Determinism vs Free Will
Determinism: Belief that human behaviour is determined by factors that they cannot control; therefore, it is predictable. Mainly Behaviourist approach.
- Hard determinism – behaviour is controlled by one factor.
- Soft determinism – behaviour is controlled by general laws, which allows free will to come into play in some situation.
Free will: Belief that human beings can have some choice in how they act and therefore they are free to choose their behavior. Humanistic approach.
| Strengths | Weaknesses | |
| Determinism | – The approach is more scientific, it isolates variables and tries to examine them under controlled condition. Therefore, this makes society more willing to accept the findings.
– It emphasizes cause and effect, which make the world more understandable and predictable. |
– It implies that we can predict our behaviour, which in most cases is not true.
– It does not take into account anomalies or individual differences. – It implies that humans are not responsible for their actions, which causes lots of debates, especially surrounding crimes. |
| Free will | – It fits it with societies’ view of responsibility for actions.
– It emphasizes on the individual, therefore takes into account individual differences and anomalies. |
– It means that behaviour cannot be predicted or measured, however this concept can be diminished by studies such as Bandura.
– It cannot be tested, lacks scientific proof, therefore it is highly unreliable. |
Reductionism vs Holism
Reductionism: Belief that human behaviour can explained by reducing it to one single cause or a series of component parts.
Holism: Looks at individuals as a whole, or perhaps looks at all factors together, which might explain a behaviour.
| Strengths | Weaknesses | |
| Reductionism | -Allows to look in detail at component that affect behaviour.
– It can be used to explain some types of behaviour and disorders. – It is open to testing. |
· It over simplifies complex behaviours.
· It does not consider other factors that affect behaviour. · It makes complex behaviour very simplistic. |
| Holism | · Looks at everything that may impact on a behaviour.
· Considers more than one cause. · Allows for detail analysis. |
· Does not allow for detailed study in one area.
· Cannot explain mental illnesses. · May over complicate behaviour with simple explanation. |
Nature vs Nurture
Nature: Refers to behaviours that are thought to be innate or due to genetics. Therefore, it tends to be based on biological factors.
Nurture: Refers to behaviours that are thought to develop through the lifetime of a person. Therefore, it tends to be based on social and psychological factors.
+ The findings of any study can be useful to society as whole, if psychologists can determine which behaviours come from nature and which come from nurture.
– It is not always easy to separate nurture and nature and this might have unwanted repercussions on society, such as getting rid of people with ‘inferior genes’.
Individual VS Situational explanations
Individual: explanations that account for behaviours using factors from within the person e.g. personality.
Situational: explanations that account for behaviours using factors from the external environment e.g. situations people find themselves in.
+ The findings can be useful to society as they may to understand human behaviours better if psychologists determine which behaviours are down to individuals and which ones are down to situations.
– It may not be easy to separate the two and studies may be unethical to have higher internal and ecological validity.
CIE A Level Psychology 
Well, we can end one of those debates right now.
“Free will” is when we decide for ourselves what we will do, free of coercion or other undue influence. “Determinism” asserts that the behavior of objects and forces in our universe is perfectly reliable, as if they were “obeying immutable laws”.
1) Because reliable cause and effect is neither coercive nor undue, it poses no threat to free will.
2) Because our decisions are reliably caused by our own thoughts and feelings, our deliberate choosing poses no threat to determinism.
3) Each choice we make for ourselves is both freely chosen and reliably caused. Thus, the concepts of free will and determinism are naturally compatible.
The illusion of conflict is created by a logic error called the “reification fallacy“. This happens when we mistakenly treat the concept of “reliable cause and effect” as if it were an external force controlling our choices, as if it were not actually us, simply being us and doing what we do.
But concepts are not “things” that cause. Only the actual objects themselves, and the forces they naturally exert upon other objects, can cause events.
We are such objects. We exist in reality as physical objects, living organisms, and an intelligent species. As living organisms, we act purposefully to survive, thrive, and reproduce. As an intelligent species, we act deliberately by imagination, evaluation, and choosing. And, when we act upon our choices, we are forces of nature.
Reliable cause and effect is not an external force. It is us, and the rest of the physical universe, just doing what we do.
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