Chapter One - Recent Research on Free Will: Conceptualizations, Beliefs, and Processes
Section snippets
Social Psychology's Contribution to the Free Will Debate
What is the role for experimental social psychology in studying free will? Philosophers and others have debated the grand question of whether people have free will or not. In particular, philosophers have focused heavily on the debate about whether free will is compatible with the idea of determinism. Determinism is the belief that all events are completely caused by prior events or circumstances, so that a single future course of events throughout the universe is already, ineluctably
Understanding Free Will
Arguments about free will are difficult to resolve in part because of the various definitions scholars employ to describe the concept. Thus, what one side invokes as compelling evidence may be considered irrelevant by its opponents. Indeed, we ourselves would answer the question of whether people have free will in different ways depending on which definition is used. Some opponents of free will believe that its essence is exemption from causality (so that to be free, an action must not be
Beliefs About Free Will
Beliefs about free will may seem to be an abstract metaphysical or even theological opinion with little direct relevance to social life. Contrary to that view, research has shown these beliefs to be heavily intertwined with other attitudes and views and to have substantial behavioral and social consequences. This section reviews research on people's beliefs about free will. This work by itself makes no assumptions about the reality of free will, as most or even all such beliefs could be
Freedom and Human Volition
We turn now from beliefs about free will to the actual processes that constitute the reality behind the idea. Even if some scholars reject the idea of free will as untenable, they may still have interest in the volitional processes that guide human behavior. In simple terms, we propose that if free will exists, these are what constitute it, and if free will does not exist, these are the sorts of phenomena that are mistaken for it.
Although social psychologists may be relatively new to these
Conclusions
Free will has moved from being a topic for abstract debate in philosophy, theology, and related fields to being an active research topic for laboratory work in social psychology. This work has suggested new and different ways of thinking about free will. In particular, views of free will as exemption from causality and as influence of souls on behavior should be dropped from the debate, as they are relevant to very little in either the prevailing folk beliefs about free will or to what
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Age differences in free will and control perceptions across the lifespan and around the world
2023, Current Research in Ecological and Social PsychologyFree will strikes back: Steady-state movement-related cortical potentials are modulated by cognitive control
2022, Consciousness and CognitionAutonomy and the folk concept of valid consent
2022, CognitionCitation Excerpt :According to the literature, individuals are autonomous if they can make decisions freely and shape their lives according to their own values (e.g., Mele, 1995). Prior empirical work reveals two components thought to be required for autonomy: (a) freedom from external interference or constraints (e.g., Deci & Ryan, 2000; Espinosa & Starmans, 2020); and (b) the possession of certain types of decision-making capacities (Baumeister & Monroe, 2014; Beauchamp & Childress, 2013, Chapter 3; Starmans & Friedman, 2016; see also Gray, Young, & Waytz, 2012). The present studies focus on the latter: the decision-making capacities involved in autonomous consent, setting aside external constraints or interference by others.
Agentic meaning-making: Free will beliefs, sense-making, and psychological distress following collective traumas
2022, Current Research in Ecological and Social PsychologyEffects of addiction science on conceived freewill and responsibility
2021, Addictive BehaviorsCulture moderates the relationship between self-control ability and free will beliefs in childhood
2021, CognitionCitation Excerpt :Indeed, research has uncovered such enduring beliefs in adolescents and adults and shows that they do play a role in self-regulation. This includes belief in willpower, self-efficacy, agency, self-determination, “grit”, and growth mindset, among others (Baumeister & Monroe, 2014; Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly, 2007; Dweck, 2000; Eccles & Wigfield, 2002; Iyengar & DeVoe, 2003; Job, Dweck, & Walton, 2010; Miller, Das, & Chakravarthy, 2011; Ryan & Deci, 2000; Vohs & Schooler, 2008). But to date little is known about the origins of these beliefs in early childhood, or the time course of their development before adolescence.