Free Will vs Determinism Flashcards
What is free will?
The notion that humans can make their own choices and their behaviour/thoughts are not determined by outside forces.
What approach does free will form the basis of?
Humanistic
What is determinism?
The view that an individual’s behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal/external forces rather than a conscious will to do something.
What does hard determinism say about human behaviour?
All human behaviour has a cause that is possible to identify and describe. Everything we do is governed by external and internal forces.
What approaches have a hard deterministic approach?
Behaviourist
Biological
Psychodynamic
Explain what biological determinism is.
Behaviour is result of genetic factors and biological processes.
Explain what environmental determinism is.
Behaviour is a result of previous conditioning experience.
Explain what psychic determinism is.
Behaviour is a result of childhood experience and biological drives.
What does soft determinism consider?
Considers the idea that behaviour may be caused by internal and external factors but there is also room for personal choice from a limited range of possibilities.
Name the 2 approaches that have a soft deterministic approach.
SLT, cognitive
How/why do lab experiments allow us to make cause and effect conclusions?
Lab experiments used to demonstrate cause and effect where all variables can be controlled. This allows us to draw deterministic conclusions as extraneous variables can be eliminated.
Explain the strength of free will having practical value.
Explain how the view of free will can alter mental health. Use the example of Roberts study on adolescents who believed in fatalism.
What is fatalism?
What is the relationship between fatalism and depression?
Explain the link between external LOC and fatalism.
The view is that we exercise free choice in everyday lives. However, even if this isn’t the case, thinking we do exercise free will can improve our mental health. A study by Robert’s looked at adolescents who had a strong belief in fatalism, which is where you think our lives are dictated by things out of our control. The study found that these adolescents were at greater risk of depression. Similarly, people with an external LOC have greater risk of depression. This suggests that even if we don’t have free will, believing that we do has a positive impact on our mental health.
Explain the strength of there possibly being a solution to the debate.
Explain what soft determinism is using the example of biological factors, but how we also have free will.
Use the example of SLT and how we learn behaviours due to the environment, but have choice in replicating them.
Soft determinism considers both free will and determinism. For example, some aspects of life may be governed by biology, but we still have the ability to make our own free choices. This is shown in social learning theory, where Bandura argues that environmental factors are key to learning behaviour, but we are free to choose who or what we attend to. Therefore, instead of saying behaviour is solely caused by free will or determinism, we should take a soft approach.
Explain the limitation of brain scan evidence not supporting free will.
Explain Libets study where PPTs would choose a random moment where they would flick their wrist.
What did PPTs have to say during the study?
How long before saying that they felt the need to move did unconscious activity appear in the brain?
What does this tell us about determinism?
However, how does this still demonstrate free will?
Libet told PPTs to choose a random moment when they would flick their wrist while he measured brain activity. PPTs also had to say when they felt the conscious need to move. Libet found that unconscious activity leading up to the decision to move came 0.5s before they actually felt the need to move. Therefore, our most basic experiences of free will may be determined by the brain. However, Libet’s findings showing that the brain is involved in decision making is not surprising. Just because the action comes before conscious awareness, doesn’t mean that there was no decision to act. Therefore, the evidence may not be appropriate to challenge free will.
Explain the limitation of determinism/strength of free will is the position of the legal system on responsibility.
How does the legal system view the cause of behaviour as?
Judges say that offenders use their _______ ____ to commit a crime.
What does this suggest about the usefulness of determinist arguments in the real world?
The hard determinist stance is that individual choice is not the cause of behaviour. This is not consistent with the way in which our legal system operates. In a court of law, offenders are held responsible for their actions and the main principle of our legal system is that a defendant exercised their free will in committing the crime. This suggests that in the real world, determinist arguments don’t work.
