free will vs determinism

• 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