Nature and Nurture Flashcards
Summary of the debate
The nature and nurture debate is to what extent is behaviour determined due to the influence of hereditary nature factors (genes) or environmental nurture factors (experiences) and the relative importance/combination of both
Nurture
Refers to the influence of experience and the environment on human behaviour that is non genetic. Cannot avoid them
This includes a variety of influences such as parenting style, educational experiences, and cultural background
Nature
Refers to biological heredity and genetic predispositions by individuals from their parents at birth. Cannot avoid them
This includes physical characteristics such as eye colour, facial features, personality traits and behavioural tendencies
What is an example of nature and explain what it is
Nativism - a belief system that suggests that a person’s origins determine their future abilities. People who ascribe to this belief system naturally feel anxious about their prospects, feeling that their beginnings limit their ability to learn
What is an example of nurture and explain what it is
Empiricism - the mind is a blank slate at birth which is then shaped by the environment
Philosophical belief that states your knowledge of the world is based on your experiences, particularly your sensory experiences
Lerner - identified different levels of the environment
- prenatal terms e.g mother smoking/hearing music
- postnatal experiences e.g social conditions a child grows up in
Diathesis stress model
Behaviour is caused by a biological/environmental vulnerability (diathesis) which is only expressed when coupled with a biological/environmental trigger (stressor)
e.g a person who inherits a genetic vulnerability for OCD may not develop the disorder. But combined with psychological trigger e.g traumatic experience this may result in the disorder appearing
Interactionism
Way to explain the development of behaviour in terms of a range of factors including both biological and psychological ones
Such factors don’t simply together but combine in a way that can’t be predicted by each one separately
Constructivism
Central idea is that human learning is constructed , that learners build new knowledge upon the foundation of previous learning
Constructivists argue that states can have multiple identities that are socially constructed through interaction with others
Epigenetics
A change in genetic activity without changing the genetic code
Lifestyle and events we encounter e.g smoking, diet leave ‘marks’ on our DNA (genes) - switching genes on or off
This has a lifelong influence and can be passed on to future generations
EVALUATION: strength of research
One strength in nature nurture research is adoption studies
If adopted children are more similar to their adoptive parents, suggests environmental influence, if more similar to biological parents, suggests genetic influence
Rhee and Waldman found in a meta analysis of adoption studies that genetic influences accounted for 41% of variance in aggression
This shows how research can separate nature and nurture influences
EVALUATION: definitive answer - criticism
There is no conclusive solution to the nature vs. nurture debate. The majority of psychologists think that human behaviour and development are influenced by a combination of nature and nurture. Depending on the particular trait or characteristic being study, the relative importance of each component may change.
EVALUATION: real world application - strength
Nestadt et al put the heritability rate at .76 for OCD i.e it is highly heritable. Such understanding can inform genetic counselling
People who have a high genetic risk of OCD because of their family background can receive education about inheritance, management and the prevention of the disorder
This shows that the debate is not just theoretical but that it is also important, at a practical level, to understand the interaction between nature and nurture
EVALUATION: meaningless
According to researchers, the nature-versus-nurture debate is no longer meaningful, and a rising body of research is emphasising the value of an interactionist approach.
Biology (nature) and life experiences (nurture) are shaped by our experiences, according to research on brain plasticity in biopsychology.
For example London cab drivers’ hippocampi volume was studied by Maguire et al. When comparing taxi drivers to non-drivers, she discovered that this area of the brain was larger in them.
Maguire’s conclusion, which highlights the value of an interactionist approach and provides evidence that nurture may influence nature, was that driving a cab (nurture) actually had an effect on the size of the hippocampi (nature).
