Free Will and Determinism

Question 1

what is determinism?

2

Answer 1

the view that an individual’s behaviour is controlled by either internal or external forces

meaning that behaviour should be predictable

Question 2

types of determinism

5

Answer 2

there are many examples of determinism in psychology, involving explanations or approaches which are based on the concept that human behaviour is caused by factors not under the individual’s personal control…

• biological determinism — behaviour is determined by our genes
• environmental determinism — behaviour is determined by previous experience
• psychic determinism — behaviour is determined by a mix of innate drives and early experience
• scientific determinism

Question 3

biological determinism

4

Answer 3

research into the human genome is producing increasing evidence of genetic influences on behaviour

the more we discover, the more it appears that our behaviour, not just our physical characteristics, are determined by our genes

for example, research on intelligence has identified particular genes found in people with high intelligence such as the IGF2R gene

genes, in turn, influence brain structure and neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine that are often implicated in behaviour

Question 4

environmental determinism

3

Answer 4

behaviourists believe that all behaviour is caused by previous experience, through the processes of classical and operant conditioning which may be direct or indirect

for example, phobias may develop as a consequence of conditioning

a phobia can be learned, but also unlearned through therapy such as systematic desensitisation

Question 5

psychic determinism

4

Answer 5

Freud’s psychoanalytical theory of personality suggests that all behaviour is determined by a mix of innate drives and early experience i.e. both internal and external forces

behaviour is driven by the libido which focuses sequentially on erogenous zones such as the mouth or anus

if a child is frustrated or overindulged at any stage during development, then the libido will remain tied to the relevant erogenous zone and the individual is fixated on that zone as a result

the method of obtaining satisfaction that characterised the stage will dominate their adult personality

Question 6

scientific determinism

4

Answer 6

scientific research is based on the belief that all events have a cause

an independent variable is manipulated to observe the causal effect on the dependent variable

for example, Harlow’s research on attachment involved an independent variable (the wire mother, either covered in cloth or not) and a dependent variable (the attachment formed)

the result demonstrated that contact comfort, not food, determined the formation of an attachment

Question 7

what is free will?

3

Answer 7

the view that each individual has the power to make choices about their own behaviour

they are capable of self-determination

individuals have an active role in controlling their behaviour, they are free to choose and are not acting in response to any external or internal pressures

Question 8

free will in the humanistic approach

5

Answer 8

humanistic psychologists such as Maslow and Rogers argue that self-determination and free will is a necessary part of human behaviour

without it, healthy self development and self actualisation is not possible

Rogers (1951) claimed that as long as the individual remains controlled by other people and other things, they can not take responsibility for their behaviour and therefore cannot begin to change it

things which are outside a person’s sense of self remain beyond personal control — for example, a person who says “i lied but that isn’t like me” does not admit that they are a liar and therefore will not seek to change the behaviour

only when the individual takes self responsibility (i.e. self-determination) is personal growth possible, resulting in psychological healthiness

Question 9

free will and moral responsibility

3

Answer 9

the basis of moral responsibility is that an individual is in charge of their own actions and can exercise free will

the law states that children and those who are mentally ill do you not have this responsibility but otherwise there is the assumption that normal adult behaviour is self-determined

in other words, humans have free will so are accountable for their actions regardless of innate factors or influences of early experience

Question 10

spectrum of determinism

2

Answer 10

hard determinism is the view that all behaviour can be predicted and there is no free will, the two concepts are incompatible

soft determinism is a version of determinism that allows for some element of free will

Question 11

reconciling free will and determinism

6

Answer 11

one solution to the debate is to reach a compromise between free will and determinism

this is known as soft determinism which is a version of determinism that allows for some element of free will

for example, it could be argued that everything is determined by biology and past experiences but this still leaves a person with some choices that can be made

this was the view of Nick Heather (1976) who proposed that behaviour may be predictable but this does not make it inevitable — individuals are still free to choose their behaviour but this is usually from within a fairly limited repertoire

William James (1890) suggested that we should separate behaviour into a physical and mental realm, physical behaviour is determined whereas mental behaviour is subject to free will

Elizabeth Valentine (1992) claimed that behaviour is always determined, it just sometimes appears to be less determined

