinism (behaviour is influenced by biological factors).
-Environmental determinism (behaviour is influenced by the environment).

Question 11

What are the types of soft determinism?

Answer 11

-Psychic determinism (behaviour is influenced by experiences and the unconscious mind).

Question 12

What is an example of biological determinism?

Answer 12

Biological explanation for OCD.

Question 13

What is an example of environmental determinism?

Answer 13

Behaviourist approach. Blank slate: we are a product of our environment.

Question 14

What is an example of psychic determinism?

Answer 14

Psychodynamic approach: people unconsciously repress their true desires due to conflicts developed in early childhood.

Question 15

Evaluation points for determinism:

Answer 15

-If determinism is a 100% valid theory, everyone born under the same circumstances should end up with the same outcomes, which is untrue (e.g. people born into a criminal family who choose a different life path).
-Scientific and allows cause-and-effect to be established.
-Doesn’t account for individual differences.

Question 16

What is causal explanation?

Answer 16

Where a change in the DV is attributable to the manipulation of an IV.

Question 17

What are examples of causal explanation?

Answer 17

-Loftus and Palmer (1974) manipulated the verb used in the critical question (IV), to measure the effect on the participant’s estimate of speed (DV).
-Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment: he manipulated the condition to which the children were exposed to examine the effect on the behaviour of the children.