I&D- Free Will Flashcards
What does free will suggest?
The notion of free will suggests that as human beings we are essentially self determining and able to choose our thoughts and actions even though there maybe external forces influencing behaviour
Which approach considers people to have free will?
The Humanistic Approach
What is determinism?
Determinism is the general idea that our traits and behaviours are outside of our control, due to factors, either internal or external, over which we have no control.
What is hard determinism?
- Hard determinism proposes that all of a person’s traits and behaviours are entirely out of the individual’s control.
- Human behaviour has a cause and so it should be possible to identify these causes.
- Such an idea is compatible with the aims of science (to uncover the causal laws that govern people’s thoughts and actions).
- Hard determinism assumes that everything we think and feel and do is dictated by forces that we cannot control, and might not even be aware of.
What is soft determinism?
This proposes that traits and behaviours are determined by external or internal forces but that an individual can still exercise some
control via thought processes.
Which approach adheres to soft determinism?
Cognitive approach
What are the types of determinism?
1) Biological Determinism
2) Environmental Determinism
3) Psychic Determinism
What is biological determinism?
- The biological approach argues that all of our traits and behaviours are governed by internal biological factors, like genes, neurochemistry, brain structure etc.
- There is no doubt that many of our physiological and neurological brain processes are not under conscious control – such as the autonomic nervous system during periods of stress and anxiety.
- In addition, lots of behaviours, characteristics (such as mental disorders) are thought to have a genetic basis and research has demonstrated the effect of hormones (such as the role of testosterone) in aggressive behaviour.
What is environmental determinism?
- The idea that traits and behaviours are governed by external forces, such as experiences, upbringing, learning, schools, parents, peers etc.
- The behavioural approach holds that our experience of ‘choice’ is merely the sum total of reinforcement contingencies that have acted upon us throughout our lives.
- Although we might think we are acting independently, our behaviour has been shaped by environmental events as well as agents of socialisation
Which approach is an example of environmental determinism?
Behavioural approach
What is psychic determinism?
– The idea that traits and behaviours are governed by
unconscious instincts and drives.
Which approach is an example of psychic determinism?
The psychodynamic approach
- It sees human behaviour as determined and directed by unconscious conflicts, repressed in childhood.
- There is no such things as an accident, according to Freud, and even something as seemingly random as an innocuous ‘slip of the tongue’ can be explained as being caused by the unconscious
CASE FOR DETERMINISM / CASE AGAINST FREE WILL
1) Chun Siong Soon et al. (2008) have demonstrated that the brain activity that determines simple choices occurs before we are even aware that we have made
a choice. Participants were asked to decide whether to push a button with their left or right hand; brain imaging revealed that they made their decision up to ten seconds before reporting that they were consciously aware of making a decision.
2) The prediction and control of human behaviour has led to the development of treatments, therapies and behavioural interventions that have benefitted many
people. For instance, psychotherapeutic drug treatment in managing schizophrenia. Disorders like schizophrenia cast doubt on the concept of free will because no one would choose to have schizophrenia.
CASE AGAINST DETERMINISM / CASE FOR FREE WILL
1) The idea of free will has more face validity (it makes common sense) than determinism. Everyday experience gives people the impression that they are constantly exercising free will through the choices they make on any given day. People with an internal locus of control, who believe they have a high degree of control over their behaviour and their life, are more mentally healthy. This is supported by Roberts et al. (2000) who demonstrated that adolescents who had a strong belief that their lives were determined by events outside of their control were at higher risk of developing depression. Therefor thinking we have free will has a positive impact on our mind and behaviour.
