Free Will Vs Determinism Flashcards
Define free will
Freewill suggests that as human beings we are free to choose our thoughts and actions and behaviour essentially we are self-determining.
Define determinism
Believes all behaviour has a cause and is thus predictable.
Free will is an illusion and our behaviour is governed by external forces which we have no control over.
What are the 2 levels of determinism ?
Hard Determinism
Soft Determinism
What is Hard determinism ?
- Hard determinism sees free will as an illusion and believes that every event and action has a cause.
- Always assumes that everything we think and do is dictated by external or internal forces we cannot control.
- compatible with the aims of science.
What is Soft Determinism ?
- Soft determinism represents a middle ground , people do have a choice but that choice is constrained by internal or external factors.
-Acknowledge that all human action has a cause, but suggests there is some room for manoeuvre
Which of the approaches are attributed with Hard Determinism?
Biological
Behaviourist
Psychodynamic
What does biological determinism argue ?
- The biological approach advocates for biological determinism.
- There are physiological and neurological processes not under our conscious control.
- For example the influence of the autonomic nervous system in stress response.
- the influence of genes on mental health
- Effects of hormones on depression.
What does environmental determinism argue ?
- Free will being and illusion is heavily supported by he behaviourist approach and specifically by Skinner.
- He argues that all behaviour is the result of conditioning.
- Our experiences of choice is merely the sum total of reinforcement contingences that have acted upon us all our lives.
- We are shaped by environmental events - we are not independent thinkers.
What does Psychic Determinism argue.
- The argument that free will is an illusion is also supported by Freud but he places more emphasis on the influence of biological / innate drives and instincts.
- Human behaviour is determined by the unconscious conflicts repressed in childhood.
- There is no such thing as an accidental slip of the tongue all of it is determined by our unconscious.
What is theories are attribute with Soft Determinism ?
-Cognitive approach
- Social learning theory
What approaches are attributed with free will ?
- Humanistic Approach
How does the SLT explain soft determinism ?
SLT explains the role of direct & indirect
reinforcement on behaviour but also acknowledges that mental processes enable us to make the choice about imitating learned behaviour.
What are casual explanations ?
Basic principle in science - every event in the universe has a cause and those causes can be explained by general laws.
Why are casual explanations important ?
- Knowledge of causes and the formulation of laws are important as they allow scientists to predict and control events in the future.
What are impacts of lab experiments on psychology ?
- Lab experiments enables researchers to stimulate the conditions of the test tube to remove all other extraneous variables in attempt to precisely control and predict human behaviour.
