Nature and Nurture Flashcards
(9 cards)
What is the debate
The nature vs nurture debate in psych concerns the role of genetics and environmental experiences on behaviour
Nature
Believes behaviour is a product of innate biological and genetic factors that are hereditary
Nurture
Believes that our behaviour is a product of experiences and environmental influences
Example of nature
Bowlby’s theory when he proposed children come into the world biologically programmed to form attachments to help them survive
^ natural selection - hereditary best traits passed down
Example of nurture
Attachment is due to classical conditioning, food is the UCS and is associated with the moth (NS) and through repeated pairings, mother is CS who illicits a CR
Interactionist approach
Holds the view that both nature and nurture work together to shape human behaviour
Eval - Debate can lead to discrimination (W)
Jenson found average IQ scores of black Americans were significantly lower than whites - argued genetic factors were mainly responsible
^ nature debate allows discrimination against ethnic minorities
Eval - N+N work together in epigenetics (W)
. Persons physical and social environment can affect which genes are switched on rather than DNA sequence of genes themselves
E.g: Agouti mice carry agouti gene and when bred most are identical
^ parent mice produced majority offspring that were slender and mousy brown
. Researchers changed mothers diet before conception which was assumed to have turned off agouti gene as mice produced were fat and yellow
- supports interactionist approach = no need for a debate
Eval - Strength of nurture debate (S)
. Within twin studies there are higher concordance rates for the Mz twins (genetically the same) than Dz twins
. Rates still not 100% which means environmental factors must have an effect
E.g: types of friends they have and what physical activities they do may cause changes to concordance rates
