Free will vs determinism

This is the idea that humans are self-determining and free to choose their thoughts & actions. A belief in free will does not wholly deny that there may be biological or environmental factors that exert influence on our behaviour 

But we can reject these forces and control our own destiny. This is advocated by the humanistic approach.

what is the free will side of the debate?

1. The idea that humans are..

2. A belief in free will does not wholly deny…

3. Humans can reject these forces and control their own..

the humanistic debate

what is an example of psychological research that promotes the free will side of the debate?

this suggests that all human behaviour has a cause and that science can identify and describe these causes. psychologists who promote this ideology state that everything that humans do is dictated by internal or external forces that they can’t control.

what is hard determinism?

this suggests that while all human actions have a cause, people do have conscious mental control over the way they act. this is stated by the cognitive approach.

what is soft determinism?

the cognitive approach

what is an example of soft determinism?

our physiological and neurological processes are not under our conscious control.  Behaviours and characteristics have a genetic basis and we are affected by our hormones. This is the basis of the biological approach.

what is biological determinism?

the biological approach

which approach advocates for biological determinism?

our behaviours are conditioned by our environment through the agents of socialisation (parents, teachers, institutions).

this is advocated for by the behaviourist approach

what is environmental determinism?

the behaviourist approach

which approach advocates for environmental determinism?

human behaviour is driven by unconscious conflicts, repressed in childhood - based on the psychodynamic approach. 

what is psychic determinism?

the psychodynamic approach

which approach advocates for psychic determinism?