Free will and determinism

• free will is the idea humans have control over their choices and are not determined by internal or external forces
• determinism is the view that behavior is controlled or shaped by internal or external forces rather than their own free will
• hard determinism or fatalism is the idea that all human behavior is strictly controlled by external and internal forces beyond our control
• hard determinism allows causes of behavior to be identified, this is followed by behaviorist and biological approach
• soft determinism is idea that all behavior has a cause however behavior can be determined by our conscious choices
• three types of determinism are biological, environmental, psychic
• biological determinism refers to idea that behavior is determined by biology such as genetics, hormones and evolutionary influences
• example of biological determinism is genetic basis in mental disorders, hormones in aggression and in autonomic nervous system in stress
• environmental determinism is idea behavior is caused by features of the environment such as reward systems which we cant control
• BF skinner claims free will is an illusion, created by conditioning reinforced throughout life
• psychic determinism is idea behavior is caused by unconscious psychodynamic conflicts we cannot control
• psychodynamic conflicts include biological drive, instincts, repressed trauma
• Sigmund Freud agrees free will is an illusion but emphasis more on biological drives and instincts such as repressed trauma in childhood
• basic principle of science is that everything has a cause, knowldge of causes can help predict or control events
• hard determinism is seen as scientific because it views all behavior as being caused by internal or externa forces therefore predictable
• strength of free will is positive impact, having free will or the illusion can improve mental health, study completed on adolescents with high fatalism were more likely to develop depression. suggests having free will or believing in it has a positive impact
• another strength is free will can be positive for people, people who come from a family with criminal backgrounds can be assured they wont have to share the same fate, gives people an optimistic view of their future and helps them be happier
• strength of determinism is that it has positive impact on psychology, determinist arguments helped establish psychology as a science which can be applied effectively to real world applications. this means determinist viewpoint has value
• weakness of determinist is the position in legal system on responsibility, determinist viewpoint doesnt hold offenders accountable which does not work in legal system, offenders exercised free will to commit crime. suggests that in legal system determinist arguments dont work
• evaluating deterministic


  100% genetic determinism is unlikely for behavior, MZ twins have 80% intelligence similarity and 40% depression similarity, suggest genes dont entirely determine behavior and supports interactionist viewpoint, MZ twins concordance rate may be higher not only due to 50% same genes but the environment