A Level AQA Psychology Issues and debates notes/summary, including content (AO1) as well as evaluations (AO3) sufficient for writing 16 mark essays for each debate.
FREE WILL & DETERMINISM
Evaluations:
Free Will:
o notion that humans can make choices and that their A limitation of free will is that brain scan evidence doesn’t
-The
support it but supports determinism. Libet et al. (1983)
behaviour/thoughts/actions are not determined by biological or
participants randomly flicked their wrist while measuring
external forces. Advocated by the humanistic approach.
brain activity. It was found that the unconscious brain
-Doesn’t deny biological and environmental forces, but says we are able
activity leading up to the decision came half a second
to reject these forces if we wish as we are in control
before. This may mean our most basic experiences of free
will are acc determined by our brain before we know it.
Determinism: View that an individual’s behaviour is controlled by
internal/external forces rather than an individual’s will.
A limitation of determinism is responsibility within the
Hard determinism(fatalism): Suggests all behavior has a cause (which
legal system- it may be used to justify behavior e.g genes.
should be identifiable). Everything we do we due to internal or external
The hard determinism stance is that the individuals choice
forces that we can’t control.
isn’t the cause of behavior and the judicial system sees
Soft Determinism: James (1980) described a position where some
individuals as taking moral responsibility for their actions.
behavior is predictable, there is also room for personal choice/free will.
This suggests that in the real world determinist arguments
Feature of cog approach
do not work, so free will is what has good face validity in
Biological determinism: emphasizes the role of biology processes e.g
everyday life.
genetic, evolutionary, hormones which we can’t control (still some
environmental influences) e.g intelligence gene or autonomic nervous
A strength of free will is its practical value. We exercise
system and stress response.
free choice in our everyday lives. If this isn’t the case,
Environmental determinism: Behavior is caused by features of the
thinking we do have free choice can improve our mental
environment; everything is due to experience/conditioning. Our ‘choice’
health. Roberts et al. (2000) found adolescences with a
is a sum of reinforcement through our lives.
belief of fatalism had a greater risk of developing
Psychic determinism: behavior is caused by biological drives/instincts
depression. People who exhibit an internal LOC are more
we can’t control. Freud saw unconscious conflicts, repressed in
optimistic so believing in free will has a positive effect on
childhood as the cause.
the mind.
Scientific methods: Causal explanations
Determinism simplifies human behaviour, which is
-A basic principle of science is events have a cause and general laws can
influenced by cog factors which could override biological
explain them (hard determinism)- allows scientists to predict events
impulses e.g aggression can’t just be due to adrenaline
-Lab experiments determine cause and effect (causal relationships) so
but also due to emotional factors.
deterministic conclusions can be made
Evaluations:
NATURE-NURTURE DEBATE Diathesis stress model offers a way to understand nature
The nature-nurture debate is concerned with the extent to which and and nurture and can be used to explain mental disorders.
the relative contribution of both inherited and learned characteristics in Diathesis is a biological vulnerability and the expression of
explaining behavior. It is an interactionist approach between the two. a gene depends on a ‘stressor’ which triggers a condition.
-E.g Bowlby claimed attachment type is determined by the continuity of Tienari et al. demonstrated this with SZ, adopted children
parental love (nurture) but Kagan said a baby’s innate with a genetic risk and raised in a tense family climate did
personality/temperament also affects it. Enviro & hereditary interact develop SZ compared to without the environment, so
-The diathesis-stress model suggests behavior is caused by a biological both factors must interact for a behaviour to occur.
or environmental vulnerability which is only triggered when coupled
with a ‘trigger’ e.g with OCD and Schizophrenia Epigenetics supports the debate; refers to how
environmental effects can span generations. When Nazis
Nature refers to inherited influences. Nativists believed all human blocked off food to dutch people in 1944 and many died
characteristics are innate. of starvation, Susser and Lin (1992) found women who
Genetic: Family studies show that closer 2 individuals are related, more became pregnant during this time had low birth weight
likely they will develop a behavior e.g addiction, criminal behavior or SZ babies which were 2x likely to develop SZ. Sugests that life
(SZ 40% for MZ twins and 7% for DZ Joseph 2004) experiences of previous gens can leave epigenetic
Evolutionary: a characteristic that promotes survival/reproduction will ‘markers’ that influence offspring health.
be naturally selected and passed to offspring e.g Bowlby said
attachment was adaptive as it allowed infant to be protected + survive Nurture affects nature. Maguire et al. (2000)
demonstrated how plasticity affects your biology, in taxi
Nurture refers to influence of the experience/environment- empiricism. drivers they’re hippocampus was bigger due to
A feature of the behaviorist approach. experiences within their environment. This demonstrates
-Lerner (1986) identified dif levels of the environment e.g prenatal the way nature and nurture interact.
factors like how physical influences e.g smoking affect a fetus.
Behaviorism: Everything is due to experience and can be explained by Implications of the debate. Nativists suggests genetic
classical or operant conditioning e.g attachment with food and parent makeup determines behavior, the deterministic stance
Social Learning Theory: learning and vicarious reinforcement. has led to eugenic policies e.g linking ethnicity and IQ.
Psychological: e.g Double bind theory of SZ suggests it develops when But, behavior shaping has application in aversion therapy
children receive contradictory messaged from parents which to the extreme could lead to social control by the
Holism and reductionism state
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