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.
Environmentalist would later argue that the environment in which one is brought up had a much larger role in shaping the mind; these two contrasting views have set the stage for this much argued debate. More recently, nature-nurture, research has been aimed at answering “how much” of our genes or environment have an effect on specific traits and behavior, such as intelligence, and which of these two elemental factors is more important on the development of such traits. Much insight into the debate of nature-nurture is afforded to the research and data obtained through twin, adoption and family studies; with identical twin studies being the most valuable. I have chosen two studies to compare and contrast over the debate of nature-nurture. The first is a longitudinal adoption study; Nature, Nurture, and Cognitive Development from 1 to 16 years: A Parent-Offspring Adoption Study (1).
03-27-2012 Extra Credit: Response to Robert Krueger's Talk Robert Krueger's presentation, “Understanding genetic and environmental contributions to individual differences: Contemporary findings and challenges”, looked at different factors contributing to personality and psychopathological tendencies. Krueger started out his presentation explaining Genome-Wide Association studies (GWAS). He was excited by the new technology that allows researchers to quickly analyze whole genome samples at a high resolution for genetic variation. He claimed that research show genes only vary slightly among individuals. Krueger then discussed twin studies and other methods commonly used to tap into that variation.
Nature Vs. Nurture Daniel Franks Western Governors University Issues in Behavioral Science GTL 1 October 27, 2014 Nature Vs. Nurture The term, nature vs. nurture, was coined by Sir Francis Galton after two published studies, Hereditary Genius (1869), and English Men of Science: Their Nature and Nurture (1874) explored whether certain traits were inherited from birth or if they could be learned and fostered by environment and upbringing. Since then this debate has been put to everything from intelligence to sexual orientation, with a few scholars taking a firm stance on one side of the argument or another, but most believing that both take an equally important role in determining a persons personality. In this paper we will briefly breakdown both sides of the debate,
Nature in terms of health and social care defines as the qualities we are born with that makes us what we are. Nurture defines as how we are influenced as a child by the environment around us, including other people. Many scientists, philosophers and researches argue that individuals’ personalities and talents come from their DNA and many others argue that the majority of it is influenced by life experiences and the environment. There have been studies involving identical and fraternal twins to find out if it is the genetics (nature) or environment (nurture), which was the effective one on the case of personality development. Which side of the debate is more influential?
What is the great debate over nature vs. nurture? The goal of this essay is to convince the readers that human nature is more relevant than nurture through a series of articles, quotes and sources to support this argument. Exploring the correlation between nature and nurture and the conclusion of this essay all the elements will be tied together. Nature is a scientific, and is the hereditary traits found in our genes, which make us who we are. We as humans learn something every day it is in our nature.
I also remember taking a class at Kaplan for my undergraduate program that the professor completely and totally told us that Wikipedia was a very viable site to get primary source information for his research papers. He encouraged us to use the website for information but also be aware of any vandalism that may be apparent in certain topics. Personally, I would only use Wikipedia as a pre-search tool for better information. Inappropriate: As Clay Burell said, I’ve been skimming Wikipedia’s own policies for writing and research, and Lo! The Great Wikipedia itself tells its writers the very things I was trying to tell my young fundies.” (2010) In most cases, most school, libraries or any type of educational program will tell you that Wikipedia is a very good start to get to know about the subject that a person is studying.
Nature vs. Nurture Controversy Dawn D. Elkins Psychology 101 Liberty University What are my thoughts on the Nature vs. Nurture Argument? Nature, defined refers to the genes that people inherit, as in, the color of our eyes, the shape of our faces, and the coarseness of our hair. Nurture, defined refers to all the environmental influences, beginning with the mother’s health and diet during prenatal development and continuing lifelong, including the individual experiences with family, school, community, and society (Berger, K. Pg. 667). I believe that we are a beautifully crafted puzzle of genetic inheritance; however, I also believe that nurture plays a major role in a person life.
Free Will vs. Determinism Intro Determinism- belief that behaviours determined by internal/external forces. (external force could be parents rewarding you for something, making you more determined to achieve higher, & internal force could be hormones) Free will- believe although external/internal forces exist people have free will to choose behaviour The Argument Determinism: • Determinists believe that nature of universe is governed by specific laws, thus actions are caused by a specific a priori cause, human behaviour is no different. Determinists believe precise prediction of a human is possible, if current stimulus & conditioning history is known. Skinner argued that all behaviour is determined by environmental events and that humans tend to repeat behaviours that are rewarded. Skinner stated that free will was simply an illusion • Bandura, believe that behaviours weren’t solely determined by external rewards/punishments, or people would constantly change to please others.
Nature vs. Nurture Over the years, there has been a lot of controversy on whether or not genes that we inherit affect us and how we live, or if it is the environment that we have been raised in. There are many different reasons for why one is more correct than that other. But, all of the reasons can be backed up with very good evidence and reasoning. Personality, development, intelligence, behavior and ability to do certain things make us the individuals that we are. But what influences those things?