Our Nature part, our behaviors, our inborn instincts, which we believe must be genetic, is “what we’re all about”. The Nurture part, begs the question of how our surroundings has shaped us over time. Some scientists fall into the camp of “nature is what makes us what we are”. We are genetically related to our biological parents and siblings, therefore, we should be mini-mes of our family; we should all act and think the same way – or close to it. Some scientists fall into the other camp that it’s the “nurturing that makes us who we are”.
For the past yeast several years the debate over nature vs. nurture have been strongly discussed. Theory of nature vs. nurture simply tells us that there are different types of influences in our life that makes us who we are. Nature determines our personality, genes and heredity characteristics that is passed on from one generation to the next. Our heredity and genes determines our features that is inherited from our great ancestors, it has long been known that certain physical characteristics are biologically determined by genetic inheritance. Color of eyes, straight or curly hair, pigmentation of the skin and certain diseases (such as Huntingdon’s chorea) are all a function of the genes we inherit.
Running Head: NATURE VS. NURTURE-THE GREAT DEBATE 1 Nature vs. Nurture: The Great Debate Jeffery Gray, RN Western Governors University September 2014 NATURE VS. NURTURE: THE GREATE DEBATE 2 Abstract Describe the basic elements of the nature-nurture controversy. There are two different rationales for the origin, cause, or source of human behavior. Researchers and Scientists alike suggest that behavior is either the result of nature or nurture. Nature suggests that human behavior is the result of a genetic disposition, in other words, an individual’s behavior exists at birth, it is innate, they are born with the behavior inside of them. However, nurture suggests that an individual’s behavior is learned, it is the result or by-product of the environment in which the individual was reared or existed.
GLT 1 Task 3 Western Governors University The debate over nature versus nurture is still going on after over 140 years. Do your genes determine who you are and all of your traits, or does your environment shape you? These are the questions that researchers try to answer when conducting research in this field. Most people believe that we are a product of the combination of genetics and environment, but determining to what degree each of those factors shape particular traits can lead to fascinating research (World, n.d.). The debate over nature vs. nurture today focuses on what is an innate characteristic, occurring despite any outside influence, and what characteristics and traits are determined by our experiences and surroundings without a genetic cause.
It sounds like many of you have been greatly influenced by your parents and other family members. I agree that family can play a large role in helping us develop personal ethics. My dad, for example, has always told us that "perception is real." He says that if people believe we did something, we might as well have done it. This has always been in my head as I make tough decisions.
There are different views on the functionalism of the family and these views can change over time, between societies and between people in the same society. One man who expressed his functionalist view on the family was Murdock. He felt that the family was at the heart of society and that the nuclear family (mother, father and two or more children) was so useful to society it is inevitable and universal. This suggests that Murdock thought that the family was a natural part of society and happens all over the world. He felt that the family was multi-functional and could do a lot of things that needed to be done in modern day culture.
Two key concepts explain evolution of behavior: ultimate and proximate. Ultimate explains how characteristics are developed as he or she grows and matures. Proximate explains how certain behaviors were developed from the beginning of his or her life. Behavior is determined by the relationship and influence of environment and genes. The potential that one can reach in life is determined by the set of genes inherited from both parents.
These theories have been developed over time and have been debated and tweaked along the way to encompass the large set of study and experimental data compiled on the subject through the years. It remains to be seen whether or not we will one day reach a widely accepted and none refuted position on the subject of concern. The one certainty that we have on this subject is that we as people never stop learning, never stop our personal development, and never stop relying on our personal experiences to mold us into to the people that others see every day. References Baltes, P.B., Staudinger, U.M. (1999).
Running head: NATURE VS NURTURE: TWO STUDIES Nature vs Nurture: Two Studies Lesli A. Hill Western Governors University Nature vs Nurture: Two Studies Almost since the beginning of time, humans have tried to figure out why we are the way we are. Are our traits the result of our genetics, or our living situation? This question is the crux of the raging debate called “nature versus nurture.” The nature vs. nurture debate is all about determining whether we are shaped more by heredity or environment, and it has been applied to everything from intelligence to disease processes to sexual orientation. Proponents of the nature theory believe that we are destined have certain qualities because they are pre-programmed into our DNA, while supporters of the nurture theory believe that we learn our
One of the most intriguing and central debates in science today is the question on whether nature or nurture defines us as humans. Are we a product of our genes or our experiences? Fortunately for scientists today, there have been many cases available to provide evidence of either nurture or nature as the factor responsible for specific behaviours, emotions and morals. By analyzing and comparing these cases, a conclusion can be determined in order to induce to what extent nature influences the lives of these specimens. Among the cases studied in class, those that were most prominent, when it came to studying nature, were the twin studies.