Free will vs determinism

• What is free will?

  Humanistic psychologists claim that humans have self-determination and free-will. They claim that behaviour is not the result of any single cause.
• what are the 5 types of determinism?

  psychic, hard, soft, biological and environmental
• what is psychic determinism?

  this links to the psychodynamic approach. Freud believes that free will is an illusion, and emphasises biological drives and instincts. Behaviour is determined by unconscious conflicts repressed in childhood.
• what is hard determinism?

  forces out of our control shape our behaviour
• what is soft determinism?


  behaviour is determined but there is room for manoeuvre.
• what is biological determinism?

  there is emphasis on the role of biological in behaviour, suggesting that behaviour is innate and is caused by biological factors which we have no control over.
• what is environmental determinism?

  Skinner described free will as an illusion. All behaviours are the result of conditioning. Behaviour is shaped by environmental events and agents of socialisation.
• what is the positive of determinism?

  determinism is consistent with the aims of science. Behaviour is orderly meaning that we can predict and prevent behaviour. Determinism has led to the development of many treatments that are beneficial (antipsychotic drugs for schizophrenia)
• what is the positive of free will?

  It plays an important role in behaviour. People with an internal locus of control tend to be more mentally healthy. If we think we have free will, it can have a positive impact on our mind and behaviour.
• negative of determinism

  the view is not consistent with how the legal system works. Offenders are held responsible for their own actions, so we therefore can’t blame DNA or the environment. This suggests the difficulty in proving that behaviour is definitely the result of determinism.