1. Determinism vs. free will

2. Is free will an illusion?
Determinism is the idea that behaviour is controlled by external or internal factors acting on the individual.
Is free will an illusion?
Free will is the belief that our behaviour is governed by our own choices.

3. The Problem with Deterministic Explanations.
They tend to oversimplify human behaviour.
For example.
Eysenck believed personality traits were biologically determined.
This suggests such traits are consistent over time and situations and therefore, enable us to be able to predict how someone will act. The causal laws of determinism form the basis of science.
However, this oversimplifies personality traits that can have many determining factors.
In this way determinism relates to reductionism.

4. Example
From the work of Milgram we could say that obedient behaviour is determined by situational factors such as a legitimate authority.
We could also say that obedience is determined by internal factors such as having an external locus of control.
If we view behaviour as being determined by genes then we could say someone was 'born to kill'.

5. The SCIENTIFIC EMPHASIS on CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS
One of the basic principles of science is that events have a CAUSE and that causes can be explained by GENERAL LAWS.
Knowledge of causes and the formulation of law are crucial as they allow scientists to make PREDICTIONS and control future events.
In a LABORATORY EXPERIMENT researchers try to eliminate all extraneous variables to allow CAUSE AND EFFECT to be implied.
Because of this we can therefore make DETERMINISTIC CONCLUSIONS (e.g. X has caused Y); this is desirable in a science as we have DETERMINED the factors that influence and eliminated those that may be extraneous.

6. Types of determinism
However, while determinism is the view that we have no control over our behaviour, there are varying degrees of determinism:
Hard determinism
Soft determinism
Biological determinism
Environmental determinism
Psychic determinism
Define the key terms. Find examples of research that you have studied throughout the course to illustrate each type of determinism

7. Hard and soft determinism
Hard determinism is the view that forces outside of our control (e.g. biology or past experience) shape our behaviour. Hard determinism is seen as incompatible with free will. Soft determinism is an alternative position favoured by many psychologists. According to soft determinism, behaviour is constrained by the environment or biological make-up, but only to a certain extent. Soft determinism suggests that some behaviours are more constrained than others and that there is an element of free will in all behaviour. This was the view of Nick Heather (1976) who proposed that while our behaviour is predictable, that doesn’t make it inevitable. We can choose how to behave, but normally we only have a limited number of behaviours to choose from.

8. Types of determinism
Biological determinism refers to the idea that all human behaviour is innate and determined by genes. Research into the human genome provides evidence to support the idea of biological determinism. For example, research has found that a particular gene (IGF2r) is implicated in intelligence (Hill et al., 1999). Psychopathology: The biological approach suggests that OCD is partly genetic. Nestadt et al. (2000) found that people with first-degree relatives who suffer from OCD are five times more likely to suffer from OCD at some point in their lives. Sociobiology: evolution governs the behavior of a species and genetic inheritance that of each individual within it. For example Bowlby (1969) states a child has an innate (i.e. inborn) need to attach to one main attachment figure (i.e. monotropy). Personality traits like extraversion or neuroticism, and the behaviour associated with them, are triggered by neurological and hormonal processes within the body.

9. Types of determinism
Environmental determinism is the view that behaviour is determined or caused by forces outside the individual. Environmental determinism posits that our behaviour is caused by previous experience learned through classical and operant conditioning.
Skinner argues that a person who commits a crime has no real choice. (S)he is propelled in this direction by environmental circumstances and a personal history, which makes breaking the law natural and inevitable.
For the law-abiding: having been rewarded for following rules in the past the individual does so in the future. All behaviour is under stimulus control.

10. Types of determinism
Bandura (1961) found that children with violent parents are more likely to become violent parents themselves, as a result of observational learning. Psychopathology: The behaviourist approach suggests that phobias are acquired through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning and therefore, to some extent, environmentally determined.

11. Types of determinism
Psychic determinism, claims that human behaviour is the result of childhood experiences and innate drives (ID, Ego and Superego), as in Freud’s model of psychological development.
Gender/Forensic: The psychodynamic approach suggests that gender behaviours are acquired during the phallic stage of development, through the resolution of the Oedipus Complex or Electra complex, where children identify with the same sex parent.

12. Is there any such thing as total determinism?
It can be argued that human behaviour is influenced by too many variables to be truly deterministic. This is one of the arguments for saying that it is not a science.
However, it can be argued that the physical sciences are not truly deterministic because very small changes in initial conditions can cause major changes.
So causal relationships are probabilistic rather than determinist.

