Issues and Debates - free will vs determinism

Question 1

free will

Answer 1

voluntary actions with no restraints. humans = self-determining -> we decide future. doesn’t ignore other influences but believes we can reject them

Question 2

determinsm

Answer 2

behaviour is predictable, biological, environmental or psychic determinism

Question 3

biological determinism

Answer 3

internal factors control our behaviour. e.g. hormones, brain structures, genes, etc. (fight/flight, concordance rates, testosterone+agression)

Question 4

environmental determinism

Answer 4

‘free will is an illusion’ - Skinner
agents of socialisation, behaviour shaped by environmental events.

Question 5

psychic determinism

Answer 5

Freud also thinks free will = illusion
every action is caused by unconscious conflicts. unable to explain why they acted in a certain way until they unpack it in therapy

Question 6

case study showing free will/determinism

Answer 6

Mobley (1991)
raised in affluent white american family, not abused in childhood. at 25 robbed and shot manager of pizza place. argued in court that he had a genetic predisposition due to 4 gens before him being criminals too.

Question 7

evaluation of determinism

Answer 7

+ consistent with aims of science -> predicting behaviour
+ nobody would choose to have mental illness
+ interventions can happen before predicted behaviour
- MZ twin studies don’t show 100% concordance rate
- not consistent with legal system. offenders are held morally accountable

Question 8

evaluation of free will

Answer 8

+ face validity
+ Roberts (2000) -> adolescents with fatalist attitude are more likely to develop depression
- self-determination (humanistic ideology) is culturally relative idea? - individualistic cultures
- Soon (2008) -> brain activity up to 10 seconds before participant is aware of conscious decision