Do we have free will or is our behaviour determined?
Free will and determinism: hard determinism and soft determinism; biological, environmental and psychic determinism. The scientific emphasis on causal explanations.
Covers AQA 4.8 free will and determinism: hard and soft determinism, biological, environmental and psychic determinism, free will, and the scientific emphasis on causal explanations.
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What this dot point is asking
AQA wants you to explain free will, hard and soft determinism, the three types of determinism, and the scientific emphasis on causality. The exam skill is to keep hard and soft determinism distinct, to name the three types with examples, and to weigh the scientific value of determinism against the everyday and legal case for free will.
Free will and determinism
The debate runs along a spectrum. At one end, free will, championed by the humanistic approach, holds that people are active agents who rise above biological and environmental influences to determine their own behaviour. At the other end, hard determinism (also called fatalism) holds that every action is the inevitable result of prior causes, so free will is merely an illusion we experience but do not really possess. Soft determinism, associated with the philosopher William James and adopted by the cognitive approach, occupies the middle ground: it accepts that behaviour has causes and is constrained by them, but argues that within those constraints people can still make meaningful conscious choices. The key to a good answer is not to collapse soft determinism into free will; the two differ because soft determinism still insists behaviour is caused, only that some of those causes are the person's own reasoning.
Types of determinism
Determinism comes in three forms that map neatly onto the approaches. Biological determinism explains behaviour through internal physiological causes such as genes, hormones and neurotransmitters (for example explaining aggression through testosterone). Environmental determinism, associated with behaviourism, explains behaviour as the inevitable product of conditioning and reinforcement history (a phobia is the result of classical conditioning, not a choice). Psychic determinism, from Freud, explains behaviour as driven by unconscious conflicts rooted in early childhood, so even a slip of the tongue has an unconscious cause. Underpinning all three is the assumption of causality that science itself relies on: that every event has a cause, which allows behaviour to be predicted and controlled. This makes determinism consistent with the scientific aims of psychology and has practical value, since deterministic models underpin effective treatments such as drug therapy. The counterargument is that free will fits our subjective experience and is the assumption built into the legal system, which holds people responsible for their actions; research by Roberts et al. also found that adolescents who believed their lives were fatalistically determined were at greater risk of depression, suggesting a belief in free will may be psychologically healthier.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of AQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AQA 20194 marksDistinguish between hard determinism and soft determinism.Show worked answer →
A 4-mark item (about 2 AO1 each). Markers want the contrast made explicit.
Hard determinism is the view that all behaviour has a cause and could in principle be predicted, so free will is entirely an illusion: every action is the inevitable result of internal or external forces. Soft determinism is a middle position (associated with William James and the cognitive approach) which accepts that behaviour is constrained and influenced by causes, but argues that people can still exercise a meaningful degree of conscious choice within those constraints.
The discriminator is whether any free choice exists: hard determinism allows none, soft determinism allows some within limits. A full-mark answer defines both and states this contrast clearly. Treating soft determinism as the same as free will is the common error.
AQA 20216 marksDiscuss the free will and determinism debate in psychology.Show worked answer →
A 6-mark item, roughly 3 AO1 and 3 AO3.
Outline: free will (the humanistic approach) holds that people are self-determining agents. Determinism holds that behaviour is caused; types include biological (genes, hormones, neurochemistry), environmental (conditioning and reinforcement) and psychic (Freud's unconscious drives and childhood conflicts). Science emphasises causal explanations and the ability to predict and control behaviour, which fits determinism.
Discussion: a strength of determinism is that it is consistent with the scientific aims of psychology and has produced effective treatments (such as drug therapies). A strength of free will is that it fits everyday subjective experience and the legal system's assumption of responsibility, and research (Roberts et al.) links a belief in fatalism to depression. A balanced answer concludes soft determinism, accepting causes but allowing choice, may best resolve the debate. Markers reward the types of determinism plus a weighed evaluation.
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Sources & how we know this
- AQA A-level Psychology (7182) specification — AQA (2015)