Free Will Vs Determinism Flashcards
What is determinism?
-all behaviour has a cause and is thus predictable.
-behaviour governed by int/ext forces over which we have no control.
-casual laws of determinism form basis of science.
what are the levels of determinism?
while determinism is the view that we have no control over our behaviour, there are varying degrees of determinism
what is hard determinism?
-forces outside of our control (biology/past experience) shape our behaviour
-incompatible with free will
how do behaviourists link with hard determinism?
-strong believers of hard determinism
-B.F Skinner
-concepts like ‘free will’ and ‘motivation’ are dismissed as illusions that disguise real causes of human behaviour.
skinner and determinism
-skinner say person who commits crime has no real choice
-they’re propelled in the direction by environmental circumstances and a personal history which makes breaking law natural + inevitable.
what happens with law abiders?
-accumulation of reinforcers has opposite effect
-having being rewarded for following rules in past so does so in future
-no moral eval or mental calc , under stimulus control
what is soft determinism?
-behaviour constrained by environment or biological make-up but only to certain extent.
-middle ground
-ppl do have a choice but its constrained by int/ext factor
-e.g being poor doesn’t make u steal but ur more likely to
what was Nick Heathers (1976) view on soft determinism?
-some behaviours more constrained than others and that there is an element of free will in all behaviour.
-Nick proposed while behaviour predictable doesn’t make it inevitable.
-we choose how to behave , but normally we only have limited of behaviours to choose from
whats a problem with determinism?
-inconsistent with society’s ideas of responsibility and self-control that form basis four moral and legal obligations.
-psychologists can’t predict persons behaviour with 100% accuracy due to complex interaction of variables that can influence behaviour.
whats environmental determinism?
-type of external determinism
-sees cause of behaviour as being outside the individual such as parental influence, media or school.
-approaches that adopt this position include behaviourism and SLT.
whats biological determinism?
-type of internal determinism
-all human behaviour is innate and determined by genes
what did research into human genome provide?
-provides evidence to support biological determinism.
-research found particular gene (IGF2r) is implicated in intelligence (Hill et al)
what did Chorley et al report?
reported statistically significant association between IQ test scores and the IGF2r gene or chromosome six, suggesting the intelligence is to some extent biologically determined.
this view sees us no more than biological machines and even consciousness itself interpreted as a level of arousal in nervous system.
what is psychic determinism?
-claims human behaviour result of childhood experiences and innate drives (ID,Ego,Superego)-Freud
-Freud also viewed behaviour as being controlled from inside the individual through unconscious motivation or childhood events.
-Freud used this to explain phenomena like ‘slips of the toungue’ (“Freudian slips”), dreams + symptoms of mental disorders. All have meaningful explanations rooted in individuals unconscious mind.
what is free will?
-notion that humans can make choices that aren’t determined by biological or external forces.
-we can play an active role and have choice in how we behave.
individuals are free to choose their behaviour and are self-determined
