Paper 3 - Issues and Debates AO3

Question 1

What is a strength of free will regarding supporting evidence ?

Answer 1

• Evidence it has a positive impact.
• Roberts et al. (2000) found that individuals with a strong belief in fatalism (the belief that their lives were decided by events outside of their control) were at a significantly greater risk of developing depression.
• This suggests that, even if we do not have free will, the belief that we do may positively affect our mental health.

Question 2

What is a limitation of free will regarding evidence against the concept?

Answer 2

• Neurological studies have found evidence against free will.
• Libet et al. (1983) instructed participants to choose a random moment to flick their wrist while he measured activity in their brain. He found that unconscious brain activity leading up to a decision to move occurred around half a second before participants felt the conscious will to move.
• This may suggest that even our most basic experiences of free will are actually determined by brain processes before we are aware of them.

Question 3

What is a strength of determinism regarding its ability to lead to lead to treatments ?

Answer 3

• Has led to useful treatments for psychological disorders.
• For example, antipsychotic drugs have been developed to control dopamine activity and manage symptoms of schizophrenia.
• The idea that behaviour follows causal laws also places psychology on an equal footing with other sciences, supporting its scientific credibility.

Question 4

What is a limitation of determinism regarding its incompatibility with real life?

Answer 4

• Hard determinism conflicts with the legal system.
• Offenders are held morally responsible for their actions, except in cases like the ‘Law of Diminished Responsibility’, where it’s assumed they did not act with free will (e.g., due to mental illness).
• This suggests hard determinism does not align with how society attributes legal and moral responsibility