Free Will vs Determinism

• Free-Will recognises cause and effect in behaviour and the influence of factors such as the environment, but argues that we ourselves direct our behaviour through our own choices and our that our behaviour is voluntary. This is supported by humanistic psychs.
• Determinism strongly advocate cause and effect in which behaviour is determined by our previous experience, genetic makeup, environment and we don't really choose our actions.   
• Hard determinism is the theory that assumes human behaviour is dictated by internal or external forces that we cannot control, therefore, humans do not have genuine free Will or ethical accountability. This is supported by behaviourists.   
• Soft determinism - put forward by William James - is the theory that suggests there are constraints on out behaviour but within these limitations We are free to make some rational conscious choices. This is supported by cognitive psychs.  
• Biological determinism is the belief that behaviour is solely under the influence of genes, hormones and neurotransmitters in which we have no control over. E.g. Someone is aggressive because they have an excess of testosterone in their body, which has been genetically determined (farther may also have been aggressive)  
• Environmental determinism suggests behaviour is shaped by learning - being rewarded and punished for certain behaviours, associating stimuli with response. E.g. Someone has a phobia of dogs because they were knocked over by a dog as a child and has avoided dogs ever since, never un-learning the association.    
• Psychic determinism suggests behaviour is shaped by unconscious conflicts and forces that we are not aware of so even if our descions seem like they are due to free Will, it's just an illusion. E.g. Freud - human behaviour is determined by unconscious conflicts repressed in childhood.  
• Emphasis on casual explanations - To establish influences on behaviour, psychs attempt to use scientific method by controlling all extraneous/confoudning variables as far as possible to ascertain that IV has affected DV 
• S of determinism: Determinism uses scientific method, increasing credibility of psych, allowing predictions to be tested, therefore, treatments for conditions like schizophrenia have been successfully developed. In addition hard determinism (bio + behaviourist approach) has produced many real-world applications. These include therapies and behavioural interventions.
• We of Determinism: has implications on criminal responsibility, suggesting offenders can't be blamed for their crimes as their individual choice isn't the cause of their behaviour which is unacceptable as it doesn't relfect how the legal system operates in which offenders are held responsible for their actions due to excersisng free Will in committing the crime   
• S of free will: has practical value increasing face validity  as on the face of it, it seems like an accurate concept as we think we are excersisng free choice in our everyday lives, therefore improving mental health as well as behaviour - Roberts et al looked at adolescents who had a strong belief in fatalism and found that they had higher risk of developing depression compared to those who don't
• W of free will - brain scan evidence goes against. Libet et al instructed p's to choose a random moment to flick their wrist while he measured 'readiness potential' in their brain. P's had to say when they felt conscious will to move. Found unconscious brain activity up to the event came half a second before p reported their conscious decision. Therefore, most basic experiences of free will are determined before we are even aware.