Free Will vs Determinism

FREE WILL:

• Suggests that human beings are self-determining 
• We choose our own thoughts and actions 
• Doesn't deny a belief in biological or environmental forces that affect our behaviour
• Advocated by the Humanistic Approach

DETERMINISM: 

• Says that free will has no place in explaining behaviour 
• Two versions of determinism: 

1) HARD DETERMINISM: --> All human behaviour has a cause and we should be able to identify these causes. Always assumes that everything we think/do is dictated by internal/external forces we cannot control. This is in line with the aims of science. Some think its too extreme a position. 

2) SOFT DETERMINISM: --> Important in the cognitive approach. Acknowledges that human behaviour has a cause but also suggests room for manoeuvre in that people have mental control over how they want to behave. Philosopher William James said that its the job of scientists to find the governing forces that act upon us, but doesn't take away from the freedom we have to make rational conscious choices. 

TYPES OF DETERMINISM: 

BIOLOGICAL DETERMINISM: 

• Biological approach 
• Role of biology on our behaviour (e.g. the autonomic nervous system on stress responses) 
  
• Behaviours/characteristics have a genetic basis (e.g. mental disorders) 
• Effect of hormones can change behaviour (e.g. testosterone in aggressive behaviour) 
• Also recognises affect of the environment (nature-nurture debate) but then double-determined. 

ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM: 

• Behaviourist approach
• All behaviour is a result of conditioning. 
  
• Behaviour has been shaped by environmental events (teachers, peers, family etc...) 

PSYCHIC DETERMINISM: 

• Psychodynamic approach
• Places more emphasis on biological instincts - behaviour due to unresolved conflicts from childhood. 
  

FREE WILL: FOR 

• Everyday experiences tell us we have free will 
  
• Face validity 
• Research shows that people with a high Internal Locus Of Control have better mental health
• Roberts et al showed that teenagers with a strong belief in fatalism were at a greater risk of developing depression. 
• This shows that even if we do not have free will, the concept that we do may positively affect our mind and behaviour. 
  

FREE WILL: AGAINST

• Neurological studies have shown evidence against free will 
• Libet in 1985 and Chun Siong Soon 2008 found that the brain activity that determines the outcome of a choice predates the conscious knowledge of having made that choice. 
• Researchers found that brain activity related to whether or not to push a button with the left or right hand occurs in the brain up to 10 seconds before ppts reported being aware of having made a decision. 
• Basically, your brain knows before you do what choice you're going to make. 
  
• Even our most basic experiences of free will are determined by our brain before we're aware of them. 

DETERMINISM: FOR

• Consitant with the aims of science 
  
• Places psychology on equal footing with more established sciences
  
• Research into prediction and control of behaviour has lead to treatments, therapies and behavioural interventions 
  
• E.g. Psychotherapeutic treatment for schizophrenia. 
• Disorders such as schizophrenia where sufferers experience a loss of control over their thoughts gives doubt to the notion of free will - no one would choose to have this disorder. 

DETERMINISM: AGAINST 

• The idea that individual stance has no control over behaviour doesn't fit with our legal system. 
  
• In a court of law, offenders are held morally accountable for their behaviour
• Determinism is also unfalsifiable --> impossible to prove wrong 
• May not be as scientific as at first appears