Free will/Determinism Flashcards
What is free will?
The notion that humans have the power to make choices about their behaviour.
What is determinism?
The notion that behaviour is controlled by internal or external factors acting upon the individual.
What is hard determinism?
The view that all behaviour can be predicted and there is no free will.
What is soft determinism?
The view that human behaviour has causes but it can also be determined by our conscious choices.
What is biological determinism?
The belief that behaviour is caused by biological influences that we cannot control. For example, genetic, hormonal or evolutionary drives.
What is environmental determinism?
The belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment that we cannot control. For example, through conditioning
What is psychic determinism?
The belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we cannot control. For example, innate drives and childhood experiences.
What approaches are hard vs soft deterministic
Hard - Behaviourist, biological, psychodynamic.
Soft - Cognitive and social learning theory.
Why is Science deterministic?
Science aims to establish general laws by identifying and measuring the cause of all events. In science, an IV is manipulated to observe the causal effect on a DV - this proposes all events can be determined by an internal or external factor
Which approach takes a free will stance?
Humanism.
Eval points for free will
S - Face validity
L - Neurological research challenges free will
Eval points for determinism
- Consistent with the aims of science
- Not consistent with the legal system
Consistent with the aims of science (Determinism)
Adopting the view that behaviour is controlled by a factor has a cause has allowed psychologists to investigate behaviour in a way that promotes the idea that human behaviour is orderly and obeys laws. The biological approach to explaining OCD is deterministic in that it’s low levels of serotonin which cause the disorder. Thus, SSRI’s inhibit the re-absorption of serotonin in the pre-synaptic neuron, increasing the concentration of serotonin at the synapse.
Not consistent with the legal system (Determinism)
Hard determinist stance= individual choice is not the cause of behaviour. The legal system operates on the principle that people are responsible for their actions, if determinism were true we would be unfairly punishing people who are not responsible for their actions. If we accept determinism, our society would be unsafe, letting criminals loose.
Stephen Mobley walked into Dominoes and shot the manager. He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. The attorney argued that he was born to kill due to his genetics. Mobley’s family history revealed 4 generations of his family had been responsible for a range of violent crimes including rape and murder. They appealed he had inherited a criminal gene. Appeal thrown out by judge and he was executed by lethal injection.
Neurological research challenges free will
Libet et al. (1985)- found that the activity related to whether to press a button with the left or right hand occurs in the brain up to 10 seconds before participants report being consciously aware of making such a decision.
Suggests brain activity that determines the action predated the conscious decision and thus free will in merely an illusionary after effect of a biological process.
COUNTER-ARGUMENT: Other researchers have conducted similar studies and reached a different conclusion.
E.g., Trevena and Miller (2009)- showed that the brain activity was simply a ‘readiness to act’ rather than an intention to move.
Has face validity (free will)
Everyday experience ‘gives the impression’ that we are constantly exercising free will through the choices we make everyday. This gives face validity to the concept of free will- it makes cognitive sense. The fact we think we have free will over our choices has a positive impact on mind and behaviour.
Roberts et al. (2000) found adolescents with a strong belief in fatalism were at significantly greater risk of developing depression.
