Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

 free will 
(choices made freely by an individual), and how much is 
subject to
 determinism 
,
the notion that behavior is largely produced by factors 
beyond people’s willful control? An issue long debated by philosophers, the free-
will/determinism argument is also central to the fi eld of psychology (Cary, 2007; 
Dennett, 2003).
For example, some psychologists who specialize in psychological disorders argue 
that people make intentional choices and that those who display so-called abnormal 
behavior should be considered responsible for their actions. Other psychologists dis-
agree and contend that such individuals are the victims of forces beyond their con-
trol. The position psychologists take on this issue has important implications for the 
way they treat psychological disorders, especially in deciding whether treatment 
should be forced on people who don’t want it. 
The last of the key issues concerns individual differences versus universal principles . 
How much of our behavior is a consequence of our unique and special qualities, 
and how much refl ects the culture and society in which we live? How much of our 
behavior is universally human? Psychologists who rely on the neuroscience perspec-
tive tend to look for universal principles of behavior, such as how the nervous 
system operates or the way certain hormones automatically prime us for sexual 
activity. Such psychologists concentrate on the similarities in our behavioral desti-
nies despite vast differences in our upbringing. In contrast, psychologists who 
employ the humanistic perspective focus more on the uniqueness of every indi-
vidual. They consider every person’s behavior a refl ection of distinct and special 
individual qualities. 
free will
The idea that behavior is 
caused primarily by choices that are 
made freely by the individual.