Nature Nurture Debate

Question 1

What is the nature nurture debate

Answer 1

It is a debate about the relative contributions of either nature or nurture and it’s influence in determining an individuals behaviour. The nature side of the debate assumes that hereditary, genes and hormones are most important. The nurture side assumes that the environment and a persons experiences are more important

Question 2

What is the nature debate

Answer 2

This is rooted in the nativist theory that knowledge and abilities are innate. This does not simply refer to abilities present at birth, but any characteristics determined by genes.

The biological approach is key in the nature debate. It offers many genetic explanations for behaviour, the the concordance rate for a mental disorder such as schizophrenia, in monozygotic twins, is 40% but in dizygotic it is only 7%. The close the concordance rate for individuals who share the same genes show that nature is a major cause of mental disorders

The evolutionary explanations emphasise the importance of nature as they are based on the principle that a characteristic that promotes survival and reproduction will be naturally selected because it is far more likely to be passed onto subsequent generations. Bowlby said that attachment is adaptive as it means an infant will be protected and more likely survive. Attachemnt also promotes close relationships which would foster successful reproduction

Question 3

What is the nurture side of the debate

Answer 3

Rooted in empiricist theory that knowledge derives from learning. Environmental influences are acquired through interactions with the environment. This includes both the physical and the social world and is often referred to as experiences. Pre natal environmental influences are part of nurture, for example whether a mother smokes or not during pregnancy.

Question 4

What does the behavioural approach assume

Answer 4

That all behaviour can be explained in terms of experience alone. For example it claims that babies attach to their mothers because they associate them with the pleasure they get from food. Social learning theory is a little less extreme than traditional behaviourism. Studies have shown that behaviour such as aggression is learnt through observation of others but does acknowledge that the urge to behave aggressively is biological

Question 5

What is the double bind theory of schizophrenia

Answer 5

Bateson et al suggested that schizophrenia develops in children who frequently receive contradictory messages from their parents, for example if a mother tells her son she loves him, but at the same time turns her head away in disgust. Such mixed messages about her feelings prevent the child developing an internally consistent construction of reality

Question 6

Strengths nature nurture

Answer 6

Epigenetics - refers to a change in out genetic activity without changing our genetic code. It is a process that happens thought our lifetime and is caused by interactions with the environment. Aspects of our lifestyle like smoking, diet, pollution, war… leave epigenetic markers on our dna. These marks tell our bodies what genes to ignore and what to use, and in turn may influence the genetics of our children and even their children. Epigenetics therefore introduces a third element to the nature nurture debate, the life experiences of the previous generation

Another strength is that is The Interactionist Approach - recently psychologists gave begun to question whether human behaviour is due to hereditary factors or the environment. It is now widely accepted that they do not act independently from each other and that both are essential in almost all behaviour. Therefore instead to defending either point, most researchers are now researching how they interact. The interactionist aooriach is the view that they work together to shale behaviour

Question 7

Weakness of nature vs nurture

Answer 7

nativists argue that anatomy is destiny, whilst the environment has little input - this determinist view led controversy linking into race, genetics and intelligence and the application of eugenics policy - this suggest that we should be careful when blaming nature for peoples behaviour as it can lead to controversial policies that can disadvantage members of society

Several studies have shown that nurture affects nature. Maguire et al. (2000) found that London Taxi drivers have a larger hippocampus than a control group. This is because the hippocampus deals with spatial memory. They were not born this way, the hippocampus has responded to increased use.