Free Will/ Determinism Flashcards
What is mean by an ‘issue’ in psychology?
- Refers to a source of conflict that if ignored could undermine the value of our theories and research.
Define the concept ‘free will’.
- People have a ‘mind’ and can make their own decisions.
- They therefore are responsible for their actions
Define the concept ‘determinism’.
- Behaviour is entirely a product of our biology and/or environment, and/or our unconscious and therefore we have no free will. This means that we are not entirely responsible for our actions.
Define ‘biological determinism’.
- Behaviour is caused by physiology e.g. genes, neurotransmitters, brain structure, therefore the idea of free will is an illusion.
- We could argue that we are programmed by our biology
Define ‘environmental determinism’.
- Behaviour is a response to a stimulus in the environment & prior learning from rewards/punishments.
Define ‘psychic determinism’.
- The cause of behaviour is the unconscious which is unknown because it has been actively repressed.
Define ‘soft determinism’.
- Behaviours are constrained by environmental & biological factors, but only to a certain extent.
- Furthermore some behaviours are more constrained by others.
- This leaves us with the ability to make some decisions or be responsible for some actions ourselves.
Define ‘hard determinism’.
- There is no ‘mind’ and free will is an illusion: everything has a cause and is the effect of some cause or causes
What approaches are free will and what approaches are determinist?
Free Will
- Humanistic Approach
- Cognitive Approach (middle)
Determinist
- Psychodynamic approach
- Biological approach
- Social Learning Theory (softer)
- Behavioural approach
Is Biological Determinism scientific? If so how?
- Argument can be supported scientifically
- We can measure brain activity through brain scans to show correlates between activity and behaviour
e.g. brain damaged studies Brocas area- damage leads to problems producing speech
Raines psychopath & non-psychopath found hypoactivity of amygdala & orbital frontal cortex in psychopaths brains- not in a control group
Is environmental determinism scientific? If so how?
- Can see whether someones behaviour can be changed through conditioning ∴ can test hypothesis & show cause & effect. through empirical methods
- e.g. little albert, animal studies- skinner, Pavlov , Treating phobias, research into systematic desensitisation & flooding
Is Psychic determinism scientific if not why not?
- Is not scientific as you cannot falsify the concepts of the unconscious
- Impossible to falsify psychic determinism & free will as they are much less credible as an explanation
What is a strength of determinism?
- Scientific Credibility 🧬🔬
Determinism is supported by science, which increases psychology’s credibility. Focuses on investigating causes of behaviour through controlled settings & being able to predict behaviour through hypothesis.
e.g., research in genetics shows a strong biological influence on behavior (e.g., schizophrenia has a genetic component).
Libet et al:
Participants made spontaneous wrist movements while:
- Watching a fast clock,
- Reporting when they felt the urge to move,
- EEG recorded brain activity (readiness potential),
- EMG recorded muscle movement.
- Study shows that decisions are initiated by brain, before we’re aware of them.
- Suggests that our “free” choices may be the result of unconscious brain processes.
Links to biological determinism — idea that behaviour is controlled by biological mechanisms (e.g. brain activity).
What are the limitations of a deterministic view?
- Morals of responsibility
- If behavior is determined, can we blame criminals for their actions- you could stand up in court & blame it on their genes
The legal system assumes free will (e.g., people are held responsible for crimes). - Therefore taking a deterministic view is at odds with theustic system & societys understanding of responsibility
What are the strengths of free will?
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Name a study that links to biological determinism.
- Phineas Gage was a 19th-century railway worker.
- In an accident, a metal rod went through his skull, destroying part of his frontal lobe.
- He survived, but his personality changed dramatically:
From polite & hardworking ➝ to aggressive, impulsive, & irresponsible.
🧬 Links to Biological Determinism
Biological determinism = The belief that biological factors (like brain structure, genes, and neurochemistry) determine our behaviour.
Gage’s case supports this because:
- A change in the brain led to a change in behaviour.
- Suggests that parts of the brain, especially the frontal lobe, are responsible for personality & impulse control.
- Behaviour wasn’t a result of free will or environment, but rather biological damage.
Name another topic that links to determinism
- Individuals with MAOA-L may be biologically predisposed to aggression.
- Their behaviour appears to be controlled by their genetic makeup, rather than being a result of free, conscious decision-making.
- The gene directly influences neurochemical levels especially serotonin, which is linked to impulse control.
- Lower serotonin (due to MAOA-L) is strongly associated w increased aggression, reinforcing biological cause of behaviour.
- If we can predict aggressive behaviour from a person’s genes, that suggests their actions are biologically determined.
- This undermines the idea that aggression is simply a matter of free will or personal choice.
Give another study/topic showing biological determinism.
Charles Whitman: committed a mass shooting, killing 16 people & injuring 31 others from university tower in Texas.
- In suicide note, he wrote he felt something was wrong w his brain & requested an autopsy.
After his death autopsy revealed:
- Brain tumour pressing against his amygdala — the part of the brain heavily involved in emotion regulation and aggression.
🔗** Link to Biological Determinism**
- Suggests that Whitman’s extreme aggression could’ve been caused/ heavily influenced by physical damage to the amygdala.
- Supports idea aggressive behaviour may be biologically determined.
Reinforces findings from animal studies:
e.g., Lesions or stimulation of the amygdala in animals can increase or reduce aggression.
Give an example of biological determinism.
- One exp is biological- focusing on role of genetics & role of COMT & SERT gene, twin studies including MZ & DZ provide evidence for this:
- If one twin has OCD the liklihood that the other twin will develop OCD shld be higher in MZ twins who share 100% of DNA than DZ twins who share 50% of DNA
- In review of role of genetic- Nesdat 2010:
- Showed that all of twin studies published to date, concordance rates in MZ twins were higher than DZ twins: MZ= 68% CR for OCD if one twin had it, DZ= 31% CR for OCD if one twin had it
- This would suggest that OCD can be biologically determined
- Suggesting that genetic factors contribute significantly to likelihood of developing OCD, making it more biologically determined than environmentally influenced.
Give an example of environmental determinism.
- One environmental exp of phobias is classical conditioning, where neutral stimulus becomes associated w unconditioned stimulus
- e.g. Watson & Rayner- conditioned little Albert to fear a white rat after a few times of the loud noise being produced when rat was introduced
- Shows that phobias can be environmentally determined
- Many people who have a phobia would like to choose not to have that specific phobia but they can’t, proving why we do not have free will and how our behaviour is determined by forces outside of our control
