B1. Nature/Nurture Debate Flashcards
(36 cards)
What is nature?
Physical characteristics which are biologically determined by genetic inheritance.
What is nurture?
The influences that an environment has on an individual including social and environmental factors.
Give examples of biological physical characteristics ?
Eye/hair colour
Straight/curly hair
Weight/ height
Life expectance
Skin pigmentation
What nurture factors influence our behaviour?
Education
Parenting styles
Social class
Diet/exercise
Environment
Religion
What is maturation?
Characteristics and differences not observed at birth but which emerge later in life
What theories are associated with nature vs nurture?
Gessell’s Maturation theory
Bandura’s Social learning theory
What did Gesssell look at?
Arnold Gesell looked into children’s biological maturation around the 1940’s – 1950’s.
What did Gessell develop?
He developed the ‘normative approach’ by observing large numbers of children to find the skills and abilities that most children had in each age group.
What were Gessell’s findings?
Identifying norm’s or milestones for each developmental aspect.
A child moves through the sequence at their own pace.
Development was predetermined and that the environment had little influence.
If a child experiences delayed development then the issue is one of heredity rather than the child’s environment.
A child should only be taught to complete tasks when they are physically and mentally ready to do so. Teaching a child to do something that is in advance of their developmental age would do them more harm
Give some positives of Gessell’s study
Developed social ‘norms’ – these are still used today.
The study was conducted over a LARGE number of children.
He used new and innovative methods to conduct his research.
Give some negatives of Gessell’s study
Did not consider individual differences.
Did not consider cultural differences.
Gesell believed that ‘norms’ or ‘ milestones’ were desirable
What does Bandura’s Social Learning theory focus on?
Bandura’s social learning theory focuses on the environmental influences children learn from including imitation and role modelling.
What is Bandura’s theory based on?
Banduras theory is based on observations of learning occurring through observing the behaviour of others.
What is the sequencing for social learning theory?
- Attention
- Retention
- Reproduction
- Motivation
Describe attention (sequence)
The child notices the behaviour of another person.
Describe retention (sequence)
The child internalises the action/behaviour by remembering what they have observed.
Describe reproduction (sequence)
The child the child reproduces the behaviour not necessarily straight away but when the opportunity occurs.
Describe motivation (sequence)
Depending on the outcome (positive/negative) reinforcement children will either repeat or not the behaviour.
What is positive reinforcement?
The behaviour is repeated because of personal satisfaction (intrinsic reinforcement) or rewards (extrinsic reinforcement).
What is negative reinforcement?
The behaviour is not repeated to avoid an adverse experience such as lack of satisfaction or to avoid being told off.
Give examples of positive reinforcement
Star charts
Certificates
Praise
Awards
Give examples of negative reinforcement
Remove behaviours
Replace with another behaviour
Ignore behaviour
What did Bandura base his theory on?
Bandura based his theory on a famous experiment using a Bobo doll in which he demonstrated that children learn and copy aggressive behaviour by observing adults behaving aggressively.
What does the stress-diathesis model explain?
Explains how stress caused by life events (nurture) can interact with an individuals genetic vulnerability (nature) to impact on their mental well-being.
