Nature vs Nurture

Question 1

What is ‘nature’ concerned with in psychology.

Answer 1

Behaviours that are innate due to being biological.

Question 2

What is ‘nurture’ concerned with in psychology.

Answer 2

Behaviours that are shaped by the environment.

Question 3

What do nativists argue causes behaviour?

Answer 3

Genetics, hormones, brain activity, and other biological factors.

Question 4

What do empiricists argue causes behaviour?

Answer 4

They argue the mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa) at birth and knowledge and behaviour is a result of the environment.

Question 5

What are the implications for behaviour being a result of nature?

Answer 5

• Unethical to treat if it is due to genetics as it would involve eugenics
• Has some implications for predicting who might show future behaviours as a result

Question 6

What are the implications for behaviour being a result of nurture?

Answer 6

• Easier to change the environment

- Preventable and treatable

Question 7

Identify a few methods that focus on nature.

Answer 7

• Brain scans
• Lab experiments
• Twin/adoption studies
• Psychometric testing

Question 8

Identify a few methods that focus on nurture.

Answer 8

• Observations
• Case studies
• Cross-cultural studies
• Interviews

Question 9

What is the widely accepted view of the relationship between nature and nurture.

Answer 9

The combination of both nature and nurture are essential to explaining human behaviours.

Question 10

Give an example of a model which combines nature and nurture.

Answer 10

Diathesis-stress model.

Question 11

What are the key assumptions of Cognitive Psychology?

Answer 11

• The human brain functions like a computer
• The brain processes info in a linear fashion
• Nature and nurture interact

Question 12

List 5 areas of Cognitive Psychology that can be associated with nature and nurture.

Answer 12

1) Multi-Store Model
2) Working Memory Model
3) Tulving’s theory
4) Schematic theory
5) Brain damage

Question 13

Describe how the Multi-Store Model in Cognitive Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 13

Nature
- Memory is universal process that takes place in the brain
Nurture
- Rehearsal is a process governed by the environment

Question 14

Describe how the Working Memory Model in Cognitive Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 14

Nature
- Memory is universal process that takes place in the brain
Nurture
- Memory impairment happens when two pieces of info using the same type of encoding occur from the environment

Question 15

Describe how Tulving’s theory in Cognitive Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 15

Nature
- Memory is universal process that takes place in the brain
Nurture
- Episodic memories are cued by things from the environment

Question 16

Describe how Schematic theory in Cognitive Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 16

Nature
- Reconstruction of past events is a process that involves cognition and takes place in our brain
Nurture
- Schemas are formed based on experiences from our environment

Question 17

Describe how brain damage in Cognitive Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 17

Nature
- Impairment of memory can be a result of damage to areas of the brain that is involved in memory (e.g. hippocampus)
Nurture
- Brain damage can be caused by the environment, such as an accident

Question 18

Describe how Baddeley (1966) can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 18

Nature
- Memory is universal
- Therefore encoding in the STM being acoustic and encoding in the LTM being semantic will be the same for everyone
Nurture
- Acoustically and semantically similar words differ between cultures and their languages
- And so the differing sounds are caused by environment

Question 19

Using the acronym ‘CRIM’, evaluate the nature/nurture debate of Cognitive Psychology.

Answer 19

C - Low task validity when operationalising memory as recalling word lists doesn’t reflect how memory works in real life and results have low credibility
R - It reduces memory down to a measurable concept of words accurately recalled from a list making it more scientific
I - Memory being universal means it is hard to change however factors from the environment that cause impairment are easily treatable
M - Lab experiments have standardised procedures making them replicable and easy to compare to test for consistency and they also have high control allowing cause and effect to be established between memory being nature/nurture
E - Bartlett’s (1932) study showed that there were inaccuracies in recalling an American Folk story due to schemas influencing details that weren’t familiar such as someone dying at sunset instead of sunrise which shows that nurture influences memory

Question 20

What are the key assumptions of Social Psychology?

Answer 20

• Our roles in society influences our behaviour
• The group we are a part of influences our behaviour
• The situation we are in influences our behaviour

Question 21

List 4 areas of Social Psychology that can be associated with nature and nurture.

