Free Will & Determinism

Question 1

Free will:

Answer 1

• The notion of free will suggests that as human beings, we are self-determining and free to choose our thoughts and actions.
• Does not deny that there may be certain biological and environmental forces that exert influence on our behaviour which are outside of our control, - but we able to reject these forces and behave as we choose.
• Not possible to precisely predict beh.

Question 2

Determinism:

Answer 2

Proposes that free will has no place in explaining behaviour, though there are hard and soft versions.

Question 3

What are the two versions of determinism:

Answer 3

• Hard
• Soft

Question 4

Hard determinism:

Answer 4

• Belief that all behaviour has a cause
• This cause is controlled by external / internal factors that we do not have any conscious control over
• Therefore, free will has no impact on behaviour
• AKA. fatalism

Question 5

Soft determinism:

Answer 5

William James coined the notion - the idea that whilst human action does have a cause, and aspects of our beh is predetermined, we still have some ‘room to manoeuvre’ and can still exert some conscious mental control which mediates and influences the impact of that cause on our behaviour.
E.g. cognitive mediational processes within SLT

Question 6

What are the three different types of determinism:

Answer 6

• Biological
• Environmental
• Psychic

Question 7

Biological determinism:

Answer 7

• Belief that behs and characteristics, such as mental disorders have a genetic basis.
• We have no free will over our beh + are manifestations of the genes which we inherit
• Genes affect levels of NT / hormones and brain structure also have an impact on behaviour
• Many of the physiological and neurological processes, e.g. fight or flight are not under conscious control.

Question 8

Environmental determinism:

Answer 8

• Belief that beh is determined by environmental, external influences such as LEARNING
• Skinner: free will is an ‘illusion’ + argued that all beh is result of conditioning (both operant and classical)
• Our experience of choice is bc of the reinforcement and punishment we experience.
• We might think we are acting independently but our beh has been shaped by environmental events as well as agents of socialisation: parents, teachers etc.

Question 9

Skinner:

Answer 9

free will is an ‘illusion’ + argued that all beh is result of conditioning (both operant and classical)

Question 10

Psychic determinism:

Answer 10

• Freud: free will is like an illusion, but more emphasis on the influence of unconscious drives and instincts in determining beh.
• Human beh: determined and directed by unconscious conflicts repressed in childhood.
• There is no such thing as accident (Freud - even something seemingly random or ‘slip of the tongue’ can be explained by the unconscious mind and ego-defence mechanisms)

Question 11

Freud:

Answer 11

free will is like an illusion, but more emphasis on the influence of unconscious drives and instincts in determining beh.

Question 12

The scientific emphasis on causal explanations:

Answer 12

1. one of basic principles of determinism- all beh has a cause
2. allows researchers to manipulate IV within lab exp setting to investigate effect on DV (provided there is high control over EVs)
3. Changes to DV can be attributed to IV
4. Allows us to establish a C+E rs between IV and DV - allowing us to predict / control human beh

Question 13

Four evals:

Answer 13

-> its idea of all human behaviour having an identifiable cause is scientific and has utility
-> aspects of determinism can still be deemed as unscientific
-> belief in free will has benefits for mental health
-> refuting evidence against notion of free will

Question 14

A strength of determinism: its idea of human behaviour having an identifiable cause is SCIENTIFIC + has utility.

Answer 14

-> this is bc the idea allows us to predict impact of events on human behaviour - leads to dev of specific C+E rs which help us better understand human beh
-> Understanding-> dev of treatments to help those with abnormal behaviour. E.g. depression = serotonin imbalance -> led to specific treatments like SSRIs which can correct such an imbalance
-> shows that determinism influenced ideas of fixed C+E rs can be used to help improve peoples lives

Question 15

A weakness of determinism: aspects of determinism can still be deemed as unscientific.

Answer 15

-> this is bc determinism- all beh has a cause even when cause not discovered yet - hard determinism not as scientific as initially seems due to its insistence on unproven causes of beh.
-> this claim is also impossible to prove wrong for concepts which cannot be scientifically tested, e.g. psychic determinism believe that mental illnesses are due to conflicts in the unconscious mind, even though unconscious conflict cannot be empirically proven in a falsifiable manner.
-> Karl Popper: such unfalsifiable claims are not consistent with pillars of science + thus undermine determinism’s validity

Question 16

A strength of belief in free will is that research has shown that it can have benefits for mental health.

Answer 16

Roberts et al: demonstrated that adolescents with a strong belief in fatalism (lives ‘decided’ by events outside of their control) were at significantly greater risk of developing depression. This suggests that, even if we do not have free will, the fact that we think we do may have a positive impact on mind and behaviour.
Belief in FW- utilised by humanist therapies, e.g. client centred therapy - ‘client’ is encouraged to discover own solutions in a supportive environment - leading to better treatment outcomes. Research on FW can have successful and effective applications for mental health treatments - show notion of free will is useful.

Question 17

A weakness of the notion of free will: refuting evidence

Answer 17

Soon et al: brain activity that determines the outcome of simple choices may predate out knowledge of having made such a choice. Researchers found that the activity related to whether to press a button with left or right hand occurs in the brain up to 10 secs before ppts report being consciously aware of making the decision.
Refutes free will bc it shows our exp of free will is biologically determined by neurological activity in our brain which occurs before we are consciously aware of our choices. This raises doubts about the existence of free will - reducing validity of the notion.