Discuss the free will and determinism debate. Refer to two topics of psychology that you have studied in your answer.

AO1

Free will

• give definition

• outline how the Humanistic approach favours free will

• social influence, internal locus of control believe self-governing

Determinism

• give definition

• outline hard/soft variations

• outline subtypes

  • environmental, behaviourists

  • psychic, psychodynamic

  • biological

    • MAOA gene in aggression

AO3

• strength of determinism - in keeping with scientific conventions, idea that human behaviour is predictable and orderly gives psychology credit amongst other scientific fields

• strength of determinism - accounts for mental illness acquisition, no one would choose to have schizophrenia, sufferer experiences loss of thought control, doesn’t feel very ‘free-will’

• weakness of determinism - not consistent with structure of legal system, operates on the principle of moral accountability, if behaviour is pre-determined e.g. there’s a gene for aggression, this has worrying consequences, provides excuse for criminal behaviour

• strength of free will - it is good for mental health, Roberts (2002) found adolescents who believed in fatalism were at greater risk of developing depression

• weakness of free will - study suggests against it, Soon et al (2008) found brain activity related to the choice of pressing the left or right button in a lab game occurred 10 seconds before a conscious choice was reported

• the alternative - the interactionist approach compromises the two, such as in social learning theory, acknowledges the role of environmental (external determinants) and personal conscious choice i.e. soft determinism