Answer 21

1) Agency Theory
2) Social Impact Theory
3) Social Identity Theory
4) Realistic Conflict Theory

Question 22

Describe how Agency Theory in Social Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 22

Nature
- Tendency to obey due to evolution in that it aids survival
Nurture
- Authority figures present in the environment determines our autonomy

Question 23

Describe how Social Impact Theory in Social Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 23

Nature
- Being out-numbered or of lower status causes submission through obeying to aid survival
Nurture
- Number of people, proximity of authority figure, and power of a person are all social factors

Question 24

Describe how Social Identity Theory in Social Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 24

Nature
- The want to belong to a group due to aiding survival in evolution forms a social identity
Nurture
- The presence of another group in a social situation causes prejudice

Question 25

Describe how Realistic Conflict Theory in Social Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 25

Nature
- People from groups to survive
Nurture
- Competition causing prejudice rises as a result from limited resources in the environment

Question 26

Describe how Sherif (1954) can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 26

Nature
- Natural tendency to form groups as it aids our survival
Nurture
- Sherif changed the environment in stages through introduction of competition with games like baseball
- Changing in friendship levels as a measure of prejudice is a social factor

Question 27

Using the acronym ‘CRIM’, evaluate the nature/nurture debate of Social Psychology.

Answer 27

C - Field experiments (e.g. Sherif 1954) which are high in ecological validity in which behaviour will reflect real life and so is more credible at explaining behaviour as nature/nurture
R - Lab experiments (e.g. Milgram 1963) operationalise abstract concepts (e.g. obedience) as things like an increase in voltage of electric shock administered which is highly scientific but lacks the detail necessary for understanding the complexity of behaviour
I - Social’s key assumptions being mainly to do with nurture implies that undesirable behaviours can be changed
M - Field experiments have high ecological validity but low internal, lab experiments have high reliability but low task validity
E - Milgram’s ‘Ordinary Man’ variation found that 80% of ppts left the experiment once the confederate suggested they increase the shock level showing obedience can be influenced by nurture

Question 28

What are the key assumptions of Biological Psychology?

Answer 28

• The central nervous system and brain governs behaviour

- Evolution and natural selection play a huge role in human behaviour

Question 29

List 4 areas of Biological Psychology that can be associated with nature and nurture.

Answer 29

1) Evolution
2) Brain structure
3) Neurotransmitters
4) Hormones

Question 30

Describe how evolution in Biological Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 30

Nature
- Behaviour like aggression is innate due to natural selection from evolution favouring aggressive genes that aid survival being passed on to offspring
Nurture
- Changes in the environment causes changes in behaviours

Question 31

Describe how brain structure in Biological Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 31

Nature
- Abnormalities in the brain cause differences in behaviour such as becoming more aggressive
Nurture
- Damage can be caused by the environment

Question 32

Describe how neurotransmitters in Biological Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 32

Nature
- They are electrical messengers in the brain that can cause changes in behaviours, such as an increase in dopamine increasing aggression
Nurture
- Neurotransmission can get disrupted by things from the environment such as drugs

Question 33

Describe how hormones in Biological Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 33

Nature
- They are chemical messengers in the body that can cause changes in behaviours, such as an increase in testosterone increasing aggression
Nurture
- Hormone levels can get disrupted by things from the environment such as drugs and stress

Question 34

Describe how Raine (1997) can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 34

Nature
- Used PET scans to investigate difference in the brain between murderers pleading NGRI compared to non-murderers
- These focus on activity and structure of the brain that causes behaviour such as criminality
Nurture
- Events from the environment cause an aggressive response

Question 35

Using the acronym ‘CRIM’, evaluate the nature/nurture debate of Biological Psychology.

Answer 35

C - PET scans looking at activity in the brain are objective due to quantitative data making them more reliable and easy to analyse which increases credibility
R - It ignores factors from the environment causing behaviours such as aggression meaning the explanations are inadequate due to complexity
I - Focuses mainly on the nature argument causing behaviour which means it reduces likelihood of getting rid of the behaviour however it allows us to predict who might be at risk and find prevention treatments
M - Lab experiments have low ecological validity due to the setting being artificial and unnatural to the ppt meaning their behaviours may be prone to DCs and won’t reflect real life
E - Case study of Charles Whitman killed 16 people and himself and his autopsy showed he had a tumor pressing against his amygdala which supports aggression being due to nature

Question 36

What are the key assumptions of Learning Psychology?

