Freewill and Determinism

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What is freewill?
Having the power to make your own choices about your behaviour
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What is determinism?
Behaviour is controlled by external or internal factors
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What is hard determinism?
The view that all behaviour can be predicted as freewill is not possible (causal explanation)
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How does hard determinism affect psychological research?
Suggests all human behaviour has a cause, should be able to identify that it+predict behaviour, assumes that everything we think+do is dictated by internal+external forces
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What is soft determinism?
The view that behaviour does have causes but there is an element of freewill
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How does soft determinism affect psychological research?
Suggests that people have some conscious mental control over their behaviour, features in the cognitive approach, can study many determining forces on our behaviour+consider freedom to make choices
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What is biological determinism?
The belief that behaviour is caused by biological influences
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What is environmental determinism?
The belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment
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What is psychic determinism?
The belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts
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What is scientific determinism?
Argues every event in the universe has a cause, can construct laws to explain behaviour+predict/control events in future
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If it can be argued that human behaviour is deterministic, what is the benefit for the field of psychology?
Determinism consistent with aims of science+places psychology on the same level as other established sciences,can develop treatments+therapies
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Studies into OCD have found a 68% concordance rate for MZ twins. What does this tell us about biological determinism?
Shows that although there is a genetic vulnerability, there must be another additional cause
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What does a 68% concordance rate for MZ twins tell us about environmental determinism?
MZ concordance rates are always higher than DZ concordance rates shows that genetics are important so environment is not sole cause of behaviour
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The idea of determinism is not consistent with the way our legal system works. Why not?
Criminals are usually held personally+morally accountable for their crimes, only when a defendant has not been able to act under their own freewill is diminished responsibility used
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Freewill and moral responsibility
Assumed that all ‘normal’ adult behaviour is self-determined, we’re accountable for our actions, law states that children+mentally ill don’t have this responsibility
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How do you think locus of control has been linked to freewill and mental health?
Internal LoC believe they have high level of control over their own lives/behaviours+better mental health, found adolescents with strong belief in fatalism at greater risk of depression
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Some have suggested that freewill is just an illusion. What do you think this means?
Skinner argues that being able to decide between different course of action is not freewill but may give us the illusion of having freewill
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Study to support this assertion
Recorded activity in motor cortex before a person had a conscious awareness of decision to move finger, brain activity comes before we have knowledge of decision to make movement
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What is determinism?

Back

Behaviour is controlled by external or internal factors

Card 3

Front

What is hard determinism?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

How does hard determinism affect psychological research?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What is soft determinism?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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