Belief in Free Will: Measurement and Conceptualization Innovations

Abstract

Though the existence of free will seems to be a background assumption in Western life, very little research has examined the belief, and the handful of studies that have done so suggest only a modest endorsement and unclear relationships to other variables. However, methodological flaws in the earlier studies likely produced an underestimation of the strength of the belief among the general population. The current study developed and then administered a new measure of belief in free will to samples of senior high school and college students under conditions where demand characteristics were controlled. Both age groups endorsed the belief in free will to a much stronger extent than seen in previous research. Further, adults associated belief in free will with three purposes of punishment (rehabilitation, retribution, and deterrence) but adolescents only related the belief to retribution. Adults produced a negative correlation between the belief in free will and locus of control whereas adolescents evidenced no association between the variables. Both age groups demonstrated significant correlations between the belief and selfesteem. Finally, adolescents evidenced no correlation between the belief and religious conviction while adults produced a negative correlation between the two variables. In addition, the new free will instrument demonstrated extraordinary factor consistency between both samples. The results are discussed in the context of competing behavior analytic views regarding the origin of the belief in free will (cultural conditioning versus evolutionary adaptation) and the implications the origin has for progressive social and cultural change.

Misconstruing Agency: Issues Related to Free Will and Determinism

“…Several explanations are possible, including the majority of the students not carefully reading/comprehending the essays and the brief manipulations not being sufficient to impact strongly held beliefs. According to Ogletree and Oberle (2008), only 15% of college students support a hard determinism perspective; similarly, Rakos et al (2008) argued that-"a generalized libertarian belief in free will is the 'default' philosophy of most persons" (p.31). The brief argument offered in the "one outcome" manipulation was seemingly not effective in countering such a belief.…”

“…Finally, participants completed items used in previous research to manipulate or measure free will, including two from Baumeister et al (2009) determinism/free will manipulation ("I am able to override the genetic and environmental factors that sometimes influence my behaviors", "All behavior is determined by brain activity, which in turn is determined by a combination of environmental and genetic factors"-reversed scored), three from Stroessner and Green (1990) Free Will-Determinism Scale-Libertarianism Factor ("I will have free will all of my life", "I have free will in life, regardless of group expectations or pressures"; "I am free to make choices in Science Publications JSS my life regardless of social conditions") and one item ("I have free will even when my choices are limited by external circumstances") that loaded on the free will factor from the Rakos et al (2008). A 5-point scale, ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree" was used for all of the agency and free will items.…”

“…The assessment of agency included three items from the Rakos et al (2008) Free will and Determinism ScalePersonal Agency factor ("I am in charge of the decisions I make", "I decide what action to take in a particular situation", and "I am in charge of my actions even when life's circumstances are difficult",); three item's from Stillman et al (2010) career performance measure ("I will be a success in the workplace", "Whoever hires me will regret it"-reversed scored and "Career success is important to me". ); and three items I wrote about succeeding at school ("In general my success at school doesn't seem very related to my decisions and effort"-reversed scored, "Even when my classes are hard, I am successful because of my planning and willingness to work hard" and "I do well as a student because of the choices I make").…”

“…Rakos et al (2008) found that both high school and college students associated retribution with free will. Free will scores have also been associated with believing in a just world, authoritarianism and punitiveness (Carey and Paulhus, 2013).…”

“…For example, Rakos et al (2008) described determinism and libertarian free will on opposite ends of a onedimensional continuum varying in degree of agency. Similarly, Baumeister et al (2009) have included sentences like "I demonstrate my free will every day when I make decisions", in manipulations of free will/determinism.…”