AQA A Level Psychology I&D1 - Free Will vs Determinism Exam Questions & Answers

What is free will? - ANSWER -the view that we are free to make our own choices of our behaviour that is not determined by internal or external factors What approach favours free will? - ANSWER -humanism What is hard determinism? - ANSWER -the view that there is no free will as all our actions have causes and are effected by internal or external events where we have no control What is soft determinism? - ANSWER -the view that all events and actions have a cause but that we have conscious mental control to make decisions What did James (1890) say about soft determinism? - ANSWER -scientists explain determining forces but we are free to make choices What are the 2 types of internal factors? - ANSWER -Biological and Psychic What is biological determinism? - ANSWER -the belief that all behaviour is controlled by physiological processes e.g. genetics, hormones and that we have no control What is an example of biological determinism? - ANSWER -testosterone on aggression What is the type of external factor? - ANSWER -environmental What is environmental determinism? - ANSWER -the view that behaviour is caused by the external environment e.g. reinforcement, punishment and associations between stimuli What did Skinner say about free will? - ANSWER -Free will is an illusion due to conditioning and agents of socialisation e.g. parents, teachers What is psychic determinism? - ANSWER -the belief that behaviour is due to unconscious conflicts repressed in childhood, biological drives and instincts What does science seek? - ANSWER -a causal explanation (cause & effect) for every event as explainable by general laws Is free will or determinism consistent with science? - ANSWER -Determinism Consistent with the laws of causation and the scientific principle of parsimony What is the scientific principle of parsimony? - ANSWER -find the simplest explanation and find one root cause What is a strength of free will about face validity? - ANSWER -makes sense as everyday experience shows we make choices freely What is a strength of free will about the positive effects for mental health by Roberts et al. (2000)? - ANSWER -people with high internal LOC have better mental health Roberts et al. (2000) showed that teenagers with strong fatalism have a higher depression risk What is a weakness of free will by Libet (1985) & Soon (2008)? - ANSWER -Both found that brain activity related to a decision to press a button occurs 10s before conscious awareness of decision. Even simple decisions determined by brain before aware of them so intentions are an illusion