Nature Vs Nurture

Question 1

History of nature vs nurture debate

Answer 1

• Rene Descartes: Nativist, some aspects of human behaviour are innate and hereditary
  -John Locke: Empiricist, we are born as a blank slate at birth and our experience dictates who we are and our behaviour

Question 2

Nature: heritability coefficient

Answer 2

• Indicates the extent to which a characteristic has a genetic basis
  -> a heritability coefficient of 0.8 means that 80% of the variability in the trait in a population is due to genetic differences amongst people (80% chance this is due to genetic differences)

Question 3

Nurture: Lerner, “levels of the environment”

Answer 3

• Pre-natal influences
• Post-natal influences such as
  -> social conditions
  -> cultural context
  -> historical context

Question 4

The Interactionist Approach

Answer 4

• discussion more about the interaction between nature and nurture
• where behaviour arises from a combination of both
  :) even eye colour isn’t 100% determined by genes

Question 5

Diathesis-Stress Model

Answer 5

• behaviour is caused by biological or environmental vulnerability
  -> characteristics are only expressed when coupled with an opposing trigger

Question 6

Epigenetics

Answer 6

• a change in our genetic activity without changing the genetics themselves
• aspects of our life which leaves ”marks” on our DNA

Question 7

:) Evidence for the nature nurture debate

Answer 7

• Rhee & Waldman, adoption studies
  -> adoptive parents vs biological
  -> meta-analysis: genetic influence accounted for 41% of variance in aggression
  -> allows us to distinguish the cause of a behaviour

Question 8

Nature: :) Positive implications

Answer 8

Can be used to predict the likelihood of developing a mental illness
- Nesdadt et al (2012):
-> genetic counselling: OCD has a 0.76 heritability coefficient
-> can be used to give advice and help prevent

Question 9

Nature: :( Eugenics

Answer 9

• may lead to selective breeding
  -> breed out “undesirable” characteristics
  -> unethical, discriminative

Question 10

Nurture: :) Positive implications

Answer 10

• Therapy
  -> behaviour shaping (token economy)
  -> aversion therapy (addiction)
  -> flooding (phobias)

Question 11

Nurture: :( Negative implications

Answer 11

• extreme social control
  -> manipulation of the public