Psychic Determinism PDF

PSYCHIC DETERMINISM MARIANNE-FRANCE BUELA, RN, MD  PYSCHIC DETERMINISM Major assumption of Freudian theory that holds that everything one does has meaning and is goal directed Suggests that all human behavior is determined by unconscious forces, motives and conflicts Forces are influ...

PSYCHIC DETERMINISM MARIANNE-FRANCE BUELA, RN, MD  PYSCHIC DETERMINISM Major assumption of Freudian theory that holds that everything one does has meaning and is goal directed Suggests that all human behavior is determined by unconscious forces, motives and conflicts Forces are influenced by early childhood experiences and are not within conscious control Developed by freud Behavior and thoughts are shaped by our unconscious mind, and that our conscious mind is simply an observer of these underlying forces  DETERMINISM Proposes that all behaviors has a cause and is thus predictable. Free will has no place in explaining a behavior Free will is an illusion and our behavior is governed by internal or external forces over which we have no control Mental events do not occur by chance but always have an underlying cause that can be uncovered by analysis.  EXTERNAL DETERMINISM (ENVIRONMENTAL) See the cause of behavior as being outside the individual, such as parental influence, the media, or school. Approaches which adopt this position include behaviorism and social learning theory. Example: ***children become aggressive through observation and imitation of their violent parents (bandura, 1961)  INTERNAL DETERMINISM According to sociobiology, evolution governs the behavior of a species and genetic inheritance that of each individual within it. Example: *** a child has an innate (inborn) need to attach to main attachment figure (Bowlby, 1969) Personality traits like extraversion or neuroticism, and the behavior associated with them, are triggered by neurological and hormonal processes within the body. freud also viewed behavior being controlled from inside the individual in the form of unconscious motivation. LEVELS OF DETERMINISM: HARD DETERMINISM SOFT DETERMINISM  HARD DETERMINISM Sees free will as an illusion and believes that every event and action has a cause. It should be possible to identify and describe these causes Assumes that everything we think and do is dictated by external and internal forces that we cannot control b.f. skinner--- “free will” and “motivation” are dismissed as illusions that disguise the real causes of human behavior - a person who commits a crime has no real choice. - He/ She is propelled in this direction by environmental circumstances and personal history, which makes breaking the law natural and inevitable. All behaviors are under stimulus control.  SOFT DETERMINISM Compatible with the aims of science REPRESENTS A MIDDLE GROUND--- PEOPLE DO HAVE A CHOICE BUT IS CONSTRAINED BY EXTERNAL OR INTERNAL FACTORS Humans have some conscious mental control over the way they behave Suggests that some behaviors are more constrained than others and that there is an element of free will in all behavior. Example: *** Being poor doesn’t make you steal, but it may make you more likely to take that route through desperation. Cognitive approach  Biological determinism Belief that behavior is caused by biological (genetic, BIOLOGICAL, hormonal, evolutionary) influences that we cannot ENVIRONMENTAL control AND PSYCHIC Role of biological determinism in behavior DETERMINISM Physiological and neurological processes are not under conscious control E.g autonomic nervous system during times of stress  Environmental determinism Behavior is caused by features of the environment that BIOLOGICAL, we cannot control ENVIRONMENTAL Systems of reward and punishment B.f skinner- free will is an illusion and argued that all AND PSYCHIC behavior is a result of conditioning DETERMINISM Experience of a choice is the sum total of reinforcement contingencies that have acted upon us through our lives E.g. teachers and institutions FREEWILL The idea that we are able to have some choice in how we act and assumes that we are free to choose our behavior- -- in other words---- we are self determined. A person is responsible for their own actions. “Freedom is not only possible but also necessary if we are to become fully functional human beings. Self- actualization is a unique human need and form of motivation setting us apart from all other species. There is, thus, a line to be drawn between the natural and the social sciences.” (Maslow, 1943; Rogers, 1951)  Basic principle in science is that everything in the universe has a cause and that these causes can be explained by general laws General laws allows scientist to predict and control events in the future In psychology- the lab experiments enable to simulate the conditions of the test tube and remove all extraneous variables and attempt to precisely control and predict human behavior  FOR DETERMINISM Determinism is consistent with the aims of science. The value of such research is that prediction and control of human behavior has led to the development of treatments, therapies and behavioral intervention  AGAINST DETERMINISM Not consistent with the way in which our our legal system operates Offenders are held morally accountable for their actions Determinism can be seen as unfalsifiable because it is based on the idea that causes of behavior will always exist even though they may have not been found  FOR FREE WILL Free will has the concept of a validity as it makes cognitive sense People who have an internal locus of control so believe they have a high degree of influence over events on their own behavior and tend to be more mentally healthy  AGAINST FREE WILL Neurological studies of decision making by Libet have revealed evidence against free will and that most basic experiences of free will are decided and determined by our brain before we become aware of them Activity related to whether to press a button with left the left or right hand occurs in the brain up to 10 secs before participants report being consciously aware of making such a decision Interactionist approach- compromise b/w determinism and free will – social learning theory  BENJAMIN LIBET American neuroscientist who was a pioneer in the field of human consciousness. contends both that “the brain ‘decides’ to initiate or, at least, prepare to initiate [certain actions] before there is any reportable subjective awareness that such a decision has taken place” and that “if the ‘act now’ process is initiated unconsciously, then conscious free will is not doing it.” once we become conscious of our proximal decisions, we can exercise free will in vetoing them.  SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY Social learning theory, introduced by psychologist Albert Bandura learning occurs through observation, imitation, and modeling and is influenced by factors such as attention, motivation, attitudes, and emotions. The theory accounts for the interaction of environmental and cognitive elements that affect how people learn.