Psychology/Sociology: Free Will vs Determinism – University Tutorial With Dr Natalie Wyer From University of East Anglia

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In this live interactive Psychology/Sociology tutorial, we will be joined by Dr Natalie Wyer, Associate Professor in Experimental Social Psychology at University of East Anglia, who will explore Free Will vs Determinism.

Most of us go through life feeling like we can control – at least to a large extent – the things that we do. From simple everyday choices like what to eat for breakfast or which route to take to get to school or work, to major life decisions like whether to say ‘yes’ to a marriage proposal, or what kind of career to pursue – we normally have a clear sense that we do things because we chose to do them.

That’s what we experience as ‘free will’. But what if our actions aren’t determined by our choices at all? What if ‘choosing’ to do something is just a convenient story that we tell ourselves to make sense of what we’ve done, and what really determines our actions are a combination of genetics, prior experience, and environmental factors that make those actions inevitable?

Psychologists and philosophers alike have long debated the existence of ‘free will’ and, perhaps more importantly, what an absence of free will means for things like moral responsibility. If we aren’t actually choosing what to do, can we really be held responsible for doing it?

The full context/introduction to this live and interactive discussion is provided in the Headliner recorded resource below. This recording can be watched as a class activity or independently in preparation for the discussion.

The session aims to deepen students’ understanding of the topic whilst enabling them to access and experience a live online university tutorial.

Lecturer Profile: Dr Natalie Wyer

Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom, or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. This means that sessions will continue irrespective of possible school closures.

As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but access to the Headliner recording will continue to be accessible.

Suitable for: Key Stage 5, and equivalent, students studying or with an interest in studying Psychology/Sociology and related subjects. Teachers and members of school staff, as always, are welcome too and participants can join as individuals from school/college or home, or as a group from school/college.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students are asked to watch the Headliner recording and consider some of the key issues and any questions raised.

The IT Setup: The event will be run on Zoom and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below:

Register here