Free will and determinism

• Free will

  Humans can make choices and are not determined by biological or external forces
• Determinism

  Behaviour is controlled by internal or external forces rather than an individual's will
• Hard determinism

  free will is not possible as behaviour is always caused by internal or external events beyond our control
• soft determinism

  all events have causes but behaviour can be determined by our conscious choices in the absence of coercion
• Biological determinism

  Behaviour cause by internal biological factors

  e.g. genes, neurochemicals, brain structure and hormones
• environmental determinism

  Behaviour caused by external forces in the environment

  e.g. reinforcement and punishment
• Psychic determinism

  Unconscious forces and innate drives control behaviour
• Basis behind the debate

  Do we have conscious choice over our behaviour or is it determined by internal or external forces
• Who stated that free will is an illusion

  skinner + freud

  we may think we are acting independently but our behaviour has been shaped by socialisation from teacher, parents etc
• Example of determinism

  Cognitive approach - acknowledges that all human actions has a cause but In the absence of coercion our behaviour can be determined by conscious choices.
• Example of free will

  Humanistic approach - advocates free will as we are all self determining and free to choose our thoughts + actions.

  It doesn't completely dismiss internal or external forces
• Explain why science places an emphasis on causal explanation

  • Scientific research is based on the view that all events have a cause
  • Researcher manipulates the IV to see its effects on the DV + they control for extraneous variables. They do this to isolate the causal variable
  • Knowing the cause allows scientist to control + predict events in the future
  • E.g. Harlow looked at whether a monkey would form an attachment with a wire mother with milk or a cloth mother. The study showed that contact comfort determined the attachment and not food
• which approaches take an interactionist stance to the debate and why?

  • approaches that have cognitive element adopt a soft determinist position
  • e.g. bandura's social learning theory involves environmental influences through role models. However mediating processes mean an individual can decide who + what to attend to and if to repeat a certain behaviour
  • Therefore, an interactionist approach may provide the best compromise in the debate
• Strength for determinism

  P: consistent with the aims of science

  Ex: the notion that human behaviour is orderly + obeys the laws places psych on equal footing with other more established sciences

  Exp: the value of such research is that the prediction + control of human behaviour has led to the development of treatments, therapies and behaviour interventions such as a pyschotherapeutic drug treatment controlling schizophrenia

  L: In terms of mental illness, behaviour would appear to be determined
• Weakness for determinism

  P: Despite its scientific credentials, determinism as an approache is unfalsifiable

  Ex: Its based on the idea that causes of behaviour will always exist, even though they may not yet have been found

  Exp: As a basic principle, its impossible to prove wrong

  l: Suggests that the determinist approach to human behaviour may not be as scientific as it first appears
• Strength for free will

  P: aligns with subjective human experience, as individuals feel in control of their decisions

  Ex: humanistic psychologists like Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow argue that personal growth and self-actualization are only possible if individuals have the ability to make free choices in their lives.

  Exp: people who believe they have control over their lives (an internal locus of control) tend to be more motivated and mentally healthy.

  l:practical applications in therapy, education, and personal development, reinforcing its validity as a psychological concept.
• Weakness for free will

  P: difficult to scientifically test, making it less credible as a psychological explanation.

  Ex: Libet conducted a study using brain scans and found that unconscious brain activity (readiness potential) occurred before participants reported making a conscious decision to move their wrist.

  Exp: decisions may be determined by biological processes before we become aware of them, undermining the idea that we have full control over our actions.
• Weakness for free will LINK

  l: concept of free will may be an illusion as neuroscience provides evidence that unconscious processes drive decision-making, challenging the validity of free will in psychology