free will vs determinism Flashcards
free will
each individual has the power to make choices about their behaviour without being determined by internal and external forces beyond their control
examples of free will
the humanistic approach
- self actualisation
moral responsibility - individual is in change of their own actions
strengths of free will
high internal validity
- robert found that adolescents with an internal loc are less likely to develop depression compared to those with an external loc - supports the idea that free will is used to determine our life
good face valdity
- every day scenarios we appear to be making our wn decisions
limitations of free will
contradictory evidence
- chun soon et al found activity in the prefrontal cortex takes up to 10 secs before a person is aware - suggests that motor activity occurs before the concious decision is made - predetermined behaviour
illuion of free will
- a person may choose to do something but these choices are determined by previous reinforcement
determinism
beleif that behaviour is controlled by external or internal forces acting upon the individual and beyond their control
soft and hard determinism
soft determinism- allows for some element of free will
hard determinism - all behaviour can be predicted according to the actions of internal and external forces
biological determinism
belief that behaviour is caused by biological influences
psychic determinism
behaviour is caused by unconcious conflivts that we cannot control
environmental determinism
behaviour is caused by the environment
strengths of determinism
consistent with the aims of science
led to the development of treatment theraoies e.g drug treatment for schiz
limitations of determinism
simplifies human behaviour
- e.g ocd is complex yet is reduced to just low levels of serotonin
100% genetic determinism is unlikely
- studies that compare mz twins found 80% similarity for intelligence and 40% for depression
- suggests that genes do not entirely determine behaviour
