🔴 Issues and debates: Free will and determinism Flashcards
What is free will?
- idea that humans choices aren’t determined by biological/external forces e.g. humanistic approach
What is determinism
- view that individual behaviour controlled by internal/external forces than free will
- two types: hard and soft determinism
What is hard determinism
- idea that free will doesn’t exist
- behaviour always controlled by internal/external events beyond control
What is soft determinism
all events have causes, but behaviour can also be determined by conscious choice
What is biological determinism
behaviour is caused by biological influences we cannot control e.g. biological explanation for schizophrenia
What is environmental determinism
behaviour caused by features of the environment (reward systems) we can’t control
e.g. SLT of gender development/behaviour modification/BF Skinner
What is psychic determinism
the belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts we cannot control
e.g. Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of gender development
How are determinist approaches more scientific?
- every event has cause explained by general laws
- allows scientists to predict/control events in the future
- lab experiment=stimulate conditions/remove extraneous variables=control
What are the evaluation points for free will and determinism
- case for determinism
- case against determinism
- case for free will
- case against free will
- compromise
What is the ‘case for determinism’ evaluation point of free will and determinism
- consistent with established sciences
- prediction/control led to treatment development e.g. psychotics for schizo
- schizo=lose control=doubt of free will
What is the ‘case against determinism’ evaluation point of free will and determinism
- hard determinism not consistent with legal system (offenders morally accountable)- cases of behaviour may not be found=unfalsifiable
- determinist approach not entirely scientific
What is the ‘case for free will’ evaluation point of free will and determinism
- everyday experience of choice gives impression=face validity
- research: internal locus of control=more mentally healthy
- illusion of free will has positive impact on mind/behaviour
What is the ‘case against free will’ evaluation point of free will and determinism
Libet: brain activity determining simple choices occur prior to awareness of choice (ten seconds before)
- basic free will determined by brain before we’re aware
What is the ‘compromise’ evaluation point of free will and determinism?
- interactionist approach=best compromise e.g SLT adopts soft determinism
- environment=learning;choose attention/performance of behaviour
