AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY - ISSUES AND
DEBATES QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
!
, What are the 5 types of determinism? -ANSWER Hard, soft, biological, environmental,
psychic.
Desscribe hard determinism -ANSWER Hard determinism is the idea that all human
behaviour is determined by internal and external forces that are completely outside of
an individual's control.
Describe soft determinism -ANSWER Soft determinism is the idea that while behaviour
is determined, humans also have the opportunity to exercise free will if need be.
Individuals are free to choose, but this is usually from a limited set of options.
An indivdual's free will is constrained by the environment or genetic makeup, for
example.
Describe biological determinism -ANSWER Biological determinism is the concept that
all human behaviour is innate and determined by genes. There has been increasing
evidence of genetic influences on behaviour, for example, research on intelligence has
identified particular genes found in people with high intelligence.
Describe environmental determinism -ANSWER Environmental determinism refers to
the idea that human behaviour is due to forces outside of the control of the individual.
For example, behaviourists believe that all behaviour is caused by previous experience,
through the processes of classical and operant conditioning. For example, phobias may
develop as a consequence of conditioning (two-process model).
Describe psychic determinism -ANSWER Psychic determinism refers to the idea that
adult human behaviour is controlled by a mix of innate drives and early experience
(Freud's psychoanalytical theory of personality).
This form of determinism considers the role of the unconscious on conscious thought,
and how that affects behaviour and Freud argued that the cause often has its origins in
the unconscious.
As the root cause for their behaviour is emitted from the conscious mind, the individual
would often not be able to say how or why they have followed a course of action.
What is the scientific emphasis on causal explanations? -ANSWER This refers to the
emphasis that the scientific process places on the importance of all events having a
cause. An independent variable is manipulated to observe thhe causal effect on a
dependent variable.
DEBATES QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
!
, What are the 5 types of determinism? -ANSWER Hard, soft, biological, environmental,
psychic.
Desscribe hard determinism -ANSWER Hard determinism is the idea that all human
behaviour is determined by internal and external forces that are completely outside of
an individual's control.
Describe soft determinism -ANSWER Soft determinism is the idea that while behaviour
is determined, humans also have the opportunity to exercise free will if need be.
Individuals are free to choose, but this is usually from a limited set of options.
An indivdual's free will is constrained by the environment or genetic makeup, for
example.
Describe biological determinism -ANSWER Biological determinism is the concept that
all human behaviour is innate and determined by genes. There has been increasing
evidence of genetic influences on behaviour, for example, research on intelligence has
identified particular genes found in people with high intelligence.
Describe environmental determinism -ANSWER Environmental determinism refers to
the idea that human behaviour is due to forces outside of the control of the individual.
For example, behaviourists believe that all behaviour is caused by previous experience,
through the processes of classical and operant conditioning. For example, phobias may
develop as a consequence of conditioning (two-process model).
Describe psychic determinism -ANSWER Psychic determinism refers to the idea that
adult human behaviour is controlled by a mix of innate drives and early experience
(Freud's psychoanalytical theory of personality).
This form of determinism considers the role of the unconscious on conscious thought,
and how that affects behaviour and Freud argued that the cause often has its origins in
the unconscious.
As the root cause for their behaviour is emitted from the conscious mind, the individual
would often not be able to say how or why they have followed a course of action.
What is the scientific emphasis on causal explanations? -ANSWER This refers to the
emphasis that the scientific process places on the importance of all events having a
cause. An independent variable is manipulated to observe thhe causal effect on a
dependent variable.
