free will and determinism

• free will 


  you are in control of your own behaviours
• determinism 


  external forces control you behaviour you have no control
• biological determinism 


  biological sources implement your behaviour for example genes, hormones
• strengths of determinism 


  scientific helpful in predicting future behaviours
• weakness of determinism 


  doesn't align within our legal system, being held accountable for your own actions
• environmental determinism 


  your behaviour is a result of your environment as displayed through the Skinner box experiment, behaviour is a result of negative reinforcement
• Free will definition

  People are able to choose how to behave- their behaviour isn’t a response to external or biological factors and isn’t influenced by past behaviours
• Comments on free will

  People can explain behaviours in terms of decisions and intentions

  Free will is subjective- someone might think they are choosing how to behaviour

  People with psych disorders don’t appear to have free will e.g OCD not in control of thoughts and feelings
• Determinism

  All the physical events in the universe occur in cause and effect relationships

  Thoughts, beliefs and behaviours are determined by past events and causes

  Scientific view that implies complete knowledge
• Comments on determinism

  Scientific- able to predict future behaviour

  Unfalsifiable- can’t be proved wrong

  No real life application-court of law
• Psychic determinism

  Behaviour determined by unconscious forces
• Biological determinsim

  Behaviour is determined by biological factors e,g genetics and brain structures e.g schizophrenia
• Cognitive determinism

  Behaviour is the result of both free will and determinism looking for patterns of how the brain processes external information

  Acknowledges cognitive processes such as language and reason to make decisions
• enviornmental determinism

  Skinner claimed behaviour is determined by the environment and is the result of punishment and reinforcement
• Humanistic approach

  Free will believe that individuals are in control of their behaviour and are trying to achieve personal growth