Nature Nurture Flashcards
Define environment.
The environment is everything outside the body, including people, events, and the physical world.
Define hereditary.
Heredity is the process by which traits are passed down genetically from one generation to the next.
What does an interactionist approach argue?
An interactionist approach argues that multiple levels of explanation are necessary to understand a specific behavior. These levels range from lower (biological) to higher levels (social and cultural).
What is the focus of the nature-nurture debate?
The nature versus nurture debate centers on the relative contributions of genetic inheritance and environmental factors to human development and behavior.
Define the nativist view.
The view that behavior is the product of innate biological or genetic factors, assuming that the characteristics of the human species are a product of evolution, and individual differences result from each person’s unique genetic code.
How do family, twin, and adoption studies contribute to the nativist perspective?
According to the nativist perspective, characteristics and differences not observable at birth but emerging later in life are regarded as the product of maturation. The passage mentions a “biological clock” that switches certain behaviors “on” or “off” in a pre-programmed way.
Using the example of schizophrenia, how does the risk change based on family studies?
The risk of being diagnosed with schizophrenia is approximately 1% in the general population. However, Gottesman and Shields (1991) pooled the results of around 40 family studies and found that the risk increases to 46% for individuals with two parents who have schizophrenia.
Connect evolutionary explanations to the importance of nature.
Evolutionary explanations emphasise the importance of nature by assuming that behaviors or characteristics enhancing survival and reproduction will be naturally selected and passed on through genetic inheritance as they provide an adaptive advantage. For example, Bowlby’s proposal that children are biologically programmed to form attachments for survival is cited as an illustration.
What does the nurture perspective argue about the origin of behavior?
The nurture perspective argues that behavior is the product of environmental influences.
According to environmentalists, what is the human mind compared to, and who first proposed this idea?
According to environmentalists, the human mind is compared to a “tabula rasa” (a blank slate). This idea was first proposed by John Locke in the 17th century.
How do behavioral psychologists explain attachment according to the nurture perspective?
According to the nurture perspective, behavioral psychologists explain attachment in terms of classical conditioning. For example, food (unconditioned stimulus) is associated with the mother (neutral stimulus), and through repeated pairings, the mother becomes a conditioned stimulus that elicits a conditioned response in the child.
What theory proposed by Batson et al. is mentioned in relation to the nurture perspective and schizophrenia?
The passage mentions the double bind theory proposed by Batson et al. According to this theory, schizophrenia is suggested to result from disordered communication within the family, where contradictory instructions are given to a child overtly and covertly, leading to a lack of coherent construction of reality and manifesting as schizophrenic symptoms.
