Issues And Debates - Determinism And Free Will Flashcards
What is determinism?
Determinism - the view that an individuals behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal (biological) or external forces. This means that our behaviour should be predict
What is free will?
Free will - the idea that as humans we are free to chose our own thoughts and actions. This views humans as self determining - they have an active role in controlling their behaviours and are not acting in response to an external or internal (biological) pressures
What are the principles or science?
Principles of science - to uncover laws that govern thoughts and actions
What is hard determinism?
Free will is not possible as our behaviour is always caused by internal and external events beyond our control
What are the different types of hard determinism?
Biological
Environmental
Psychic
What is biological determinism?
Biological determinism - the belief that behaviour is caused by biological (genetic, hormonal, evolutionary) influences that we can’t control
Give some examples of biological determinism?
Examples include - sociobiological theory of relationship formation - evolutionary
Neural and genetic explanations of crime behaviour, mental health - genetic bases
What is environmental determinism
Environmental determinism - the belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment (such as systems as rewards and punishment) that we can’t control
State some examples of environmental determinim
Examples of this is:
Skinner saying “free will is an illusion”
Behaviouralist approach
Conditioning - choices are merely the sum of reinforcement contingencies
Token economy
Differential association theory
Agents of socialism
What is psychic determinism
Psychic determinism - the belief that the behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts we can’t control
What are the examples of psychic determinsm
Examples of this are
Freud - biology drives and instincts
Maternal deprivation - Bowlby
How does the humanistic approach show free will?
Roger’s client centred therapy says that removal of psychological barriers leads to self actualisation. Individuals are in control of their behaviours and are trying achieve personal growth
What did Roberts (2000) find?
Roberts et al (2000) found that adolescents with a strong belief in fatalism were at a significantly greater risk of developing depression
What does Roberts research show?
This suggest that the beliefs we have about free will may have a positive effect on our mind and behaviour
What type of research starts the case against free will?
Neurological studies of decision making have revealed evidence against free will.
Who did research in support of free will?
Roberts
Who did research for the case against free will?
Chun Siong Soon
What did Chun Siong Soon (2008) do?
Found evidence that brain activity determines the activity of simple choices
For examples, whether we press a button with our left or right hand, this occurs in the brain up to 10 seconds before participants reported being consciously aware of making such a decision
What is the case for determinism
It is consistent with the aims of science
Predictions and controls of human behaviour has lead to the development of treatments, therapies and behavioural interventions
Mental disorders may cast doubts on the concept of free will because some people with schizophrenia may experience a total loss of control over thoughts and behaviours
What is the basis of moral responsibility?
An individual is in charge of their own actions
How does free will and the law apply to certain people?
The law states that children and people who are mentally ill don’t have moral responsibility, but otherwise there is the assumption in our society that “normal” adult behaviour is self determined
What is the case against determinism?
Hard determinism is inconsistent with the way our legal system operates in which people are morally accountable for their actions
Determinism is unfalsifiable. It is unrealistic to think that all behaviour (like murder) is determined
What is an example of how hard determinism is incompatible with our legal system?
Mobley committed a murder and he claimed that his genetics predisposed him to offend
Where does the law and free will regard determinism for a cause of offending behaviour?
The law of diminished responsibility determines that some individuals are not able to control their actions due to an inability to understand/recognise self control
What is soft determinism?
The idea that behaviour/actions are to an extent governed/dictated by internal/external forces.We still have some element of control over our behaviour
Which psychological theories adopt a soft deterministic position?
Asch
Bandura
What is the law of diminishing responsibility?
Due to substation impairment some people may not be able to charge for their crimes
