Final Assignment Psychology: Nature Vs. Nurture

One of the oldest debates in the history of Psychology is about Nature versus Nurture. Today, we know that both play a significant role in human’s life. Some people believe that it is genes which affects our way of life and some people believes that it is none other but our environment that greatly influences our lifestyle and some believe that both has tremendous impact on one’s way of life. Indeed in certain cases both our nature (our genes) and our environment roughly play an equal role in human life.

Nature vs Nurture is something that has been researched for many years especially when it comes to finding the reason for someone committing a crime. When talking about nature, I am talking about how you are born. The genes that you are born with that make you who you are. When referring to nurture I am talking about how someone is raised. Such as the environment you live in and what is taught to you. As humans we cannot control our nature it is simply what you are born with. When you are born you have all your genes that will decide what you look like, how tall or short you will be, so why do we not believe that our behavioral tendencies, and personality attributes come from our genes too. Psychological theories such as the biological approach, and psychoanalysis have helped to show us how are genetics predetermine our behavior. Researchers have found multiple facts that support each side and for years no one has been able to decide which one influences us over the other one. I believe that our nature has a greater impact on us then our nurture especially when it comes to criminal actions.

Nature or Nurture. Nature may be all of the genes and hereditary factors with which influence them to become who they are such as physical appearances and personality characteristics. Nurturing impacts people’s lives as well as how they are raised and all the environmental factors. In combination, these qualities can be the true identity of oneself. Many people may argue that nurture appears to a play huge factor in the two, but others may think otherwise. Not having both as a characteristic can have a negative effect on a person physically and mentally. The debate of nature versus nurture appears to be the oldest argument known to man, and it still remains to be unanswered. In the old-age argument nature versus nurture, nature may play a huge role in determining a person’s true identity.

The nature vs nurture issue has been a controversial argument among psychologist for decades. This argument exposes two different views. One of them emphasizes that our personality depends solely on genetics (nature). On the other hand, the second view suggests that humans “develop through experience” (Myers 2013, SG 6) (nurture).

Nature versus nurture is a complicated subject to speak about. If one’s abilities or lack of are due to their environment or their genes. For example, a child is behaving negatively in class. Many individuals are quick to jump to the conclusion that “Oh, that kid’s parents don’t care, or just don’t know how to raise their child.” That could very well be a possibility, but most people never think that maybe they have a hereditary problem, such as ADHD, that was passed on to the child. This cannot be helped by the child, it is out of their control, but can be just as easily overcame than to just using their disorder or disability as a crutch. It is a very controversial topic in terms of which one is more important. Does the disorder or disability completely ruin the person’s life or can they overcome it? Which has the most effect on one’s life? The answer is, yes.

For many years psychologist, sociologists, novelist, students, people in general have debated over which side, nature or nurture makes us who we are. Each side of the debate has compelling arguments and facts to support their claims, however it is foolish to say one has a greater impact than the other. I believe that humans are the product of society and biology, and that they come hand in hand. That both nature and nurture make us human because there are too many facts from each side of the argument to say that one is more influential than the other. Our biology is what differentiates males and females, and our sense of self develops from the interaction with other humans and society.

In society, not one person is alike. By saying this, many people believe that they strongly take after their parents. Meaning they think Nature is a big part in their life and why they are who they are. The genes in each cell in us humans determine the different traits that we have, more dominantly on the physical connections like eye color, hair color, ear size, height, and other traits. However, it is still not known whether the more abstract attributes like personality, intelligence, sexual orientation, likes and dislikes are gene-coded in our DNA. The nurture theory has experiments showing a child’s behavior with the environment as to adult behavior. In the Nature Vs Nurture debate, everyone has their own thoughts and ideas on each

“Who am I” is a frequently asked question that arises at least once in a person’s. The search for one’s self-identity being that it is a very important aspect and driving force in a person’s life is the first step in determining the answer to such a question. The way in which one finds themselves can come about in a number of way depending on how you approach the subject. For many centuries the argument of nature vs. nurture has continued to be a subject of debate in not only psychology but in society at large. In its most romanticized and extreme form it is a question of whether humans have free will and are the most vital component in the development of their own futures as opposed to the rigid doctrines of predestination and fatalism

From John Locke’s blank slate to modern scientists arguments, nature versus nurture is one of the most debated topic in psychology. Nature refers to genes and hereditary features that plays a role in a person’s growth, whereas nurture refers to any environmental stimuli that contribute to the development of behaviors. A lot of people though believe that nature and nurture are separate, only one can influence a person. In this modern era, majority of experts and people will now agree that both equally contribute in influencing people’s behavior and personality. Nature and nurture interact with each other in order to make each individual person unique. This paper is mainly going to focus on how nature and nurture influence substance abuse, memory defect in mice, the progression of prosocial behavior, aggression, empathy, and consciousness.

The Nature vs. Nurture has been a long never ending debate for some time now. Nature vs Nurture has been so profoundly debated, that now it’s unclear whether what makes us who we are and what we do, nature or nurture. For purposes of this essay Nature is going to be defined as characteristics we acquire through our genetic and biological factors, while that Nurture is going to be defined characteristics we acquire through our interactions and influences with the environment. There are endless ways of taking an approach to the Nature vs Nurture conflict, thus the reason that it’s truly unclear if its Nature or Nurture or even both what makes us who and what we are.

Aim: To calculate meta-analytic estimates of heritability in liability and shared an individual – specific environmental effects from the pooled twin data.

It is a matter of concern whether human behaviors and characteristics are determined by nature or nurture. If a person’s behavior is inherited directly from the genes of his/her parents or other biological factors, then it is the nature that determines his character. But if the environment that a person grew up in, affects his behavior, then it is the nurture that determines his/her character. It became a great matter of controversy among scientists, psychologists and sociologists. Previously, many people believed that human behavior was instinctive. It can neither be taught nor learned. But later some psychologists came to the conclusion that human behavior is learned throughout the lifetime which is not instinctive.

Throughout history, our society’s socialization, or lifelong social experiences, has been debated upon quite vigorously. It is quite evident that we all obtain certain characteristics and abilities through heredity factors, but many still argue that this is not the only explanation for how our lives are determined. The argument of nature versus nurture is still being discussed by many, although both have been seen to have an impact on our life experiences.

In studies on human identity, many scientists argue over whether nature(biology) or nurture(society) has a greater influence. The body is still considered by some Nativists to be a singularly biological entity. They think our differences are determined solely by evolutionary genetic factors. This perspective entails that who we are is determined by our genetic makeup, rather than our environment. (Shilling, pg. 7). The biological

For more than a century, researchers and psychologists, such as Sir Francis Galton, Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud and many others, have been trying to understand how people are transformed by their environment. Researchers have mainly argued whether it is in fact our environment or rather genetics, our biological pre-wiring, which has influenced human behavior. This concept ultimately facilitated what is now known as the Nature versus Nurture debate. The Nature aspect states that human behavior is predetermined by our inherited genes or is the product of our innate behavior. The Nurture side of the disagreement postulates that human behavior stems from acquired attributes through individual learning and experiences. Correspondingly, the Object Relations Theory in psychoanalytic psychology supports the position that a person’s natural environment (i.e. family, peers, acquaintances, society) forms human development. The Object Relations theory stresses that it is the relationships between people, more specially family, often between mother and child, that crafts the human psyche.