The nature-nurture debate is all about whether genetics (nature) or our environment (nurture) is responsible for our behaviour and development. Early theorists believed that our personality, intellect, behaviour and gender role were determined by our genes and therefore could not be changed. But an increasing amount of evidence has proved these theorists wrong, and our development as an individual is learnt through the environment we live in. One developmental stage of an individual that psychologists have the nature-nurture debate about is the intelligence stage. The nature side of that intelligence is present at birth and we already have a set amount of intelligence.
M1 :Discuss the nature-nurture debate in relation to the development of an individual In this assignment I will be discussing the nature- nurture debate in relation to the development of an individual. The nature- nurture debate has been around for many centuries which argues about the role of heredity and environment in human development. The nature – nurture debate is concerned with particular aspects of behaviour which are believed to be either a product of inherited or learned characteristics. Some philosophers and theorists have argued that we are just born to be the way we are. Whereas other theorists have argued that is is the way we are brought up and influenced by our surroundings that makes an individual the way they are.
Individual Programmatic Assessment: Personality Development Paper Tony Lopez PSYCH 645 August 3, 2015 Individual Programmatic Assessment: Personality Development Paper The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader of Individual personality development in terms of nature v. nurture and examines the effect on twins and on the influences that trait theory and biology, such as temperament have on personality development. Cultural factors have an effect on personality expression in terms of gender roles and group cultures such as collectivist and individualist cultures. Three personality models: 1. Biological-model 2. Five factor trait theory, and 3.
Feldman (2009) defines the nature nurture debate as the issue of the degree to which environment and hereditary factors influence the behaviour. According to Flanagan (2002) nature refers to behavioural or physical traits found in a developing child that are due to genetic factors. Feldman (2009:39) says “nature refers to hereditary factors, characteristics and tendencies that influence development.” Thus nature can be defined as inborn characteristics such as generic diseases evident in a developing child. Santrock (2004) defines nurture as environmental factors that have an influence on the development of a human being. According to Bernstein (2011) nurture refers to all environmental influence, after the birth of a child that affects development.
My interpretation of this definition is that psychology, while unique to each person, is the culmination of all experiences which ultimately identifies a being and can at times predict or evoke certain behaviors. In the clinical sense, psychology can be a useful tool when controlling behavior, gathering data for an identified population or attempting to explain the what and why’s we encounter everyday of our lives. Psychology and Life (19th Edition) goes on to describe the evolution of modern psychology, which can trace its beginnings to ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. Plato and Aristotle had opposing views that weighed heavily on modern psychology. On one hand Plato believed in more of a nativist view, in which assumes that people are preprogrammed for certain behavior due to their lineage from the time they are born (Gerrig, R. J. and Zimbardo, P. G. 6).
This form of psychology is involved with the mind-body dispute and researchers how they affect one another. Biological psychology thrives to explain the brain and the nervous system and how they relate to human characteristics such as learning, thinking, feeling, and perception. The biopsychological approach includes an assumption that biological events can cause mental consequences and vise versa. The main assumption is that the mental process and biological events are directly linked together and work as one. The history of biological psychology dates all the way back to the Greeks.
Sample introductions from first-year essays (psychology) Essay title: Compare and contrast, using examples, how ‘knowing’ something has a different meaning for a psychologist compared to a member of the lay public. Introduction 1: According to the Heinemann English Dictionary, ‘knowing’ something simply means ‘to understand’. However, before actually looking at the difference between knowing something as a lay person and as a psychologist, it is paramount to establish what psychology actually is. The definitions of psychology have changed over its lifetime; nonetheless, it is considered a science which looks at part of human behaviour. Introduction 2: There are many facts in life that all people will lay claim to ‘knowing’.
Determinism is the philosophical doctrine that all events, including human action, are ultimately determined by causes external to the will. In sociology, this relates to the idea that everything is previously determined by a particular factor, or that the outcome is influenced by an uncontrollable cause. Biological determinism argues that individual and group behaviour and social status are the inevitable result of biology – i.e. “Biology is destiny” (Germov & Poole, 2010, p.15). This paper gives several responses to the idea of genetic or biological determinism from the viewpoint of sociology.
Essay: describe and explain (from the video) how nature (inherited instinct biology/genes) and nurture (environment or upbringing (how are you treated/taught)) can affect a child’s development. In order to answer the focus question, we would need to understand the terms used. Nature describes the basic skills that are “hardwired” into our brains such as what a baby can do when it is born. A deeper understanding of the term would lead to a debate on the theory of evolution as, if a creature could be born knowing certain things such as speech already without being taught, that would have to be a form of evolution and then nurture would become nature. The term nurture refers to the way a child or adult was raised and the effect it had on their personality, such as a person’s language.
For example, these include genetic make-up; biological needs and evolutionary pressures. The video we watched in the class “Journey of Man”, it mention how human survive in different claims and environments. Genetic difference can make human adapt to difference claims. People who in the tropic zone has special genetics to protect themselves to adapt to the higher ultraviolet rays, that is the reason why their skin color is darker than people who live in the frigid zone. The following is the theory from a medieval writer Al-Jahiz, explained how the environment can determine the physical characteristic.