7. The Nature-Nurture Debate AO1 Flashcards
Define nature
Innate and genetic influences
Define nurture
Environmental influences
What did early nativists argue about nature
Human characteristics are innate
What did empiricists argue about nurture
The mind is a blank slate at birth upon which experience writes - behaviourist approach
What are the different levels of environment
- Defined in narrow prenatal terms (mothers state in pregnancy)
- Defined more generally through postnatal experiences (condition child grows up in)
Why is the nature-nurture debate impossible to answer?
Because environmental influences on a child occur as soon as conception
What is interactionism?
The focus of the debate is now on the relative contribution of each influence
Give an example of interactionism
The interactionism approach to attachment sees the bond between infant and parent as a two way street
What are the interactionist stages of attachment between an infant and parent of
- Child’s innate temperament influences how the parent behaves towards them
- The parents responses in turn after the child’s behaviour
What does the diathesis-stress model suggest?
Mental disorder is caused by a biological vulnerability which is only expressed when coupled with an environmental trigger
What is a biological vulnerability called?
Siathesis
What is an environmental trigger called?
Stressor
Who did Tiemari et al study?
A group of Finnish adoptees
What did Tienari et al find?
Those most likely to develop schizophrenia had biological relatives with a history of their disorder and had relationships with their adoptive families defined as ‘dysfunctional’
What is epigenetics?
A charge in genetic activity without changing the genetic code