Answer 36

• We are born a blank slate (tabula rasa)
• We are shaped exclusively by the environment through stimulus response
• No free will due to behaviours being determined by events we experience

Question 37

List 4 areas of Learning Psychology that can be associated with nature and nurture.

Answer 37

1) Classical Conditioning
2) Operant Conditioning
3) Social Learning Theory
4) Phobias

Question 38

Describe how classical conditioning in Learning Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 38

Nature
- Reflexes as a response to things in the environment are biological such as salivation at the sight of food
Nurture
- Association with things in the environment conditions behaviours such as associating a rat with fear due to hearing a loud noise every time it appears

Question 39

Describe how operant conditioning in Learning Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 39

Nature
- Reflexes as a response to things in the environment are biological such as salivation at the sight of food
Nurture
- Reinforcers that reward/punish certain behaviours from the environment such as an anorexic patient receiving money for gaining weight

Question 40

Describe how social learning theory in Learning Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 40

Nurture
- Behaviours are learned through observing things from the environment such as learning aggression through observing someone else being aggressive

Question 41

Describe how phobias in Learning Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 41

Nature
- Some phobias can be innate due to being developed from evolution as they aided the survival of ancestors such as a fear response to a loud noise
Nurture
- Mechanisms of learning phobias come from the environment such as fear of spiders due to observing other people being scared in their presence

Question 42

Describe how Watson and Rayner (1920) can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 42

Nature
- Little Albert showed the reflexive fear response of jumping at a loud sudden noise which is a biological innate reaction
Nurture
- Conditioned a phobia into Little Albert through associating neutral stimuli of a rat with the unconditioned stimulus of a loud noise that came from the environment

Question 43

Using the acronym ‘CRIM’, evaluate the nature/nurture debate of Learning Psychology.

Answer 43

C - Lab experiments have high control over EVs and so can establish cause and effect between a behaviour being learned as a result of conditioning
R - Operationalising learnt aggression as the amount of verbally and physically violent actions towards a Bobo doll allows the complex process of learning behaviours to be measurable and so is more scientific
I - Behaviour being largely nurture has implications of undesirable behaviours being easily changed such as changing the role models children see on TV with the Watershed having violent programs on after 9pm
M - Observations (e.g. Bandura 1961) have low validity due to subjectivity in interpretation of behaviours, but also high inter-rater reliability (Watson and Rayner 1920) if there are multiple researchers to remove subjectivity
E - Bandura (1961) found that children who observed role models acting aggressively towards a bobo doll reproduced the same behaviours suggesting nurture

Question 44

List 4 areas of Criminal Psychology that can be associated with nature and nurture.

Answer 44

1) Biological explanations for criminality
2) Hormone treatment
3) Social explanations for criminality
4) Cognitive Behaviour Treatment

Question 45

Describe how biological explanations for criminality in Criminal Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 45

Nature
- XYY syndrome involves an extra Y chromosome causing criminality which is purple biology due to occurring at conception
- Brain abnormalities causing criminality focuses on biological areas such as the prefrontal cortex and amygdala
- Eysenck’s personality theory states that certain personality traits that are biological (e.g. extroversion caused by the ARAS favouring inhibition of stimulation) causes criminality
Nurture
- Brain injury can be caused by the environment such as having an accident
- Personality can be influenced by family and friends

Question 46

Describe how hormone treatment in Criminal Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 46

Nature
- Hormones are a biological process of chemical messengers in the body that cause a change in behaviour such as high testosterone levels causing aggression and so hormone treatment is the biological process that treats it
Nurture
- The treatment is in the form of drugs intervention that was made from the environment

Question 47

Describe how environmental explanations of criminality in Criminal Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 47

Nature
- Labels may be formed by behaviour that someone is predisposed to and is biological
- Humans have an innate tendency to categorise things as it aids survival due to helping people understand
Nurture
- Labels given to people based on their behaviour are from the environment
- Social Learning Theory states that we learn behaviours through observing role models from the environment

Question 48

Describe how cognitive behavioural treatment in Criminal Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 48

Nature
- Cognition is an innate, biological process which this therapy aims to change such as changing thoughts on anger
- Uses methods such as counting to 10 to reduce physiological symptoms such as elevated heart rate when experiencing anger
Nurture
- It also focuses on triggers from the environment that cause a behavioural response such as aggression
- Methods to reduce undesirable behaviours are from the environment such as counting to 10

Question 49

Describe how Loftus and Palmer (1974) can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 49

Nurture
- Impairment in memory recall was caused by leading questions in which the verb suggested the speed of a car that are factors from the environment

Question 50

Using the acronym ‘CRIM’, evaluate the nature/nurture debate of Criminal Psychology.

