Behaviours, to an extent, are dictated by forces but have some control through conscious thought processing
Biological Determinism
Set by genetics and biological processes like hormones
Environmental Determinism
Experiences in the world shape behaviour like reinforcement
Psychic Determinism
Innate drives, shaped by childhood experience, form unconscious forces that determine behaviour
Free Will
Individuals consciously decide their behaviours without deterministic constraints
(+/-) A03: Face Validity
Free will has face validity, feeling like they have the ability to choose their own actions, however determinists would argue its an illusion
(+/-) A03: Cause and Effect
Assumes scientific principle of cause and effect, psychologists have been able to predict behaviours such as drug treatments (deterministic)
(+/-) A03: Libet (1983)
EEG research showed "readiness-potential" that appeared to make a decision less than a second before awareness of conscious decision, suggesting conscious choices we experience are an illusion
(+/-) A03: Simplistic
Arguing that behaviour is due to a determining factor is oversimplified, its more accurate to consider behaviour as coming from interplay of multiple factors
