The Nature vs Nurture Debate

Question 1

Nature

Answer 1

• The view that behaviour is a product of genetic or innate biological factors

Question 2

Heredity

Answer 2

• The process by which traits are carried down from one generation to another

Question 3

Nurture

Answer 3

• The view that behaviour is a product of environmental influences

Question 4

Environment

Answer 4

• Any influence on human behaviour that is not genetic
• This can include the environment in the womb through to cultural and historical influences

Question 5

Interactionist approach

Answer 5

• The view that both nature and nurture interact and work together to share behaviour

Question 6

Diathesis-Stress

Answer 6

• A psychological theory that attempts to explain the cause of a disorder as the result of an interaction between a pre-dispositional vulnerability (diathesis) and a stress caused by life experiences

Question 7

Nature is…

Answer 7

• Nativist position
• Basic assumption is that the characteristics of the human species are a product of evolution and the individual differences are the result of each person’s unique genetic code
• Nature is the view that behaviour is the product of innate biological or genetic factors
• Characteristics are passed down from one generation to the next, e.g., height, hair, need for glasses etc are positivley correlated with genetic relatedness
• Led psychologists to investigate whether psychological characteristics are also “wired in” before we ae born

Question 8

Characteristics

Answer 8

• Differences that are not observable at birth, but emerge later in life, are regarded by nativists as the product of maturation
• We have a biological clock which switches on and off like a program

Question 9

Attachment (nature)

Answer 9

• Nature
• Bowlby proposed that children come into the world biologically programmed to form attachments because this will help them to survive
• Attachment behaviours are naturally selected, and passed on as a result of generic interitance
• Theory supported by research by Lorenz and Harlow using animals = support for the influence of nature in attachment behaviour

Question 10

Schizophrenia (nature)

Answer 10

• Nature
• Family, twins, and adoption studies show the closer relatedness of two people, the more likely it is that they will show the same behaviours
• Gottesman pooled the results of around 40 family studies and found that the risk increases to 46% for those with two parents who have schizophrenia
• This emphesises the importance of the contribution of genetics on behaviour and therefore provides evidence for the nature side

Question 11

Nurture is…

Answer 11

• Environmentalists hold the assumption that the human mind is a tabula rasa and this is gradually filled as a result of experience

Question 12

Attachment (nurture)

Answer 12

• Nurture
• Classical conditioning, where food is associated with the mother, and through many repeated pairings, the mother beomes a conditioned stimulus who elicts a conditioned response in the child
• The child forms an attachment based on the pleasure experienced as a result of being fed

Question 13

Schizophrenia (nurture)

Answer 13

• Nurture
• Environmental explanations can also partly explain the occurance of schizophrenia
• Bateson et al proposed the Double Bind Theory which suggests that schizophrenia is the result of disordered communication within the family environment
• Children in these environemnts receive mixed messages about what is right and wrong becomes confused with the world around them
• Prolonged exposure prevents the development of a coherent construction of reality, and in the long run, results in schizophrenic symptoms