Free will VS Determinism Flashcards
What is determinism?
The view that an individual’s behaviour is controlled by either internal or external forces.
What does determinism mean for behaviour?
It should be predictable.
What are the 3 types of determinism?
Biological, environmental and psychic.
What is biological determinism?
When behaviour is influences by biological factors (e.g. genes)
What is environmental determinism?
When behaviour is influenced by external forces.
What is psychic determinism?
When behaviour is influenced by innate drives and past experience.
What are the 2 levels of determinism?
Soft and hard
What is hard determinism?
The view that all behaviour is predictable, and there is no element of free will.
What is soft determinism?
When behaviour is mostly determined by internal and external forces, but there is an element of free will.
What is free will?
Where an individual is seen as being capable of self determination.
Which approach adopted free will as a behavioural explanation?
Humanistic psychology.
Why does humanistic psychology adopt free will?
Maslow and Rogers claimed that it’s only when an individual takes self responsibility that personal growth is possible.
What are the 4 AO3 points for free will vs determinism?
1) Genetic vs environmental determinism
2) Excuses criminal behaviour
3) Free will is an illusion
4) Research challenge to free will
What is the issue with both genetic and environmental determinism?
They cannot be the sole determining factor of behaviour
What does concordance rates never being 100% mean?
That genes never entirely determine behaviour
How has free will been abused in court cases?
Murderers have argued that their behaviour was determined by predisposing biological factors that increase aggression
What did Stephen Mobley do?
Killed a pizza store manager in 1981
Why did Mobley argue he shouldn’t be given the death penalty?
He claimed he only committed the murder as he was ‘born to kill’ due to family history of violence
Why is determinism an issue in mental disorders?
A rigid view that genes + neurotransmitters cause disorders leads to useful non-biological treatments to be overlooked - e.g. CBT
What did Skinner propose about free will being an illusion?
That although people may choose to buy a certain car or watch a specific movie, these choices are determined by previous reinforcement experiences
Why may free will be culturally relative?
As although it may be an appropriate explanation of human behaviour individualist cultures, it may lack applications to collectivist cultures who place value on behaviour determined by group needs
In research that challenges free will, activity in which brain region was measured?
Motor regions
In research that challenges free will, what did they find?
That motor regions were active before the people had conscious awareness of their finger moving