Answer 50

C - XYY syndrome only applies to males and so lacks credibility in explaining whether criminality in females is a result of nature or nurture
R - Causes of criminality being reduced to injuries in certain areas of the brain (e.g. prefrontal cortex) reduces the behaviour to certain biological elements that can be measured scientifically with brain scanning
I - It argues both sides of the debate with some causes being nature and so having little chance for change and some being nurture meaning it can be treated
M - Case studies into why criminals offend have high validity due to their complex and in-depth procedure providing detail and understanding, but lack reliability as they are hard to replicate and test for consistency
E - Federoff (1992) found that only 15% of criminals re-offended when taking MPA compared to 68% of those not taking MPA supporting criminality being nature

Question 51

List 4 areas of Clinical Psychology that can be associated with nature and nurture.

Answer 51

1) Biological explanation for disorders
2) Drug treatments
3) Social explanations for disorders
4) Social treatments for disorders

Question 52

Describe how biological explanation for disorders in Clinical Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 52

Nature
- Dopamine hypothesis for SZ states an imbalance of the neurotransmitter dopamine which is a biological electrical message causes the disorder
- Neurodevelopmental hypothesis for SZ states abnormalities in the brain such as enlarged ventricles causes the disorder
- Genes (e.g. EPHX2 which is responsible for cholesterol and depression) for AN that are inherited causes the disorder
Nurture
- Abnormal brain functioning and imbalanced neurotransmitters can be a result of things from the environment such as an accident or drugs

Question 53

Describe how drug treatments in Clinical Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 53

Nature
- SZ is caused by excess dopamine, a neurotransmitter that can be regulated through biological means of chemicals binding to the receptors
- AN having co-morbid symptoms that may cause the disorder can be changed through drugs that alter brain chemistry with biological components from things like SSRIs that change serotonin levels
Nurture
- Intervention in the form of drug therapy is made from the environment

Question 54

Describe how social explanations for disorders in Clinical Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 54

Nurture

• Social causation hypothesis states that SZ develops as a result of stress from the environment from these main factors: lower social class, social adversity, immigration which are factors from the environment
• Socio-cultural explanation states that AN develops as a result of influence from things in the environment such as cultural norms and the media presenting models who are skinny

Question 55

Describe how social treatments for disorders in Clinical Psychology can be argued as nature or nurture.

Answer 55

Nature
- ACT as a treatment for SZ is often paired with drug treatments due to being insufficient on his own which looks at treating a disorder with biological methods
Nurture
- ACT treats SZ by using environmental factors such as the community to aid people’s functioning to assist with recovery
- Token economy treats AN by using environmental reinforcers (such as money) when desirable behaviour of gaining weight is shown

Question 56

Using the acronym ‘CRIM’, evaluate the nature/nurture debate of Clinical Psychology.

Answer 56

C - Low validity in social explanations as they can’t be tested in a lab limiting a cause and effect relationship being established and so lacks credibility
R - Reducing the cause of a disorder down to one factor lacks important detail that may lead to better treatment and so is inadequate compared to theories such as the diathesis-stress model
I - Nature causing disorders means there is little chance of curing but their symptoms can be treated whereas nurture causing a disorder is easier to treat
M - Twin studies never have a 100% concordance rate which suggests interactions between nature and nurture, animal studies are not generalisable
E - Paul and Lentz (1977) found that 11% of patients needed drug therapy alongside token economy to treat AN suggesting the cause may have nature element too

Question 57

Which 2 areas of psychology are focused on nature?

Answer 57

1) Biological

2) Cognitive

Question 58

Which 2 areas of psychology are focused on nurture?

Answer 58

1) Learning

2) Social