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AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY PAPER 3 - ISSUES AND DEBATES > FREE WILL VS DETERMINISM > Flashcards

FREE WILL VS DETERMINISM Flashcards

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1
Q

what 3 things do we have to remember for free will vs determinism

A

free will
determinism
5 types of determinism

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2
Q

define free will

A

notions that humans can make their own choices, not determined by bio/ext forces

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3
Q

what approach favours free will?

A

humanistic

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4
Q

free will means humans are…

A

self-determining in thoughts and actions

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5
Q

however, free will doesn’t disregard…

A

doesn’t disregard bio/ext forces, but says we can reject them and be ‘masters of our own destiny’

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6
Q

define determinism

A

view that individuals behaviour is shaped by int/ext factors

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7
Q

how many types of determinism are there?

A

5

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8
Q

what are the 5 types of determinism?

A

hard
soft
biological
environmental

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9
Q

hard determinism believes…

A

free will isn’t possible as we are always controlled by int/ext events that are out of our control

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10
Q

what takes the approach of hard determinism?

A

aims of science

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11
Q

soft determinism believes…

A

all events have causes, but behaviour is determined by conscious choices as humans have conscious mental control

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12
Q

______ linked soft determinism to the ________ approach

A

James linked soft determinism to cognitive approach

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13
Q

soft determinism can also be linked to….

A

the social learning theory as we cannot escape the event we are observing, but we can choose to pay attention to it

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14
Q

biological determinism is…

A

when behaviour is caused by biological influences that we cannot control

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15
Q

what approach has biological determinism?

A

biological approach

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16
Q

many ____________ and ___________ processes are not in our control e.g.

A

physiological and neurological processes not in our control e.g. autonomic nervous system in stress

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17
Q

what is thought to have a genetic basis making it have biological determinism?

A

mental disorders for example aggression with testosterone

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18
Q

modern biopsych use the what when conducting studies?

A

diathesis-stress model where they believe cognitive vulnerabilities are heightened by environmental events

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19
Q

environmental determinism is when…

A

behaviour is caused by environment e.g. systems of reward and punishment that we cannot control

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20
Q

who said that we don’t have free will as explain this in environmental determinism?

A

Skinner and said that all behaviour is a result of conditioning

21
Q

environmental determinism means we don’t act independently because…

A

behaviour is shaped by socialisation e.g. family, peers, law, education

22
Q

psychic determinism is when…

A

behaviour is caused by unconscious conflict that we cannot control

23
Q

who links to psychic determinism?

A

Freud and the psychodynamic approach

24
Q

Freud says free will is an illusion and puts…

A

more emphasis on influence of biological drives and instincts

25
Q

what is a strength and weakness of determinism?

A

+ determinism is consistent with aims of science

- not falsifiable

26
Q

one strength of determinism is that…

A

it is consistent with the aims of science

27
Q

the concept of determinism has…

A

roots in science, suggesting behaviour is governed by specific laws and principles and cause and effect relationships

28
Q

determinism establishing cause and effect relationships allows…

A

allows us to make predictions and take measures to control individual behaviour

29
Q

what evidence is there to support determinism?

A

evidence behaviour is determined in schizophrenic patients, who lose control of thoughts and action

30
Q

schizophrenic patients suggest that…

A

for certain mental illnesses free will doesn’t apply

31
Q

schizophrenic patients having no free will and having a bio basis has led to the development of…

A

anti-psychotic drugs improving the quality of life for many schizophrenics and families

32
Q

determinism having scientific basis and allowing schizophrenics to be seen as victims of disease increases…

A

theoretical value and practical application of determinism

33
Q

one weakness of determinism is that…

A

the idea that all future behaviour is predictable is challenged by physicists who believe that determinist approach is unfalsifiable

34
Q

determinism states it should be able to predict ________ from knowledge of genetic factors but…

A

behaviour from knowledge of factors but we cannot test these empirically due to lack of knowledge

35
Q

determinism not being able to be falsified means that…

A

determinist factors cannot be scrutinised and falsified, making it unscientific

36
Q

deterministic approach not being able to be falsified decreases…

A

the credibility of determinism as it is believed to be scientific when it isn’t

37
Q

give one strength and one weakness of free will

A

+ concept of free will improves life

- criticising neurological evidence

38
Q

one strength of free will is that..

A

the concept of it improves quality of life

39
Q

people with an ________ ___ tend to be more _______ ______

A

internal loc tend to be more mentally healthy

40
Q

what evidence is there to support how free will improves life?

A

Roberts et al found adolescents with strong belief in fatalism ( life controlled by outside events) significantly greater risk of developing depression

41
Q

what does Roberts et al study suggest?

A

suggests that the thought of having free will, allows us to think we have more impact of behaviour

42
Q

since free will has been shown to improve quality of life this increases…

A

real life application of free will, increasing the external validity

43
Q

however, one weakness of free will is that…

A

neurological studies of decision making disagree with the concept of free will

44
Q

who conducted neurological studies that disagree with free will?|

A

Soon

45
Q

what did Soon find?

A

demonstrated that our decision to do simple tasks e.g. press button w/ right or left hand occurs prior to being consciously aware of this decision

46
Q

what does Soon et al’s findings show?

A

basic decisions determined not free will suggesting free will is just an illusion

47
Q

Soon et al’s research decreases the ________ _______ of free will

A

internal validity of free will

48
Q

however, free will being an illusion is criticised by….

A

Trevena and Miller

49
Q

how did Trevena and Miller challenge the findings of Soon et al?

A

said preconscious brain activity is a readiness to act, not an intention to make a particular decision

AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY PAPER 3 - ISSUES AND DEBATES (7 decks)

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