free will vs determinism

Question 1

define free will

Answer 1

the notion that humans can make choices and their behaviours/ thoughts are not determined by biological or external factors

Question 2

define determinism

Answer 2

view that an individuals behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces

Question 3

explain the concept of free will

Answer 3

doesn’t deny there may be biological and environmental forces that exert some influence on behaviour but implies we are able to reject those forces if we wish to

Question 4

define hard determinism

Answer 4

all behaviour has a cause and everything we think or do is dictated by internal or external forces

Question 5

define soft determinism

Answer 5

James (1890)

all behaviour has a cause but we have conscious mental control over the way that we behave

Question 6

explain biological determinism

Answer 6

emphasises the role of biological determinism in behaviour

systems such as the ANS during stress are not under conscious control mental disorders are thought to have a genetic basis

Question 7

explain environmental determinism

Answer 7

skinner said free will is an illusion and “all behaviour is conditioned by past conditioning experiences” and choice is the sum of reinforcements that have happened in our lives

we are acting independently but behaviour has been shaped by environmental events as well as the agents of socialisation in the form of parents, teachers

Question 8

explain psychic determinism

Answer 8

Freud agreed that free will was an illusion
but placed more emphasis on the influence of biological drives and instincts than behaviourists.

human behaviour is determined and controlled by the unconscious conflicts repressed in earlier childhood.

a “slip of the tongue” can be explained by the underlying authority of the unconscious