Determinism/Free will Flashcards
Determinism
The view that human behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces and free will is an illusion. Behaviour always has a cause and is therefore predictable.
Hard Determinism.
The view that forces outside of out control (e.g. biology or experience) shape our behaviour and free will is an illusion.
Soft Determinism.
The view that behaviour is constrained by environmental or biological forces but only to a certain extent and there is an element of free will.
Biological Determinism.
The idea that human behaviour is innate and determined by biological influences such as genetics.
Environmental Determinism.
Behaviour is caused by external forces such as previous experience and learning through classical and operant conditioning.
Psychic Determinism.
Claims behaviour is the result of innate drives (such as ID, Ego, Superego) and unconscious conflicts.
Causal explanations.
One of the basic principles of science is that everything has a cause and thus can be predicted. scientific research is therefore heavily determinist.
positive implication of the debate
features of a science (determinism)
Hard determinism as an approach is consistent with the features of a science. This allows for the manipulation of an independent variable to see its effect on a dependent variable to identify cause and effect. This allows psychologists to adopt an objective approach through the drawing of causal relationships that can predict future behaviour.
positive implications of the debate
Libet et el. (determinism)
evidence by Libet et al supports biological determinism. They found that the motor regions in the brain become active even before an individual consciously registers an awareness of their decision to move their hand. This strongly supports the idea that behaviour is biologically determined and that although we believe we have free will behaviour may have a biological cause and free will is merely an illusion.
However, Libets findings showing that the brain is involved in decision making is not surprising. Just because the action comes before the conscious awareness to act doesn’t mean that there was no decision to act in the first place. Just that the decision took time to reach consciousness.
negative consequences of the debate
determinism
determinism is incompatible with conventional views on morality and the legal system- many psychologists and theorists do not favour the determinism viewpoint because if the view that external or internal forces determine behaviour is accepted this provides a potential excuse for undesirable behaviours in society such as offending. for example offenders in court have previously used the argument that they have been born with a predisposition to be violent or aggressive to mitigate their liability.
positive implications of the debate
free will
human subjective experience involves the belief that we are in control of our actions and behaviour. This is further supported by Humanism and the positive psychology movement. The movement has had a positive influence on a variety of methods adopted in therapy and counselling today suggesting we are the masters of our own behaviour and can choose to change.
negative consequences of the debate
Free will
free will is just an illusion. The concept of free will has attracted criticism from psychologists. Some psychologists such as Skinner have argued that free will is an illusion and all behaviour is determined even if we are unwilling to admit it therefore the validity of free will being real is questioned. The concept of free will as it is is also impossible to test. Its a non-physical vague concept that cannot be observed or quantified. This means that the concept cannot be falsified going against psychology as a science.
examples of the debate in theories.
biological determinism- forensics- criminality caused by MAOA gene.
psychic determinism- psychodynamic approach behaviour controlled by childhood trauma and unconscious drives.
environmental determinism- behaviourism- behaviour determined by wats presented to us in the environment.
soft determinism- SLT behaviour caused by what we observe and imitate in the environment but we also exert a choice of which behaviours to imitate.
free will- humanistic approach. humans are in control of their own outcomes and are never stuck where they are. can improve to self-actualise.
