Exploring Determinism and Free Will

Which term refers to the belief that individuals have the capacity to make choices independent of internal or external influences and that we are self-determining.

• Hard determinism

• Free will

• Biological determinism

• Psychic determinism

What is the main claim of hard determinism?

• Free will and determinism are compatible

• behaviours/traits are entirely and completely out of an individual’s control

• Only biological factors determine behaviour

• The environment has no effect on behaviour

Which of the following best describes soft determinism?

• Human behaviour is entirely determined by biology

• behaviours/traits are determined by internal/external forces but we can still exercise some control, eg through thought processes/decision making.

• behaviours/traits are governed by unconscious motives/desires and stem from early childhood experiences

• behaviours/traits are entirely out of an individual’s control

Which type of determinism suggests that genes and physiological processes are the main influences on behaviour?

• Environmental determinism

• Psychic determinism

• Biological determinism

• Hard determinism

Which of the following statements is WRONG about environmental determinism....

• includes stimulus-response (S-R) association as a stimulus in the environment causes a predictable response.

• is when behaviour is seen as a result of conditioning - rewards & reinforcement

• is linked to behaviourist approach, especially skinner who said free will is an illusion

• behaviours are governed by unconscious motives and desires and stem from early childhood experiences

Psychic determinism is most closely associated with which psychologist?

• Sigmund Freud

• B.F. Skinner

• Carl Rogers

• Ivan Pavlov

Who demonstrated that brain activity associated with a voluntary act precedes conscious experience of the intention to act by several hundred milliseconds. The implication that it is the brain, rather than ‘free will’, that initiates voluntary acts

• Mobley (1995)

• Bayout (2007)

• Libet et al. (1983)

• Roberts et al. (2000)

When we say that free will has 'intuitive appeal', this refers to:

• The scientific evidence supporting determinism

• The common sense feeling that we are in control of our actions

• The legal system’s reliance on determinism

• The role of genetics in behaviour

Which of the following is an example of biological determinism in a legal context?

• A person’s upbringing is used as a defence in court

• A genetic mutation is cited as influencing criminal behaviour

• A person claims they acted under hypnosis

• A person blames peer pressure for their actions

Roberts et al. (2000) showed...

• The effect of environment on behaviour

• The impact of beliefs about free will/ determinism and mental health/ depression

• The role of genetics in criminality

• The timing of conscious intention