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AQA A level Psychology > FREE WILL VS DETERMINISM > Flashcards

FREE WILL VS DETERMINISM Flashcards

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1
Q

3 things needed 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

which 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

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

what are the 5 types of determinism?

A

hard
soft
biological
environmental
psychic

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8
Q

hard determinism believes…

A

that all human actions have a cause and it should be possible to identify these causes

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9
Q

soft determinism believes…

A

all human actions have a cause but people have freedom to make choices within a restricted range of options

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10
Q

______ linked soft determinism to the ________ approach

A

James linked soft determinism to cognitive approach

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11
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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12
Q

biological determinism is…

A

when behaviour is caused by biological influences that we cannot control, e.g, OCD in bio approach caused by faulty COMT or SERT gene

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13
Q

what is an example of biology determining our behaviour?

A

autonomic nervous system in our stress response or genes in mental illness

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14
Q

what would psychologists recognise as an influence on our biological structures?

A

the environment

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15
Q

environmental determinism is based on…

A

skinner describing free will as an illusion and all behaviour is a result of condition

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16
Q

our experience of ‘_____’ is the sum told of reinforcement contingencies that have acted upon us throughout our lives

A

our experience of choices is the sum told of reinforcement contingencies that have acted upon us throughout our lives

17
Q

psychic determinism is based on…

A

when freud emphasised the influence of biological drives and unconscious conflicts repressed in childhood, even something as seemingly random as a ‘slip of the tongue’ can be explained by the unconscious

18
Q

3 evaluation points

A

+ positive contributions to society
- twin studies and concordance rates can be used to disprove the idea of a fully deterministic perspective
- not compatible with the law system in terms of responsibility

19
Q

how has the deterministic view led to some positive contributions in society?

A

determinism is consistent with the aims of science as human behaviour is orderly and obeys laws which places psychology on equal footing with established science, the value of research for predictions is high as it has led to therapies and solutions

20
Q

how do twin studies disprove the idea of a fully deterministic perspective?

A

psychologists argue that humans have a self-determination and free will, and that behaviour is not the result of any single cause. bio psychologists conduct research with MZ and DZ twins for concordance rates. for example, schizophrenia has a 48% concordance rate, while depression is 40% - with no 100% concordance rate, this shows an element of free will

21
Q

how is the twin studies eval a weakness?

A

there is no evidence to support a hard determinist view, as medical tests indicate that there are a myriad of contributing factors to mental illnesses, there must be an element of free will in our behaviour - showing that we don’t need to be so fatalist in our perspective on life (however 100% not only prove that certain conditions are entirely biological but they are not environmental either)

22
Q

why isn’t the deterministic view not compatible with the legal system?

A

a hard determinism position states that behaviour is not the result of individual choice, whereas in a court of law the aim is to hold offenders responsible for their actions. the 1981 cause of stephen mobley, was the first to have an attorney suggest that someone was essentially a victim of their own biology

23
Q

what is the eval for why the deterministic view isn’t compatible with the legal system?

A

suggests that they shouldn’t be responsible for their actions - therefore should not be punished, put on trial or convicted as they too would be a victim

AQA A level Psychology (5 decks)

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