Abstract
Whether people believe that they have control over their behaviors is an issue that is centrally involved in definitions of addiction. Our research demonstrates that believing in free will - that is, believing that one has control over one's actions - has societal implications. Experimentally weakening free will beliefs led to cheating, stealing, aggression, and reduced helping. Bolstering free will beliefs did not change participants' behavior relative to a baseline condition, suggesting that most of the time people possess a belief in free will. We encourage a view of addiction that allows people to sustain a belief in free will and to take responsibility for choices and actions.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 231-235 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Addiction Research and Theory |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2009 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article. The authors thank McKnight Land-Grant Professorship and National Institute of Health grant 1RL1AA017541 funds for support.
Keywords
- Attribution
- Belief
- Free will