Issue and debates: free will vs determinism

Question 1

What is the idea of free will?

Answer 1

self determining

Question 2

What is the notion of free will?

Answer 2

human beings are free to choose their thoughts and actions

Question 3

Does free will still take into account the biological and environmental influences onto behaviour?

Answer 3

yes, but we can reject them

Question 4

What approach fully supports free will?

Answer 4

the humanistic approach

Question 5

What is another name for hard determinism?

Answer 5

fatalism

Question 6

What does hard determinism mean?

Answer 6

all human action has a cause

Question 7

Is hard determinism compatible to science?

Answer 7

yes it is compatible with the aims of science because it assumes what we do is dictated by internal/external forces that you cannot control

Question 8

what is soft determinism?

Answer 8

the idea that all human action has a cause however people have a conscious mental control.

Question 9

what did James believe?

Answer 9

in soft determinism

Question 10

what is the basic principle of science?

Answer 10

that every event has a cause that can be explained by general laws

Question 11

what does knowledge of general laws allow you to do?

Answer 11

allows scientists to predict and control events

Question 12

how do researchers stimulate the conditions of the casual explanations?

Answer 12

using laboratory experiments

Question 13

what do lab experiments do?

Answer 13

lets researchers stimulate the conditions, removing extraneous variables and demonstrating casual effects, IV said to cause the change of the DV

Question 14

what is biological determinism?

Answer 14

controlled or shaped by physiological, genetic and hormonal processes.

suggests physiological processes are not under conscious control.

Question 15

what is an example of genetic factors determine many behaviours and characteristics?

Answer 15

OCD

Hormones like testosterone causing aggression

Question 16

what is an example of environmental determinism?

Answer 16

our behaviour is controlled or shaped by previous experiences and conditioning.

Question 17

what approach agrees with environmental determinism?

Answer 17

behaviourist approach Skinner result of conditioning

‘choice’ sum total of reinforcement contingencies (agents of socialisation- parents ect)

Question 18

what is psychic determinism?

Answer 18

controlled/shaped by unconscious conflicts.

Question 19

who believed in psychic determinism?

Answer 19

freud , emphasis on biological drives and instincts

Question 20

what does freud believe psychic determinism is determined and directed by?

Answer 20

unconscious conflicts repressed in childhood eg slip of the tongue

Question 21

what is a strength of determinism?

Answer 21

consistent w/ the aims of science

notion that behaviour is orderly and obeys laws, increases its credibility. prediction and control has lead to the development of treatments such as SSRI’s to treat OCD

determinist approach can lead to more practical applications

Question 22

what is a limitation of hard determinism?

Answer 22

not consistent with the legal system

offenders are seen as morally accountable for their actions. only in extreme cases do juries act with lenience if it relates to mental health

if we assume criminals have no free will how will they be punished

Question 23

strength of free will?

Answer 23

has face validity

everyday experience gives the impression that were constantly making choice. even if we don’t have free will thinking that we do has positive impacts. Roberts et al- adolescents w/ strong fatalism= risk of depression

humans having free will is beneficial

Question 24

limitation of free will?

Answer 24

not supported by neurological evidence

Libet and Soon brain activity an decision to press button w/ left/right hand was decided 10 seconds before being consciously known

even more basic experiences of free will are determined by our brain.