Free will and determinism Flashcards
(13 cards)
What is free will
Freewill is the view that people can control their behaviour by making choices and so can override any biological or environmental influences
What is determinism
This 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.
Consequently, our behaviour is viewed as predictable.
The following are classed as strongly determinist views:
* Peoples’ behaviour always has a cause.
* People have no choice about how to act.
What is hard determinism
This is the view that forces outside of our control (e.g., biology or past experience) shape our behaviour.
Hard determinism is seen as incompatible with free will
What is soft determinism
This is the view that behaviour is constrained by the environment or biological make-up, but only to a certain extent and that there is an element of free will in all behaviour.
What is biological determinism
This is the view that all human behaviour is innate and determined by genes
What is environmental determinism
This is the view that behaviour is caused by forces outside the individual.
Consequently, behaviour is caused by previous experience learned through classical and operant conditioning.
What is Psychic
determinism
This claims that human behaviour is the result of childhood experiences and
innate drives (id, ego, and superego) put forward by Freud’s model of
psychological development
Outline the scientific emphasis on causal explanations
The focus of scientific (empirical) evidence has led to an upsurge in determinist theories as determinism is thought to be underpinned by causation.
A determinist argument must be able to show that the behaviour
has been caused (determined) by something that is not within the individual’s control. This can only be demonstrated using a lab experiment - if there is a change in the DV when all EVs are controlled, then the IV
must be responsible for the change
What topics in psychology can Free will and determinism be applied to
Psychopathology
Addiction x2
Biopsychology
How can Determinism be applied to Psychopathology
Biological determinism
The biological approach suggests that OCD is genetic. Nestadt et al found that people with first degree relatives who suffer from OCD are five times more likely to suffer from OCD at some point in their lives
How can Environmental Determinism be applied to Addiction
Environmental determinism
The cue reactivity paradigm suggests that a strong association is made between a
stimulus that is present when an individual smokes and their (powerful) emotional
response.
Consequently, whenever the stimulus is present, the emotional response is cued which prompts the addictive behaviour. This is seen as out of the individual’s control.
How can Determinism be applied to Biopsychology
Soft determinism
The fact that the autonomic nervous system prompts an automatic response is strictly determinist. However, in less life-threatening but potentially stressful situations, such as traffic jams and workplace pressure, it could be argued that we have an element of choice as to whether we see the situation as stressful or not.
The fact that hardiness can be taught would suggests that we can choose to look at such situations in another way. This suggests that there may be an element of free will in our perception of stress
How can free will be applied to addction and psycopathology
Free will
Psychologists who use cognitive behavioural therapy encourage patients to change their irrational and negative cognitions. CBT is effective in treating addiction and depression which suggests that we have free will over our
cognitive biases which are causing the maladaptive behaviour.
