free will vs determinism

Cards (24)

  • what is a debate?
    • process that involves formal discussion on certain topic
    • within psych each debate asks to decide which side of debate contributes more to understanding of human behaviour
  • main question?
    • which has more influence on our behaviour? - free will/determinism
  • define free will?
    • ability to behave in way we want
    • this is the means that we have freedom of choice & not that biological/environmental factors determine our behaviour
  • example of free will?
    • humanistic approach
    • says that we choose our behaviour such as ability to self actualise & its not predetermined by other factors
  • define determinism?
    • opposes idea of free will
    • our behaviour is controlled by other forces & we dont have free will
    • can be biological factors/learning/thoughts that determine behaviour
  • 2 ranges of determinism?
    1. hard
    2. soft
  • 3 types of determinism?
    1. biological
    2. environmental
    3. psychic
  • hard determinism?
    • takes an extreme stance & suggests behaviour is completely out of our control
    • we have no free will at all
    • our behaviour is always caused by internal & external forces out of our control
  • example of hard determinism?
    • biological approach to explaining aggression says were aggressive due to having maoa-l gene which is biological so we are predetermined to have it
  • soft determinism?
    • less extreme stance
    • still says our behaviour is determined but we have a say over it
    • suggests behaviour is still caused but by their own conscious desires
  • example of soft determinism?
    • social learning theory
    • we go through mediational processes that are predetermined but peoples motivation for learning may be different so may not choose to learn it
  • biological determinism?
    • suggests out biology controls out behaviour
    • genetics/brain/biochem
  • example of biological determinism?
    • aggression
    • if you have abnormality in limbic system (amygdala) then youre more likely to be aggressive - neural factors control our aggression
  • environmental determinism?
    • behaviour is determined by/controlled by environmental influences
    • association/reinforcements
  • example of environmental determinism?
    • psychopathalogy
    • phobias are acquired through classical conditioning as we associate phobic object with frightening experience
    • maintain it through negative reinforcement
    • shows behaviour & phobias are controlled by our environment
  • psychic determinism?
    • behaviour is controlled by unconscious mind
    • experiencing traumatic events in childhood
  • example of psychic determinism?
    • psychodynamic approach
    • if you have fixation in childhood youll be chainsmoker/nail biter
    • shows our behaviour is controlled by unconscious mind
  • scientific emphasis on causal relationships?
    • determinism is all about causation
    • must show behaviour has been caused by something else thats not within persons control
    • to do this use scientific method
    • use empirical methods so theres control - lab exp/brain scans
    • all evs controlled so iv only thing affecting dv
    • can establish cause & effect relationship between iv & dv
    • first construct theory
    • generate hypothesis around this theory
    • test hypothesis carrying out empirical methods
    • if theres significant effect can be argued theres causal relationship so can say that thing CAUSED our behaviour
  • example of causal relationship?
    • biopsych
    • brain scans used as empirical methods to study localisation of brain
    • can be scientifically tested to find cause & effect relationship
    • we ca say language production is localised in brocas area
  • 3 * of determinism?
    1. predict future & prevent undesirable behaviour
    2. evidence to support from beeman - biological
    3. evidence to support from pavlov - environmental
  • X defends criminal behaviour - biological?
    • taking bio stance can be argued that someone with defective MAOA-L gene which is linked to causing agg in males & could further lead to someone committing murder due to being agg
    • people can use this as an explanation for criminality changing whether people can be held accountable for their own actions as its predetermined by bio
    • problem is that people may used bio det to defend criminal behaviour
    • doesnt account for free will & that we could choose our course of behaviour
  • * evidence to support from beeman?
    • castrated male mice which lowered levels of testosterone - resulted in mice being less agg
    • later reinjected them with testosterone & became more agg
    • shows hormone testosterone plays role in controlling agg behaviour
    • some validity to det stance
    • has been empirically measured using blood tests/brain scans to determine bio cause of behaviour
    • shows bio does at least in part govern some of our human behaviour & not in our control
  • * predict future behaviour?
    • can predict those who will be agg by looking at media theyre exposed to & if they play violent video games
    • can prevent this agg by putting restrictions on games & limiting number of hours they play
    • environmental det has allowed us to understand cause of agg
    • beneficial approach as it allows us to practically apply what weve learnt from causal relationships to help people in real world
  • * evidence to support from pavlov?
    • identified from study into classical conditioning people learn through association
    • envir det suggests behaviour is predetermined by envir such as dogs learnt conditioned response rather than being innate behaviour born with
    • findings applied to humans with behavioural studies
    • some validity - studies been conducted in controlled envir adding scientific rigor to claims
    • shows behaviour is predetermined & modified by envir
    • so reinforcement & association do at least in part govern some human behaviours such as development of phobias & not under our control