Free will and determinism

• What is free will?


  The notion that humans can make choices and are not determined by biological or external factors. This is a view of human behaviour that is advocated by the humanistic approach.
• What is determinism?


  The view that an individual's behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external factors rather than an individual's will to do something.
• What is hard determinism?

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


  All events, including human behaviour, have causes, but behaviour can also be determined by our conscious choices in the absence of coercion. In contrast with hard determinism.
• What is biological determinism?

  The belief that behaviour is caused by biological (genetic, hormonal, evolutionary) influences that we cannot control. The biological approach emphasises the role of biological determinism in behaviour.
• What is environmental determinism?


  The belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment (such as systems of reward and punishment) that we cannot control. Skinner famously described free will as 'an illusion' and argued that all behaviour is the result of conditioning.
• What is psychic determinism?

  The belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we cannot control. Freud agreed that free will is an 'illusion' but placed much more emphasis on the influence of biological drives and instincts than behaviourism.
• AO3 - Determinism simplifies human behaviour:

  This may be appropriate for non-humans but human behaviour is less rigid and influenced by many factors. For example, aggression cannot be simplified to the action of the endocrine system and adrenaline. There are cognitive factors and accompanying emotions which are just as, or more important, than the biological aspects.
• AO3 - A determinist position may be used for people to try and justify behaviours if they have committed a crime:

  This would be undesirable as it excuses their behaviour. Therefore, a hard deterministic stance is not in line with the principles of the judicial system, which sees individuals as taking moral responsibility for their actions.
• AO3 - Challenges to the idea of free will:

  Libet et al. (1983) recorded activity in motor areas of the brain before the person had a conscious awareness to move their finger. Chun Soon et al. (2008) found activity in the prefrontal cortex up to 10 seconds before a person was aware of their decision to act. This suggests that the motor activity preceding movement occurred before the conscious decision was made, and so implies that all behaviour is pre-determined by up to 10 seconds.
• AO3 - Free will has high internal validity:


  Robert et al. found that adolescents with an internal locus of control are less likely to develop depression and are more likely to have better mental health, compared to those with an external locus of control. These differences in LOC and mental health states supports the idea that free will can be used to help us determine what controls our life events, and so we make such conscious decisions.