Issues and Debates

• Determinism is the idea that behaviours are set by causes outside of our control
• Science depends on causal explanations so much of psychology attempts to understand human behaviour through causal explanations. These theories can then be scientifcially tested
• A strength of free will is that it has face validty, most people believe they have free will and that they have a choice in how to behave
• Fmri scans have shown though that free will may be an illusion, decision detected behaviour conscious even aware
• Deterministic approach has allowed us to formulate treatments for many ilnesses such as OCD and schizophrenia, this has great implications for economy
• Psychic determinism is the idea that behaviour is determined by conflicts in the unconscious mind