free will and determinism

what is the debate

Considers the extent to which behaviour is a matter of free will (selected without constraint) or a product of a set internal or/and external factors 

free will theory

• We are self-determining - our actions are voluntary and we have freedom of choice.

• The notion that humans can make choices and are not determined by biological (internal) or environmental (external) forces.

  • They exert some influence on behaviour but we are able to reject these forces if we wish due to our control of our thoughts/behaviour

• There are no restraints on choice from the options available and we may choose not to choose any of the presented options.

• Moral responsibility and our criminal justice system is based on the idea that we are in charge of our own actions (so exercise free will).

• Humanistic psychology – Rogers (1959) claims that as long as our behaviour is determined by external or internal forces we cannot take responsibility.

deterministic theory

• The assumption that people cannot be held responsible for their actions because their behaviour is determined (caused) by external or internal factors acting outside their control.

• Hard determinism:

  • Free will is not possible

  • Behaviour always caused by internal (biological) or external (environmental) factors that we cannot control

  • All human behaviour has a cause - we should be able to identify these causes

  • Compatible with aims of science - to uncover causal laws that govern thought and action

• Soft determinism:

  • First suggested by William James 1980

  • Human behaviour has a cause but is also determined by conscious choices over how we behave

  • While science can explain the determining causes that act upon us, within that, we have freedom to make rational conscious choices

what is biological determinism

Behaviour is influenced by biological factors beyond the individual's control.

Such as influence of ANS on stress response

Modern biological psychologists would recognise the mediating influence of environment on biological structures

• Genetics: Some behaviours may have genetic components, but no single gene guarantees a behaviour. Suggests soft determinism rather than hard determinism.

• Neuroanatomy: Specific brain areas affect behaviour; damage can alter behaviour beyond control.

• Neurochemistry: Chemical processes (e.g., dopamine in schizophrenia, testosterone in aggression) influence behaviour, though drugs can modify them, making it less deterministic.

what is environmental determinism

Behaviour is shaped by external environmental factors beyond an individual’s control.

All behaviour is result of conditioning - although we think we are acting independently, our choice is merely the sum of reinforcement contingencies

• Social environment can strongly influence behaviour (e.g., conformity and obedience).

Learning approaches:

• Behaviourist Approach: Behaviourism is highly deterministic - stimuli trigger predictable responses (classical & operant conditioning).

• Social Learning Theory Approach : Less deterministic since cognition mediates behaviour (e.g. if the motivation is not there or they are unable to reproduce the behaviour at that time, it will not automatically occur).

what is psychic determinism

Behaviour is governed by unconscious conflicts and drives beyond an individual’s control - repressed in childhood

• Associated with the psychodynamic approach (Freud).

• Every action has an unconscious cause, often unknown to the individual.

• Everyday errors such as Freudian slips reveal unconscious influences on behaviour. 

scientific emphasis on causal explanations

• Science places an emphasis on causal explanations because the aim of scientific research is to identify cause and effect relationships between variables to predict and control events in future.

• If researchers control all extraneous variables and manipulate an independent variable, any change in the dependent variable suggests that the independent variable caused the change in behaviour.

• This is considered scientific because the controlled conditions allow researchers to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the IV and DV.

• This links to determinism, as behaviour is assumed to have identifiable causes that can be measured and tested.

• Correlational research, however, cannot establish cause and effect because variables are only measured rather than manipulated. Hence, it can be argued to be less scientific, as it can only show relationships between variables rather than causality.

strengths of determinism

• Determinism is consistent with the aims of science.

• The determinist view of schizophrenia and a number of other mental disorders has led to the development of successful treatments for these disorders.

  • For example, if schizophrenia (SZ) is biologically determined (i.e., through genes and neurotransmitters) treatments should target these biological systems.

  • For example, Leucht et al. (2012) found that 64% of SZ patients who were on a placebo relapsed compared to 27% of those who were on the antipsychotic drug.

• The success of this treatment would suggest that this behaviour would appear to be determined.

strengths of free will (2)

• Strength of free will is its practical value

• Thinking we exercise conscious free will in everyday life can improve mental health

• Roberts et al 2000 looked at adolescents who had strong belief in fatalism - their lives were decided by events outside of their control

• Study found that these adolescents were at significantly greater risk of developing depression

• Seems that people who exhibit external rather than internal locus of control are less likely to be optimistic

 

• The idea of ‘free will’ feels intuitively correct, and therefore the concept has face validity.

• The subjective experience of most people is that they are in some way in control of their own actions and behaviours.

• Humanistic psychology acknowledges this feeling and is one of the few approaches to adopt a free will perspective on behaviour.

• Carl Rogers’ client-centred therapy is based on the notion of free will in that people are seen as being free to effect change in their lives by choosing to see their situation differently.

• Having removed psychological barriers that may have prevented personal growth, people are then free to work towards their potential (self-actualisation).

weakness of determinism (2)

• One limitation of determinism is the position of the legal system on responsibility

• Hard determinist stance is that individual choice is not the cause of behaviour - not consistent with the way our legal system operates

• In court of law, offenders are held responsible of their actions

• Main principle of our legal system is that a defendant exercised their free will in committing the crime - suggests in real world, determinist arguments don't work

g

• It is doubtful that 100% genetic determinism (or 100% environmental determinism) will ever be found for any behaviour.

  • For example, studies of SZ that compare monozygotic (MZ – genetically identical – share 100% of their genes) twins have found a concordance rate of 40.4% (Joseph, 2004).

• In other words, if one twin has SZ there is only approximately a 40% chance that the other twin will be the same.

• While this data is, of course, significant, it does suggest that genes do not entirely determine behaviour.

• Additionally, the concordance rates referred to above equally show that environment cannot be the sole determining factor in behaviour; there is at least some genetic input.

weakness of free will (2)

• One limitation of free will is that brain scan evidence does not support it but does support determinism

• Libet et al 1983 instructed ppts to choose random moment to flick their wrist while he measured brain activity

• Ppts had to say when they felt the conscious will to move

• Libet found that unconscious brain activity lead to the conscious decision to move

• This may be interpreted as meaning that even our most basic experiences of free will are actually determined by our brain before we are aware of them

• Free will is impossible to test. It is a non-physical phenomenon and as such is difficult to quantify and measure.

• As psychology is a science, the idea that something without a physical presence can affect behaviour is at odds with the discipline.

• This means that a resolution of the debate is not currently likely.

• If, at some point in the future, measurement becomes possible, the scientific discipline of psychology may be able to resolve the debate.

• Of course, the argument is that free will is not measurable because it does not exist.