Determinism

• The theory of determinism suggests that all events are predetermined by prior causes or conditions.
• Free will


  We are able to choose and control our course of actions, we can make our own decisions and act in an unconstricted way
• Free will in research

  • Humanistic approach
• Determinism


  Behaviour is controlled by internal/external factors outside our control, behaviour should be predictable
• Types of Determinism


  • Hard Determinism
  • Soft Determinism
  • Biological Determinism
  • Environmental Determinism
  • Social determinism
  • Psychic Determinism
• Hard Determinism


  The belief that all events, including human actions, have causes and therefore people are not responsible for their actions
• Soft Determinism


  The belief that some actions involve choice, but that choice is limited to a number of options
• Biological Determinism


  The belief that behaviour is caused by biological factors, influences we can't control
• Biological Determinism in research

  • MAOA gene caused aggression
• Environmental Determinism


  The belief that behaviours are caused by features of the environment that we can't control
• Environmental Determinism in research

  • Obedience, operant conditioning
• Social determinism


  The belief that the behaviour is caused by environmental, genetic, unconscious impulses and other influences that determine people to act the way they do, therefore they are not responsible for their actions
• Psychic Determinism


  The belief that the behaviour is caused by unconscious conflict we cannot control
• Psychic Determinism in research

  • Freud's fixations at psychosexual stages
• Free will is unfalsifiable - cannot be tested in an experimental way (no causal relationship) and therefore invalid for psychological research and theory
• Free will is intuitively correct - we know we can make choices and behaviour can be unpredictable, psychology really should incorporate this into research theory
• Scientific emphasis on causal relationship explanations - Psychology NEEDS determinism
• Scientific research based on the idea that all behaviours have a cause that can be identified and measured empirically
• Measurement is needed in order to precisely control and predict human behaviour. IV determines OV in determinism
• Can determinism be used as an excuse for criminals? Should Bradley Waldroup have been found guilty of murder?
• Bradley Waldroup has MAOA gene that causes aggression. Not punished for his crime as not his fault but then released and hurt more people. Does determinism allow this to happen?
• Interactionist stance - as best compromise in this debate that all psychology theories and research need to acknowledge humans use a mix of free will and pre-determined actions in their behaviour
• Theories that don't take an interactionist stance can be seen as of limited use in explaining human behaviour