Issues and Debates (Free Will vs Determinism)

Question 1

What’s Free Will??

Answer 1

Humans are self-determining and free to choose their thoughts and actions.
Belief in it doesn’t deny biological and environmental forces influencing behaviour, but implies we can reject them

Question 2

What’s Determinism??

Answer 2

Free Will doesn’t explain behaviour because we have no choice in our actions

Question 3

What’s Hard Determinism??

Answer 3

All behaviour is dictated by internal and external forces we can’t control, Free Will is impossible

Question 4

What’s Soft Determinism??

Answer 4

All behaviour has determining factors but we have some room for choice.

Question 5

What does Biological Determinism argue??

Answer 5

• All human behaviour is innate (determined by genes, brain physiology or biochemistry)
• Physiological & neurological processes influence behaviour (not in our control)

Question 6

What’s an example of Biological Determinism??

Answer 6

Behaviour of people with mental disorders is said to have genetic basis

Question 7

What type of determinism is Biological Determinism??

Answer 7

Hard

Question 8

What’s environmental determinism and who supported it??

Answer 8

• Skinner said free will is ‘an illusion’
• Said all behaviour is result of conditioning
• Behaviour is due to reinforcement

Question 9

What does environmental determinism state that our behaviour has been shaped by??

Answer 9

Environmental events and agents of socialisation (e.g. parents and teachers)

Question 10

What’s psychic determinism and who supported it??

Answer 10

• Freud agreed free will is like ‘an illusion’
• But unlike behaviourists, he emphasised influence of biological drives and instincts
• Human behaviour is determined by unconscious conflicts, repressed in childhood

Nothing is an accident, everything is explained by the unconscious

Question 11

Give an example of 3 approaches from hard determinism to soft determinism!

Answer 11

Hard -> Biological
Middle -> Psychodynamic
Soft -> Behaviourist

Question 12

What are the 3 evaluation points for Free Will vs Determinism??

Answer 12

• Positive impact of belief in Free Will
• Contradictory research of Free Will
• Free Will isn’t universal

Question 13

What is the positive impact of belief in Free Will?? (AO3)

Answer 13

Roberts et al (2000) -> Found adolescents with strong belief in hard determinism were more likely to develop depression.

Meaning Free Will belief has positive impact on mind and behaviour

Question 14

What is the contradictory research against Free Will?? (AO3)

Answer 14

Soon et al (2008) -> Found ppts brains made the choice to push a button (on the left or right) up to 10 seconds before they were consciously aware of it.

Shows that behaviour is determined by brains before we are aware of it

Question 15

Why isn’t Free Will universal?? (AO3)

Answer 15

Mental disorders have a range of symptoms in which the patient experiences lack of control.
In some cases, patients report complete loss of control or loss of STM.

Free Will isn’t universal because people with mental disorders don’t have Free Will but rather have behaviour determined by their mental disorders.