Paper 3 - Issues And Debates - Determinism And Free Will Flashcards

1
Q

What is determinism?

A

Determinism - the view that an individuals behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal (biological) or external forces. This means that our behaviour should be predict

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2
Q

What is free will?

A

Free will - the idea that as humans we are free to chose our own thoughts and actions. This views humans as self determining - they have an active role in controlling their behaviours and are not acting in response to an external or internal (biological) pressures

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3
Q

What are the principles or science?

A

Principles of science - to uncover laws that govern thoughts and actions

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4
Q

What is hard determinism?

A

Free will is not possible as our behaviour is always caused by internal and external events beyond our control

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5
Q

What are the different types of hard determinism?

A

Biological
Environmental
Psychic

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6
Q

What is biological determinism?

A

Biological determinism - the belief that behaviour is caused by biological (genetic, hormonal, evolutionary) influences that we can’t control

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7
Q

Give some examples of biological determinism?

A

Examples include - sociobiological theory of relationship formation - evolutionary
Neural and genetic explanations of crime behaviour, mental health - genetic bases

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8
Q

What is environmental determinism

A

Environmental determinism - the belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment (such as systems as rewards and punishment) that we can’t control

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9
Q

State some examples of environmental determinim

A

Examples of this is:
Skinner saying “free will is an illusion”
Behaviouralist approach
Conditioning - choices are merely the sum of reinforcement contingencies
Token economy
Differential association theory
Agents of socialism

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10
Q

What is psychic determinism

A

Psychic determinism - the belief that the behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts we can’t control

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11
Q

What are the examples of psychic determinsm

A

Examples of this are
Freud - biology drives and instincts
Maternal deprivation - Bowlby

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12
Q

How does the humanistic approach show free will?

A

Roger’s client centred therapy says that removal of psychological barriers leads to self actualisation. Individuals are in control of their behaviours and are trying achieve personal growth

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13
Q

What did Roberts (2000) find?

A

Roberts et al (2000) found that adolescents with a strong belief in fatalism were at a significantly greater risk of developing depression

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14
Q

What does Roberts research show?

A

This suggest that the beliefs we have about free will may have a positive effect on our mind and behaviour

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15
Q

What type of research starts the case against free will?

A

Neurological studies of decision making have revealed evidence against free will.

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16
Q

Who did research in support of free will?

A

Roberts

17
Q

Who did research for the case against free will?

A

Chun Siong Soon

18
Q

What did Chun Siong Soon (2008) do?

A

Found evidence that brain activity determines the activity of simple choices
For examples, whether we press a button with our left or right hand, this occurs in the brain up to 10 seconds before participants reported being consciously aware of making such a decision

19
Q

What is the case for determinism

A

It is consistent with the aims of science
Predictions and controls of human behaviour has lead to the development of treatments, therapies and behavioural interventions
Mental disorders may cast doubts on the concept of free will because some people with schizophrenia may experience a total loss of control over thoughts and behaviours

20
Q

What is the basis of moral responsibility?

A

An individual is in charge of their own actions

21
Q

How does free will and the law apply to certain people?

A

The law states that children and people who are mentally ill don’t have moral responsibility, but otherwise there is the assumption in our society that “normal” adult behaviour is self determined

22
Q

What is the case against determinism?

A

Hard determinism is inconsistent with the way our legal system operates in which people are morally accountable for their actions

Determinism is unfalsifiable. It is unrealistic to think that all behaviour (like murder) is determined

23
Q

What is an example of how hard determinism is incompatible with our legal system?

A

Mobley committed a murder and he claimed that his genetics predisposed him to offend

24
Q

Where does the law and free will regard determinism for a cause of offending behaviour?

A

The law of diminished responsibility determines that some individuals are not able to control their actions due to an inability to understand/recognise self control

25
Q

What is soft determinism?

A

The idea that behaviour/actions are to an extent governed/dictated by internal/external forces.We still have some element of control over our behaviour

26
Q

Which psychological theories adopt a soft deterministic position?

A

Asch
Bandura

27
Q

What is the law of diminishing responsibility?

A

Due to substation impairment some people may not be able to charge for their crimes