Скачать или смотреть ISSUES AND DEBATES REVISION: FREE WILL VS DETERMINISM

PAPER 3 AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY. ISSUES AND DEBATES! A TRICKY ONE TO GET RIGHT! . HOPE THIS HELPS!:) sheet below!:
FREE WILL / DETERMINISM

KEY TERMS and KEY POINTS

1. FREE WILL = the idea that humans can make choices not dependent on biological or outside forces.
3. HARD DETERMINISM = Implies that free will is not possible, our behaviour is always due to factors beyond our control. This is compatible with science. Because science is CAUSAL. Everything must have prior cause. So choices we make must be based on factors outside of our control.
4. SOFT DETERMINISM = James (19th C) argued that humans have some room for manoeuvre in their thoughts! There are still causal factors they cannot control, but how they think is still free will.
5. BIOLOGICAL DETERMINISM = The idea that behaviour is caused by biological factors. E.g. Stress is controlled by the ANS and pituitary system, and stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. The fight and flight system is in built! You do not control it.
Many disorders have genetic components. Even if we accept that Nature and Nurture are both involved, this only means there are double the amount of determined factors over which we have no control!
6. ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM = Skinner said the idea of free will is an illusion. We are conditioned by our environment, and our behaviours are reinforced by the environment. For example he demonstrated this in the lab, operant conditioning. (rats). We also learn behaviours (Bandura), all of which depend on our environment and what we are exposed to.
7. PSYCHIC DETERMINISM = Freud argued that free will is an illusion also. But he placed emphasis on unconscious factors. He stressed repressed trauma from childhood, and factors such as defence mechanisms which drive our behaviour. All of which we have no control over.

EVALUATION A03
• THE CASE FOR DETERMINISM: Puts Psychology on par with other sciences that demand a determinist universe, and orderly laws of nature. Also this allows research to be conducted into therapies and drugs to control mental illness. / It is hard to say that anyone would ‘choose’ to be Schizophrenic for example, and this casts doubt on free will, as they lose total control of their thoughts and behaviours.
• THE CASE AGAINST DETERMINISM: It is not consistent with our LEGAL system that demands that offenders are morally responsible for their own behaviour.

• THE CASE FOR FREE WILL: Face Validity seems to imply that we do have free will. We choose things to do every day don’t we?. { Our lesson looks at this!} Also those with Interval LOC are less inclined to mental illness such as depression. They feel in control./ This would suggest that even if we do not have free will, believing we do, is good for our mental wellbeing.
• THE CASE AGAINST FREE WILL: Neurological studies in decision making have shown consistent evidence against free will. For example, researchers have found that brain activity about a decision to push a button with the right or left hand, are made up to 10 seconds before P’s report a conscious decision is made.