Free Will And Determinism

Question 1

What is free will

Answer 1

• The notion human can make choices and are not determined by internal or external forces

Question 2

What does free will implies of a individual

Answer 2

• individuals are responsible for their win actions which makes it impossible to make any predictions of human behaviour with any precision

Question 3

What approach that uses free will

Answer 3

Humanistic

Question 4

What is determinism

Answer 4

• proposes that free will has no place explaining behaviour because we have no choice in our action
• behaviours shaped by ur biology, learning and thought
• scientific view = establish causes and effect and therefor predict future behaviour in the same situation

Question 5

How are casual explanations usually investigated

Answer 5

Through manipulation of the IV to see whether the IV causes a change in the DV

Question 6

Whta is scientific research based of

Answer 6

• Assumption there is a casual mechanism for behaviour and thought

Question 7

Is scientific reserch deterministic

Answer 7

Yes

Question 8

Can the concept of free will and behaviour be scientifically measured

Answer 8

No

Question 9

Types of determinism

Answer 9

• Biological
• Environmental
• psychic
• hard
• soft

Question 10

Biological determinism

Answer 10

• belief behaviour is caused by biological influences we cannot control

Eg biological approach: it’s of behaviours an characteristics, such as anal disorders are thought to have a genetic basis and research has demonstrated the effect of neurotransmitters such as role of emotion in OCD

Question 11

Environmental determinism

Answer 11

• behaviour is controlled by external factors and influence

Eg learning approach, skinner described free will as a illusion behaviour is a result of our conditioning, environmental effects and upbringing

Question 12

Psychic determinism

Answer 12

• all behaviour is controlled by our unconscious fear and/or desires, implies that all behaviour is linked to previous childhood events or experiences

Eg psychodynamic approach - Freud - human behaviour as determined and directed by unconscious conflicts repressed in childhood

Question 13

Hard determinism

Answer 13

Forced outside of our control

Eg biological - behaviour shaped by internal forces

behaviourist approaches - behaviour only shaped by external forces such as reinforcement

Both do not have free will in behaviour

Question 14

Examples of hard determinism

Answer 14

Biological, psychic, environmental determinism

Question 15

Soft determinism

Answer 15

• All events have causes but are not forced by coercion, he environment or external factors but by our conscious choices

Eg cognitive approach - processing of info which is shaped by paste experiences, determines our behaviour but w have free will to change our thought and therefor our behaviour.

Question 16

Strengths of determinism

Answer 16

Consistence with science
- idea behaviour is predictable and order = make predictions to develop treatment and therapies to help with abnormal behaviours
- eg OCD treatment to help reduce symptoms, something not possible is their wasn’t an element of prediction to our behaviour

Free will Criticised by skinner
- its an illusion and that envious is determined by the environment
- research found: motor regions of the brain become active before a person registers conscious awareness of a decision eg Decision to move a finger predetermined action of the brain
- suggests behaviour is biologically determined an although we believe we have free will its may be an illusion

Question 17

Weaknesses of determinism

Answer 17

Behaviour can’t fully be determined biological or environmental factors
- studies that have investigated the concordance rates for intelligence and depression in identical twins only 80% for intelligence and 40% for depression = CR not 100% suggest 20% intelligence and 60% depression must be caused environmental factors
- neither biological or environmental alone are blue to explain behaviour fully

Legal implications
- behaviour is determined by external or internal has legal implication
- Stephen Mobley = argued he couldn’t e held accountable for killing a pizza shop manager because his family had a predisposition toward violence
- a truly deterministic position undesirable provides an excuse fr criminal acts and people might not be held responsible