Free will and determinism

A researcher tested the musical ability of two groups of children. The parents of children in Group 1 were professional musicians. The parents of children in Group 2 did not play a musical instrument.

The researcher found that the children in Group 1 had significantly higher musical ability scores than the children in Group 2.

Use your knowledge of two different types of determinism to explain the findings in Group 1 and Group 2.

Maria is a successful gymnast. Her mother was also an athlete and encouraged Maria throughout her childhood, taking her to practice sessions before school from the age of 5 years.

Maria is being interviewed about her success as a gymnast. In the interview she says, ‘I don’t know if I am like my mum or not. Wherever it came from, I always had a strong motivation to succeed. Maybe I didn’t really have much choice. I was destined to be a gymnast.’

Discuss determinism in psychology. Refer to Maria in your answer.

Bob and Mike each have a daughter. Both girls are talented swimmers.

Bob says his daughter was destined to be a good swimmer because her grandfather was a great swimmer when he was young.

Mike says it was inevitable that his daughter would be a good swimmer because she was given lots of praise in swimming lessons when she was little.

Use your knowledge of determinism to explain Bob’s and Mike’s comments.

Outline what is meant by soft determinism.

The psychologist claimed to have demonstrated a causal explanation for happiness.

What is meant by a causal explanation? Explain why it was appropriate to claim that there was a causal explanation in this case.

Jonny is 25 years old. He is a very anxious person. Colleagues tease him at work because he chews his pen all the time and spends hours tidying his desk. He finds it difficult to make friends and has never had a girlfriend.

Use your knowledge of psychic determinism to explain Jonny’s behaviour.

Dancho is a talented and famous musician. He was taught to play the piano by his father who was a concert pianist. From the age of four years Dancho attended a specialist music school where he spent many hours each day practising the piano.

In a recent TV interview Dancho said, ‘My earliest memories are of notes and melodies, so music is a part of me. To hear the applause in the concert hall is what I live for. Even if I wanted to stop playing, I could not.’

Discuss two or more types of determinism. Refer to the case of Dancho as part of your discussion.