Lesson 4 - Free Will vs Determinism Flashcards
What is Biological Determinism?
Biological determinism refers to the idea that all human behaviour is innate and determined by genes.
What are Causal Explanations?
Science is heavily deterministic in its search for causal relationships as it seeks to discover whether X causes Y, or whether the IV causes changes in the DV.
What is Determinism?
Determinism is 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.
What is Environmental Determinism?
Environmental determinism is the view that behaviour is determined or caused by forces outside the individual. Environmental determinism posits that our behaviour is caused by previous experience learned through classical and operant conditioning.
What is Free Will?
Free will is the idea that we can play an active role and have choice in how we behave. The assumption is that individuals are free to choose their behaviour and are self determined.
What is Hard Determinism?
Hard determinism is the view that forces outside of our control (e.g. biology or past experience) shape our behaviour. Hard determinism is not compatible with free will.
What is Psychic Determinism?
Psychic determinism claims that human behaviour is the result of childhood experiences the innate drives that come from our id, ego and superego - Freud’s model of psychological development.
What is Soft Determinism?
Soft determinism is an alternative position favoured by many psychologists. According to soft determinism, behaviour is constrained by the environment or biological make-up of someone, but only to a certain extent.
Evaluation of Free Will - Face Validity
A strength of free will is that it just makes sense. We exercise what feels like free will on a daily basis, and this gives the concept of free will ‘Face Validity’.
Evaluation of Free Will - Loci of Control
Research suggests that people with an internal locus of control, tend to be more mentally healthy. This suggests that the concept of locus of control must exercise free will. Those individuals that have a high internal locus of control and believe that they can change their behaviour, were more likely to resist social influence, suggesting that they used their own free will, to not only reject conformity and obedience, but actively resist it.
Evaluation of Free Will - The Legal System and the functioning of society
A strength of free will is its application to the legal system. Legally speaking, all citizens are responsible for their own actions in the UK once they pass the age of 10. This suggests that we have free will, because if we didn’t criminals could claim that they did not determine their own actions.
Evaluation of Free Will - Subconscious decisions / decisions made before we know it
One weakness of free will is that neurological studies have found that our brain actually makes decisions for simple choices 18 seconds before we can even consciously debate the idea. This shows that we potentially lack free will, as we do not get a say in these decisions usually.
Evaluation of Determinism - Scientific Solution
Determinism is significantly more consistent with the aims of science than free will is. The idea that human behaviour is logical and obeys laws makes psychology more respected and scientific as a discipline.
Evaluation of Determinism - Help with Schizophrenia
Determinism has a large value in schizophrenic research. It has led to drug treatment, and helps people manage their schizophrenic symptoms. By assuming that Schizophrenia pataients do not have free will, we can give anti-psychotic drugs, which suggests that biological determinism is at work here.
Evaluation of Determinism - Would screw over the legal system
One limitation of the hard determinism stance is that if individual choice is not the cause of behaviour, then there is no consistent way in which criminals reason how they act. Determinism would claim that criminals are not responsible for their actions, and thus their environment is to blame and not them at all, which does not make logical sense.
