issues and debates - free wiill and detemrinsims Flashcards
what is the debate
are people able to decide for themselves if they shoudl act in a certain way
or is behaviour the resut of forces iver which we have no contorl
what is free will
idea humans are essentially self determining
and
free to choose own thoughts and actions at all time
in terms of free will talk about other forces
e.g biological and environmental can influence our behaviour
but we can choose to ignore/reject them
e.g humansitic psychology
what approach has free will as a fundamnetal belief
humanistic approach
determnism is the opposite of
free will
what is determinism
internal (hormones) or external forces(rewards)
view that an individuals behaviour is shaped/controlled by internal or external forces rather than an indi will to do something
what are the 2 main types of determinism
hard
soft
what os ahrd determinsim
view all behaviour is caused by something (internal or externla factors) so free will is an illusion
an assumption of hard deterinsim is that free will is nothing but an illusion therfore
everything is predetermined
how do we rember hard determinism
lamb going into slaughter
pick left / right
still gonna get saliughtered regardless
soft determinsims is less extreme than
hard determinism
what is soft detemrinims
idea all human behaviour has a cause
but room for flexibiilty
people got certain degree of control over the way they behave , but only in the realms of what they know
how do we rember soft determinism
guy has choice over which direction train is gonn ago but either way gonna hit someone
which approaches sually advocate soft determinsm
cogntive elemnt e.g SLT learn thoguh obsv but hve choice whther or not to carry out bhaviour
what are the 3 subtypes of hard determinism
biological
environmentla
psyhcic
what is biological determinsim
idea al human behaviour is innate and by our genes/hormones/brain chemistry
give example of biological determinism
nestadt et al found 68% of identical twins shared OCD only 31% of non identical twins
suggests people genetic make up can make em vulnerable to OCD
What is an important side note of OCD: modern psychs..
modern psychologists usually recognise the fcat enviro can mediate the influence of biology
what is enviro determinsims
idea free will is an illusion and all behaviour caused by condiitnoing
its effectivley behaviourism
give an exmaple of enviro determinism
behaviorusit approach to phobias suggest phobias acquired thorugh cc maintained through OC
SUGGESTING AT LEAST TO SOME extent behaviour is determined byt he enviro
what is osychic determinism
idea all human behaviour si teh result of childhood expereinces and innate drives
give example of psychic determinsim
psychodynamic explanatino s of gender identitiy
development of gender identity is based on succesful identification with same sex parent which mean behaviour determined by succesful/unsuccesful identification with your parents
wheter un/succ affects bejhaviour in life
behaviour int erms of gender identity determined by idenitifcationwith parent
give another example of psychic determinism
authotarian perosnality expl for obedience
causal explanations - why are determinsitic approaces considered more scientific
scientific research is based on the belief that all events have a cause which can be covered and expl using general laws
deterministic approaches allow us to infer caue and effect which is in line with science
whats our evaluation points
humanistic argument against detemrinims
determinsim provides an excuse
free will is an illusion
humanistic psychologists argue against idea of deterins
x psychologists would argue x the idea of determisnsm claiming that humans have x x and free will
there is x to support this calim. identical twin studies typically find an x% similarity in x scores and a x% similarity in teh likelihood of x.
However as identical twins share x% of their genes these results suggest that x% is cuased by other environmentla factors
however as Id twins share x% of genes these results suggest x% is caused by x factors
which demonstartes biological x is unable to explain x particular behaviour , in this case x and inteligence
the same evidence indicates no behaviour is completely x determined . If ID teins only hsow a x% likeness in terms of intelligence its assumed only x% is caused by teh x
highloighting a x with biological and x determinism
humansitic psychologists would argue against the idea of determisnsm claiming that humans have self determinatino and free will
there is evidence to support this calim. identical twin studies typically find an 80% similarity in intelligence scores and a 40% similarity in teh likelihood of depression.
However as identical twins share 100% of their genes these results suggest that 20% is cuased by other environmentla factors
however as Id twins share 100% of genes these results suggest 20% is caused by environemntla factors
which demonstartes biological determinism is unable to explain any particular behaviour , in this case depression and inteligence
the same evidence indicates no behaviour is completely environmentally determined . If ID teins only hsow a 80% likeness in terms of intelligence its assumed only 20% is caused by teh enviro
highloighting a limiatation with biological and environemtla determinism
eval - determinism provides an excuse
many psycho x and x experts dont x a x POV as if a behaviour is deterined by outside forces taht provides a potential x for x acts
e.g xxx stephen x argued he was born to x after killing a x shop manager, because his family had a x towards x and x behaviour. This arguent was x by an x court
therfore a hard determinsit position may be x as it provides an x allowing people to x their own xand could lead to x leagl issues regarding the nature of x and x
many psycho theorists and legal experts dont favour a deterinsitic POV as if a behaviour is deterined by outside forces taht provides a potential excuse for criminal acts
e.g 1991 stephen mobley argued he was born to killl after killing a pizza shop manager, because his family had a disposition towards violence and aggressive behaviour. This arguent was rejected by an american court
therfore a hard determinsit position may be undesirable as it provides an excuse allowing people to mitigate their own liablitu and could lead to vexing leagl issues regarding the nature of resposbillyt and intent
free will is an illusion explanation
some psycholgists such as x argue free will is an x
skinner insisited our behaviour is in fact x detemrined evenif we’re x or x to admit it
in addition more x supports this cliam
x et al found x regiosn of the x become active x a person registers x awareness of a x i.e descion to x finger was actually x action of the x
this strongly x many repsonses are x determined and although we may beleive we have free will skinners cliam may be x
some psycholgists such as skinner argue free will is an illusion
skinner insisited our behaviour is in fact enviro detemrined evenif we’re unable or unwilling to admit it
in addition more recent evidence supports this cliam
libet et al found mototr regiosn of the brain become active before a person registers conscious awareness of a descision i.e descion to move finger was actually predeterined action of the brain
this strongly suggest many repsonses are biologically determined and although we may beleive we have free will skinners cliam may be correct