Question 12

x5 evaluation points for determinism

Answer 12

genes do not entirely determine behaviour

the environment does not entirely determine behaviour

there is no such thing as total determinism

deterministic explanations oversimplify behaviour

negative implications of determinism

Question 13

EVALUATION
genes do not entirely determine behaviour

6

Answer 13

studies show that genes do not entirely determine behaviour

it is doubtful that 100% genetic determination will ever be found for any behaviour

for example, studies that compare identical twins (individuals who have an identical genetic make up) find about 80% similarity regarding intelligence and about 40% for depression

in other words, if one twin has a high IQ there is only an 80% chance that the other twin will be the same

this suggests that genes do not entirely determine behaviour

therefore, any explanations of behaviour that believe behaviour is biologically determined must be viewed with caution

Question 14

EVALUATION
the environment does not entirely determine behaviour

3

Answer 14

the concordance rated referred to above equally show that the environment cannot be the sole determining factor in behaviour

there is it least some genetic input

therefore, environmental explanations cannot solely determine behaviour

Question 15

EVALUATION
there is no such thing as total determinism

3

Answer 15

Dennett (2003) argues that in the physical sciences it is now accepted that there is no such thing as total determinism

chaos theory proposes that very small changes in initial conditions can subsequently result in major changes in the end result, this is sometimes called the butterfly effect

the conclusion is that causal relationships are probabilistic rather than deterministic i.e. they increase the probability of something occurring rather than being the sole determinant

Question 16

EVALUATION
deterministic explanations oversimplify behaviour

6

Answer 16

deterministic explanations tend to oversimplify human behaviour

they may be appropriate for animals e.g. they can be used to explain mating behaviour in peacocks in terms of biological factors

but human behaviour is less rigid and much more complex as it is influenced by many factors — for example, cognitive factors such as thinking about what you intend to do can override biological impulses

this means that the idea of ever finding a simple determinist formula from psychological research is unrealistic

trying to explain behaviour in terms of being entirely determined by either biological, environmental or other factors oversimplifies behaviour

therefore, such explanations are inaccurate and should be viewed with caution as they do not truly represent the influences behind our behaviour

Question 17

EVALUATION
negative implications of determinism

6

Answer 17

deterministic explanations have negative implications when applied to the real world

for example, there have been attempts in criminal cases in the US for murderers to claim that their behaviour was determined by inherited aggressive tendencies and therefore they should not be punished with the death-penalty

Stephen Mobley, who killed a pizza shop manager in 1981, claimed this happened because he was “born to kill” as evidenced by a family history of violence

the argument was rejected but this still demonstrates that in practice, deterministic explanations may be undesirable because they allow individuals to excuse their behaviour and deny responsibility

determinism is also an issue in the treatment of mental disorders because if we take the view that disorders such as schizophrenia and depression are determined by an individual’s biology and it follows that treatment should target their genes or neurotransmitters

however, such determinist treatment may then lead to the dismissal of other treatments that might be beneficial such as cognitive behavioural therapy

Question 18

x3 evaluation points for free will

Answer 18

the illusion of free will

culturally relative

challenging research

Question 19

EVALUATION
the illusion of free will

3

Answer 19

some psychologists argue that free will is merely an illusion

simply being able to decide between different courses of action is not free will, but it may give us the illusion of having free will

this is an argument put forward by the behaviourist Skinner, who argues that a person might choose to buy a particular car also particular film but in fact these choices are determined by previous reinforcement experiences

Question 20

EVALUATION
culturally relative

3

Answer 20

the idea of self-determination may be a culturally relative concept, appropriate for individual societies only

collectivist cultures place greater value on behaviour determined by group needs

therefore, the explanations of behaviour cannot be the same for every culture

Question 21

EVALUATION
challenging research

8

Answer 21

there is research challenging the idea of free will

the free will position received a significant blow from research conducted by Benjamin Libet et al (1983)

they recorded activity in motor areas of the brain before the person had a conscious awareness of the decision to move a finger

in other words the decision to move the finger was simply a ‘read out’ of a pre determined action

follow up research confirmed the findings — for example, Chun Siong Soon et al (2008) found activity in the prefrontal cortex up to 10 seconds before the person was aware of their decision to act

this suggests that our actions are not down to free will, they are actually predetermined

HOWEVER, other researchers have conducted similar studies have reached a different conclusion

for example, Trevena et al (2009) argued that the brain activity was simply readiness to act rather than an intention to move, the brain has not pre determined our action, we still have free will