Free Will and Determinism

Free Will: The notion that humans can make choices and that their behaviour/ thoughts are not determined by biological or external forces. It is advocated by the humanistic approach.

Determinism: The view that an individual’s behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces rather than an individual’s will to do something

Hard Determinism: The view that all behaviour is caused by something (internal or external factors), and so free will is an illusion i.e. fatalistic

Soft Determinism: The view that behaviour may be predictable based upon internal/external factors, but there is also room for personal choice from a limited range of possibilities (restricted free will). This is a strong component of the cognitive approach.

Biological Determinism: The belief that behaviour is caused by biological (genetic, hormonal, evolutionary) influences that we cannot control, such as the influence of the autonomic nervous system on the stress response or the effect of genetics on mental health disorders

Environmental Determinism: The belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment (such as systems of reward and punishment) that we cannot control

Psychic Determinism: The belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious psychodynamic conflicts that we cannot control as they were repressed in childhood

Causal Explanations: The assumption in science that everything has a cause which allows scientists to apply general laws and to predict phenomena. Lab experiments are used to establish the causal relationship between the IV and DV which can demonstrate causal relationships

Practical Value (Free Will v. Determinism): Thinking we exercise free choice can improve our mental health. Roberts et al (2000) found adolescents were at significantly greater risk of developing depression if they believed in fatalism and those with an external locus of control were less likely to be optimistic.

Research Evidence (Free Will v. Determinism): Libet et al (1983) found that when participants were told to choose a random moment to flick their wrists, in brain scans, he found that the unconscious brain activity leading up to the conscious decision came around half a second before the participants consciously felt they had decided to move.

Counterpoint to Libet (Free Will v. Determinism): The results weren’t surprising and just because the action comes before the conscious awareness of the decision to act, doesn’t mean there was no decision to act, just that the decision took time to reach consciousness.

The Law (Free Will v. Determinism): The legal system requires responsibility and the hard determinist stance isn’t consistent with the way our legal system operates. The main principle of the legal system is that a defendant exercised their free will in committing the crime.