Free will VS Determinism

Question 1

What is determinism?

Answer 1

The view that an individual’s behaviour is controlled by either internal or external forces.

Question 2

What does determinism mean for behaviour?

Answer 2

It should be predictable.

Question 3

What are the 3 types of determinism?

Answer 3

Biological, environmental and psychic.

Question 4

What is biological determinism?

Answer 4

When behaviour is influences by biological factors (e.g. genes)

Question 5

What is environmental determinism?

Answer 5

When behaviour is influenced by external forces.

Question 6

What is psychic determinism?

Answer 6

When behaviour is influenced by innate drives and past experience.

Question 7

What are the 2 levels of determinism?

Answer 7

Soft and hard

Question 8

What is hard determinism?

Answer 8

The view that all behaviour is predictable, and there is no element of free will.

Question 9

What is soft determinism?

Answer 9

When behaviour is mostly determined by internal and external forces, but there is an element of free will.

Question 10

What is free will?

Answer 10

Where an individual is seen as being capable of self determination.

Question 11

Which approach adopted free will as a behavioural explanation?

Answer 11

Humanistic psychology.

Question 12

Why does humanistic psychology adopt free will?

Answer 12

Maslow and Rogers claimed that it’s only when an individual takes self responsibility that personal growth is possible.

Question 13

What are the 4 AO3 points for free will vs determinism?

Answer 13

1) Genetic vs environmental determinism
2) Excuses criminal behaviour
3) Free will is an illusion
4) Research challenge to free will

Question 14

What is the issue with both genetic and environmental determinism?

Answer 14

They cannot be the sole determining factor of behaviour

Question 15

What does concordance rates never being 100% mean?

Answer 15

That genes never entirely determine behaviour

Question 16

How has free will been abused in court cases?

Answer 16

Murderers have argued that their behaviour was determined by predisposing biological factors that increase aggression

Question 17

What did Stephen Mobley do?

Answer 17

Killed a pizza store manager in 1981

Question 18

Why did Mobley argue he shouldn’t be given the death penalty?

Answer 18

He claimed he only committed the murder as he was ‘born to kill’ due to family history of violence

Question 19

Why is determinism an issue in mental disorders?

Answer 19

A rigid view that genes + neurotransmitters cause disorders leads to useful non-biological treatments to be overlooked - e.g. CBT

Question 20

What did Skinner propose about free will being an illusion?

Answer 20

That although people may choose to buy a certain car or watch a specific movie, these choices are determined by previous reinforcement experiences

Question 21

Why may free will be culturally relative?

Answer 21

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

Question 22

In research that challenges free will, activity in which brain region was measured?

Answer 22

Motor regions

Question 23

In research that challenges free will, what did they find?

Answer 23

That motor regions were active before the people had conscious awareness of their finger moving