ISSUES & DEBATES ( FREE WILL & DETERMINISM)

Question 1

Outline Determinism

Answer 1

the view that free will is an illusion , and that our behaviour is governed by internal or external forces over which we have no control. Consequently , our behaviour is viewed as predictable

Question 2

Outline Hard and Soft determinism

Answer 2

Hard determinism - is the view that forces outside of our control eg. biology shape our behaviour. Hard determinism is seen as incompatible with free will

Soft determinism - is the view that beh is constrained by the env or bio makeup , but only to a certain extent and there is an element of free will

Question 3

Outline Freewill

Answer 3

Free will is the idea that we play an active role and have choice in how we behave . The assumption is that individuals are free to choose their beh and are self determined

Question 4

Outline the three types of determinism and give an example of a topic in psychology supporting it

Answer 4

Biological determinism refers to the idea that all human beh is innate and determined by genes.

Supported by psychopathology : the bio appr suggests that OCD is partly genetic. People with first degree relatives are 5x more likely to suffer from it .

Environmental determinism - the view that beh is caused by forces outside the individual . Therefore beh is caused by previous experience learned through classical and operant cond.

Approaches : The beh approach suggests phobias are acquired through classical conditioning and operant cond and therefore to some extent environmentally determined. ( Little albert)

Psychic Determinism - claims that human beh is the result of childhood experiments and innate drives - in Freud’s model of psychological development.

Gender approaches : the psychodynamic approach.
Suggests that gender behaviour are acquired during development where children identify with the same sex parent