free will vs determinism Flashcards
what does free will entail in the humanistic approach?
•each of us always have the powers to decide on our actions
•we should always focus on the present, and not past experiences
•we are all motivated to become the best we can be, to fulfil our potential (self-actualise)
what is hard determinism?
sometimes referred to as fatalism, it is the view that all behaviour is caused by something (internal or external factors), so free will is an illusion
what are the 3 types of determinism?
•biological determinism
•environmental determinism
•psychic determinism
what is biological determinism?
•the belief that behaviour is caused by biological influences we cannot control
•emphasises biological influence on behaviour, like the autonomic nervous system on the stress response
what is environmental determinism?
•the belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment that we cannot control
•skinner argued that all behaviour is a result of conditioning. our experience of ‘choice’ is the sun total of reinforcement contingencies that have acted upon us throught our lives
what is psychic determinism?
•the belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious psychodynamic conflicts we cannot control
•freud believed there is no such thing as an accident
what is soft determinism?
the fire that behaviour may be predictable (caused by internal/ external factors) but there is also room for personal choice from a limited range of possibilities (restricted free will)
•bandura- social learning theory, conditions of learning
strength: practical value of improving mental health
•Roberts looked at adolescents who had a strong belief in fatalism (hard determinism) , that their life was ‘decided’ by things outside of their control
•the study found that those adolescents were at a significantly greater chance of developing depression
•suggests free will has positive impacts
limitation: research evidence contradicts free will
•libet instructed participants to choose a random moment to flick their wrist while he measured activity in their brain
•participants had to say when they felt the conscious will to move
•libet found that the unconscious brain activity leading up to the conscious decision to move came around half a second before the participant consciously felt they had decided to move
•most experiences of ‘free will’ are actually determined by our brain before we are aware of them
limitation: research evidence contradicts free will
•libet instructed participants to choose a random moment to flick their wrist while he measured activity in their brain
•participants had to say when they felt the conscious will to move
•libet found that the unconscious brain activity leading up to the conscious decision to move came around half a second before the participant consciously felt they had decided to move
•most experiences of ‘free will’ are actually determined by our brain before we are aware of them
strength: real world application of hard determinism
•hard determinism has produced many effective real- world applications, including therapies and behavioural interventions
•this is because hard determinism is useful in establishing cause and effect so that the cause of issues can be treated
strength: positive applications of free will
•free will has intuitive appeal, most of us see ourselves making out own choices rather than being pushed by forces we cannot control
•this may be liberating for some people if they come from criminal/ unwell backgrounds
•suggests that people can change their behaviour and become better people