13. Free will
Free will is the idea that we can play an active role and have choice in how we behave. The assumption is that individuals are free to choose their behaviour and are self-determined. free will view suggest that determinism removes freedom and dignity, and devalues human behaviour. By creating general laws of behaviour, deterministic psychology underestimates the uniqueness of human beings and their freedom to choose their own destiny. For example, people can make a free choice as to whether to commit a crime or not. Therefore, a person is responsible for their own actions, and it is impossible to predict human behaviour with any precision.

14. Examples: free will
Year 2 – Approaches in Psychology: Humanist psychologists argue against the determinism view, claiming that humans have self-determination and free will and that behaviour is not the result of any single cause. Maslow (1943) and Rogers (1951): freedom is not only possible but also necessary if we are to become fully functional human beings. Both see self-actualisation as a unique human need and form of motivation setting us apart from all other species.

15. Evaluation
One strength of free will is that we often make choices in every day life
One limitation of free will is that it is not supported by neurological evidence
Determinism is consistent with the aims of science
Hard determinism is not consistent with the legal system
An interactionist perspective may offer the best compromise in the free will vs determinism debate.

16. Evaluation: Determinism
Determinism is consistent with the aims of science
Credible – control of human behaviours led to treatments
As a science, psychology attempts to develop laws - to predict behaviour
If we argue against determinism, we are in effect rejecting the scientific approach to explaining behaviour
Hard determinism is not consistent with the legal system
It is inconsistent with society's ideas of responsibility and self control that form the basis of our moral and legal obligations.
Morally accountable for their actions. Only in extreme circumstances are juries allowed to act leniently
HOWEVER: Cause of behaviours will always be found even if its had not already been found (questions whether it can be falsified?)
psychologists cannot predict a person's behaviour with 100% accuracy due to the complex interaction of variables which can influence behaviour.

17. Evaluation: freewill
One strength of free will is that we often make choices in every day life
‘gives the impression that we make choices’ good face validity.
Positive impact on our mind
One limitation of free will is that it is not supported by neurological evidence
Libet et al. (1983) found that the motor regions of the brain become active before a person registers conscious awareness of a decision.
Mental illnesses appear to undermine the concept of freewill. For example, individuals with OCD lose control of their thoughts and actions and people with depression lose control over their emotions.

18. Evaluation: combination
The term soft determinism is often used to describe this position, whereby people do have a choice, but their behaviour is always subject to some form of biological or environmental pressure.
Approaches in psychology that have a cognitive element (like SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY), tend to adopt an interactionist or soft determinism perspective.
For example, Bandura argues that environmental factors are key to learning behaviour, but that we are free to choose (or make decisions about) who or what to attend to and when to perform certain behaviours (think about the FOUR REQUIREMENTS of social learning theory!).
This perspective offers perhaps the most complete explanation of many behaviours.

19. Questions 1. Outline the concept of free will (2)
2. Explain the difference between hard Determinism and soft determinism (4)
3. Explain why science places an emphasis on causal explanations (3)

20. Q1
Free will is the idea that we have the power to make our own choices about our behaviour. Individuals have an active role in controlling their behaviour and are not acting in response to internal (biological) or external (environmental) pressures.

21. Q2
Hard determinism is the view that all behaviour can be predicted and that there is no free will. So hard determinism excludes the possibility of free will. Soft determinism does not exclude the possibility of free will but believes that free will is possible under the constraints of determined factors. So soft determinism believes that some aspects components are determined such as inherited characteristics but others are not. Hard determinism argues that all components of human behaviour are determined.

22. Q3
Science places emphasis on causal explanations as it is important that, through scientific research, predictions can be made about events. This means we can explain phenomenon in terms of what causes it to happen. Without causal explanations we would not be able to predict what would happen in certain situations and therefore there would be no point in carrying out research as it would not tell us anything about the conditions in which a phenomenon would occur. For example research by Loftus and Palmer told us that memory is affected by leading questions. The leading questions caused memory for an even to be changed. This causal explanation allows us to make predictions about the behaviour of eye witnesses.

23. Create two MCQ and short answer questions
Task:
Create two MCQ and short answer questions

24. Discuss the free will and determinism debate in psychology (16 marks)
Plan
Discuss the free will and determinism debate in psychology (16 marks)