Outline and Evaluate the free will and determinism debate
- Created by: ashbrook.niamh
- Created on: 23-10-20 10:37
View mindmap
- Outline free will and determinism in psychology
- free will
- we have the power to consciously control and make choices about our thoughts and behaviour
- it doesn't reject the idea that there are external influences on our behaviour (like genes) but instead suggests that we can reject these forces and be masters of our own identity
- advocated by humanistic psychologists such as Rodgers and Maslow
- determinism
- we do not have the power to consciously control thoughts and behaviour. It is controlled by internal and external factors
- there are different types: hard, soft, biological, psychic and environment
- hard determinism
- everything we do is dictated by internal or external forces that we cannot control
- compatible with the aims of science, to uncover the causual explanations that govern behaviour
- soft determinism
- a version of determinism which allows for an element of free will
- advocated by the cognitive approach
- acknowledge that there is cause to human action but does not detract from the freedom to make conscious choices
- a version of determinism which allows for an element of free will
- biological determinism
- belief that behaviour is governed by biological influences like genes and heredity
- genes influence brain structure and neurons, e.g the dopamine hypothesis for sz
- belief that behaviour is governed by biological influences like genes and heredity
- environmental determinism
- behaviour is caused by features of the environment, such as reward systems that we cannot control
- e.g stimulus-reponse actions have been used to develop the cause and treatment of phobias
- behaviour is caused by features of the environment, such as reward systems that we cannot control
- psychic determinism
- behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts in the brain. Freud argues that adult behaviour is shaped by a mix of innate drives and experiences
- e.g if there is a frustration in a psycho-sexual stage then the child will be fixated, leading to specific problems
- behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts in the brain. Freud argues that adult behaviour is shaped by a mix of innate drives and experiences
- evaluation
- has a number of practical applications. The beliief that sz can be caused by an over transmission of dopamine led to the development of antipsychotic drugs
- emphasis on cause and effect has been enabled, can predict and control events
- reduction of explanatory power, unlikely to explain all behaviour. e.g twin studies show there is not 100% concordance for OCD, so there must be an environment factor to it.
- however, it does show that genes have a significant role in it
- incompatible with the legal system, researc into the MOAO gene for aggression suggests behaviour is pre programmed
- therefore have no free will over our aggressive behaviour
- might be wrong for the legal system to punish people for something that was not under their conscious control
- everyday experinece gives the impression that we are exercising free will and gives it face validity
- research into locus of control suggests that people who feel more in control of their own behaviour are more likely to resist the pressure to conform
- so even if we don't have free will it can have a positive impact on behaviour. An interactionist approach would argue that the best stance to take is soft det.
- research into locus of control suggests that people who feel more in control of their own behaviour are more likely to resist the pressure to conform
- has a number of practical applications. The beliief that sz can be caused by an over transmission of dopamine led to the development of antipsychotic drugs
- free will
Comments
No comments have yet been made