Free Will And Determinism Flashcards
What is free will?
We can make our own choices and are not controlled by biological or external forces
What is determinism?
The belief that behaviour is controlled by external or internal factors acting upon the individual and beyond their control
What is hard determinism?
All behaviour has a cause, everything is controlled by forces, we have no free will
What is soft determinism?
We have some control over behaviour, we can make rational conscious choices (cognitive approach)
What is biological determinism?
Behaviour is determined by our physiology (e,g, OCD is determined by a damaged caudate nucleus)
What is environmental determinism?
Behaviour is caused by learning (reinforcement) (i.e. through classical/operant conditioning)
What is psychic determinism?
Behaviour is caused by unconscious mental processes, drives or instincts (psychodynamic approach)
What is the scientific emphasis on causal explanations?
Every event in the universe has a cause
What are the key features of science? (FORE)
Falsifiability
Objectivity
Replicability
Empirical evidence
Why is the humanistic approach against determinism?
It believes in free will
Why can we call the humanistic approach unscientific?
Because it believes in free will which is unfalsifiable and doesn’t have any empirical evidence
What is a strength of (biological) determinism?
Treatments can be developed to treat psychological disorders (e.g. SSRIs for OCD)
