Issues And Debates - Determinism And Free Will

Question 1

What is determinism?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

What is free will?

Answer 2

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

Question 3

What are the principles or science?

Answer 3

Principles of science - to uncover laws that govern thoughts and actions

Question 4

What is hard determinism?

Answer 4

Free will is not possible as our behaviour is always caused by internal and external events beyond our control

Question 5

What are the different types of hard determinism?

Answer 5

Biological
Environmental
Psychic

Question 6

What is biological determinism?

Answer 6

Biological determinism - the belief that behaviour is caused by biological (genetic, hormonal, evolutionary) influences that we can’t control

Question 7

Give some examples of biological determinism?

Answer 7

Examples include - sociobiological theory of relationship formation - evolutionary
Neural and genetic explanations of crime behaviour, mental health - genetic bases

Question 8

What is environmental determinism

Answer 8

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

Question 9

State some examples of environmental determinim

Answer 9

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

Question 10

What is psychic determinism

Answer 10

Psychic determinism - the belief that the behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts we can’t control

Question 11

What are the examples of psychic determinsm

Answer 11

Examples of this are
Freud - biology drives and instincts
Maternal deprivation - Bowlby

Question 12

How does the humanistic approach show free will?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

What did Roberts (2000) find?

Answer 13

Roberts et al (2000) found that adolescents with a strong belief in fatalism were at a significantly greater risk of developing depression

Question 14

What does Roberts research show?

Answer 14

This suggest that the beliefs we have about free will may have a positive effect on our mind and behaviour

Question 15

What type of research starts the case against free will?

Answer 15

Neurological studies of decision making have revealed evidence against free will.

Question 16

Who did research in support of free will?

Answer 16

Roberts

Question 17

Who did research for the case against free will?

Answer 17

Chun Siong Soon

Question 18

What did Chun Siong Soon (2008) do?

Answer 18

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

Question 19

What is the case for determinism

Answer 19

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

Question 20

What is the basis of moral responsibility?

Answer 20

An individual is in charge of their own actions

Question 21

How does free will and the law apply to certain people?

Answer 21

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

Question 22

What is the case against determinism?

Answer 22

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

Question 23

What is an example of how hard determinism is incompatible with our legal system?

Answer 23

Mobley committed a murder and he claimed that his genetics predisposed him to offend

Question 24

Where does the law and free will regard determinism for a cause of offending behaviour?

Answer 24

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

Question 25

What is soft determinism?

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Which psychological theories adopt a soft deterministic position?

Answer 26

Asch
Bandura

Question 27

What is the law of diminishing responsibility?

Answer 27

Due to substation impairment some people may not be able to charge for their crimes