Free Will vs Determinism

Describe “free will”

• Suggests that we as humans are able to choose our own thoughts and behaviour

  • Doesn’t completely ignore the role of biology or environment but instead suggests we can override these forces

  • Advocated by humanistic psychologists such as Rogers & Maslow

Describe “determinism”

• Determinism proposes that we do not have conscious control over our thoughts and behaviour

  • Instead our behaviour is controlled by internal or external factors acting upon us

Give the two versions of determinism

• Hard determinism

• Soft determinism

Describe ‘hard determinism’

• Suggests that all human behaviour has an identifiable cause

• Everything we think/do is dictated by internal or external forces we cannot consciously control

  • This is an extreme position but is compatible with aims of science - to uncover casual explanations that govern thoughts and behaviour

• Important feature of the biological approach

Describe ‘soft determinism’

• Allows for some element of free will

  • Acknowledges that all human actions have a cause but suggests people have some conscious mental control over their behaviour and that we are capable of making rational choices

• Importance feature of the cognitive approach

Give the 3 types of determinism

• Biological

• Environmental

• Psychic

Describe biological determinism

• Behaviour is caused by brain structure, biochemistry and genetics

  • Genes influence brain structure and neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine are implicated in a range of behaviours

Describe an example of biologcial determinism

• The SERT and the COMPT genes are responsible for the imbalance of neurotransmitters found in OCD

  • SERT gene - involved in the transportation of serotonin

    • Low serotonin levels means a person is more likely to get OCD

    • SERT gene mutates which causes lower levels of serotonin

Describe environmental determinism

• Behaviour is caused by environmental factors such as learnt associations and conditioning

Give an example of environmental determinism

• Aggression is learnt via the observation of aggressive role models in the environment

  • Aggressive behaviour is more likely to be displayed if role model is rewarded and vice versa if it is punished

Describe psychic determinism

• Freud argued that adult behaviour is shaped by a mix of innate drives and early experience that we cannot control

AO3 - the case FOR determinism

• One advantage is that it has led to a number of practical explanations

  • E.g., the theory that Sz is caused by the neurotransmitters dopamine (the dopamine hypothesis) has led to the development antipsychotic medication such as clozapine and chlorpromazine

    • These drugs block dopamine receptors (particularly D2 receptors) to reduce the transmission of dopamine

  • These drugs have been proven to be an effective way of reducing schizophrenic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions

    • Thornley (2003): studied over 1000 patients and found that chlorpromazine was associated with better overall functioning

• This suggests that the deterministic emphasis on cause & effect has enabled researchers to predict and control events

AO3 - the case AGAINST determinism

• It appears that neither internal nor external forces on their own can explain all behaviour

  • Studies have found that MZ twins have a concordance rate of around 40% for Sz compared to only 7% for DZ

    • The fact that concordance rates are not 100% for MZ twins suggests genes alone do not entirely determine these behaviours

    • However, these studies do show that genes seem to play a significant part in these behaviours so the environment cannot be the sole determining factor in these behaviours either

• This is a problem since it is unlikely that complex behaviours such as Sz or OCD are caused by one single factor

AO3 - the case FOR free will

• Free will has face validity

  • It is not based on scientific evidence but everyday experience does ‘give the impression’ that we are exercising free will through the choices we make

  • This means the concept has face validity and therefore is plausible

• Research has found that people feel in control of their own behaviour are more likely to be able to resist pressures to confront,

  • Robertson (2000): demonstrated that adolescents with a strong belief in fatalism (that their lives are decided by events outside of their control) were at a significantly greater risk of developing depression

• This suggests that even if we do not have free will, thinking we have free will can have a positive impact on our behaviour

AO3 - the case AGAINST free will

• The experience of mental disorders such as Sz where sufferers experience a total loss of control casts doubt on the concept of free will

  • It seems unlikely that someone would choose to have Sz

  • In terms of mental illness, behaviours would appear to be determined and that free will may well be an illusion

• Free will is a subjective notion and just because people believe they have free will does not necessarily mean that they do

  • Free will is also inconsistent with the assumptions of science (that all physical events have a cause) since it implies that behaviour is random and without a cause