How Genetics And Environment Affect A Child 's Behaviors

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.

The biggest controversy in psychology today is whether genetics or one’s environment plays a role in the behavior of the individual. Psychologists have researched and developed different theories to explain the reason for the way humans think and behave. The behavior of individuals is either inherited or learned. In my opinion, I believe that nurture plays a big role in the individual’s behavior. Kendra Cherry states, “Nurture refers to all the environmental variables that impact who we are, including our early childhood experiences, how we were raised, our social relationships, and our surrounding culture” (1). People have become who there are because of the environment they were exposed to in their childhood years. The behavior of people is influenced be the environment that surrounds them and can changed many times through one’s lifetime. People have different personalities a person’s

The classic debated topic of Nature versus Nurture has been and will always be a quarrelsome subject in the scientific world. Meaning, the issue of the level to which environment and heredity sway behavior and development in a person. Nature can be defined as, behaviors due to heredity. This means the behaviors is based on the inherited makeup of an individual and is an influence of the growth and development of that individuals’ all through life. On the other hand nurture is causes of behaviors that are environmental. This Intel’s the influence is from the individual’s parents, siblings, family, friends and all other experiences that individual exposed to during life. However, these concept of ideas supports the inborn genetic framework,

Twin studies are a mainstay of the nature verse nurture debate because they allow researchers to conduct “natural experiments” on human beings. When researchers try to determine the relative importance of genetics and environment with regard to a certain condition, they have a hard time because they cannot generally get people with the same genes. This is where twin studies come in. Twins studies are part of the method used in behaviour genetics, which includes all data that are genetically informative. E.g. siblings, adoptees, pedigree data etc. Researchers use this method to estimate the heritability of traits and to quantify the effect of a person 's shared environment (family) and unique environment (the individual events that shape a life) on a trait.

Human behavior is affected both by genetic inheritance and by experience. The ways in which people develop are shaped by social experience and circumstances within the context of their inherited genetic potential. Each person is born into a social and

Theoretical Propositions: The question of why people are who they are and why they behave the in the way that they do was asked. The researchers wanted to understand if people develop into who they are primarily from factors in the environment or because of there genetic makeup. In the second half of the 20th century most psychologists agreed in the theory of behaviorism, human behavior is caused only by factors in the environment. This study would answer the common “nurture vs nature” question that many people still ask today.

Twin studies are a vitally important tool for dissecting the nature versus nurture argument. Twins provide a naturally occurring experiment and they are most likely the best indicator of determining whether biology effects traits and psychopathology in human beings. Researchers are seeking circumstances involving twins providing evidence of known variations in the extent of genetic similarity or environmental stability. The key factor in utilizing twin studies to determine biological basis for personality differences exist among identical twins and fraternal twins. These studies provide data among the individuals that are genetically identical but yet, display visible differences that may be attributed to environmental differences. Additionally, researchers used such studies involving

This paper will include a breakdown of genetics and behavior alone, including the definitions of each to allow a better understanding of the joint term “behavioral genetics”. Some very important biological and chemical concepts about the body that will help to understand where genes come from will be introduced. As well as a brief example of how the environment and genes come together to influence what we do. The type of genes that influence behavior, along with the influence behavioral genetics has on the brain will also be discussed.

One of the main, and most controversial topics discussed in a child’s development is, nature vs. nurture. Nature pertains to genetic influences that a child has inherited from their parents, such as traits, abilities, and capacities. For instance, what color eyes the child may have, how athletic they may be, and even their brain development. Whereas nurture, refers to the environment the child is raised in and how this shapes their behaviors. Such factors can include, the family’s socio-economic status, schooling, parental discipline, as well as whether the child is provided with enough resources. When it comes to nature or nurture having a stronger influence then the other, the answer is both, nature and nurture, influence the outcome of the child. This idea that both nature and nurture, play a part in how the child will develop, is known as the nature-nurture continuum.

These researchers have concluded that there is a strong correlation between the environment and the social behaviors and mental behaviors of a human being in the future. The most critical of these time periods are the childhood of the child and the social groups that the person has been emerged around in the adolescent ages. One of the most widely used studies is the Twin Study where two twins with a very similar genetic makeup are raised in different environments to see how much change there is in their behavior. These twins almost share 100% of their genes however, it has been shown that the only behavior that has been affected is their personality. Yet the personality has been observed to be different by 54% compared between twins who are raised in different environments (DANIEL GOLEMAN 1986). Showing that nurture is a lot more in control of how one acts and how they are more influenced by their environment. It becomes dangerous when one’s environment can begin to affect their behavior, as they can stray for the worst and make situations like past serial killers come true. Personality being affected by the environment can not be prevented, however, the type of environment that will influence future personalities can be changed and made for the better. They can be improved upon to prevent any future serial killers from being

In psychology, it has long been debated whether nature or nurture influence human behaviours more extensively. This has captured the interest of many psychologists as determining an answer can improve society. For instance, if it is proven that nurture significantly impacts human development greater than nature, we can nurture children to abstain from violence and drugs, resulting in a decrease of crime in society. Nurture refers to the environmental factors and thus the experiences and upbringing of people were studied to see how it affected their development. For example, the Zimbardo Prison Study, Harlow’s Monkey Experiments, and Genie are all exceptional examples of how nurture affects cognitive development and behaviors. Conversely, nature refers to the genetic factors that affect human development. To support this argument that genetics play a more significant role in human behaviours and development, psychologists focused on studying siblings and children. More specifically, The Boy With No Penis, the Jim siblings, and Sandra Scarr’s observations were studied to further understand the heritability of certain behavioral traits and the undeterring quality of nature. By examining these experiments and studies, a possible answer can be reached.

Our world is made up of a variety of different people; no two people are the same. We may share similarities with someone but we are never exactly the same. Different factors play a role in our development. I think that together our genetics and environment together effect our behavior has humans. I don’t think one has more influence over the other. We become who we are and how we act with the combination of both.

While the study of human genes is increasingly improving our understanding of human development, it is not solely our genetic makeup that determines how we will develop. Humans as a species share many universal traits, which make it easy to disregard the large influence the environment plays in development. Throughout the lifespan, the environment presents itself in many different positions that help determine and shape human development. By looking at the influence of the environment and genetics on human development we are able to create a more holistic view of this process and gain a better understanding of the complexities involved within it. Through this comprehensive lens, it is easy to see how probabilistic human development offers the greatest amount of explanation, unlike the predetermined views of genetic influence in the past, and that environmental influence has an extensive impact on human behavior.

However, genetic hypotheses should also be considered. Research in behavioral genetics is directed toward understanding differences in behavior. Methods are employed that consider both genetics and environmental influences, rather than assuming that one or the other is solely important. Behavioral genetics research studies whether individual behavioral differences are influenced by hereditary differences. Then, estimates the relative influences of genetic and environmental factors. Although genetic and environmental influences interact within an individual, this does not imply that the separate effects of genes and environment cannot be untangled when we focus on differences among individuals

The development of human being during the entire course of life, focus on biological and psychological growth (Berk, 2010). Human development hold several outcomes that are altered by both positive and negative influences. Genetic (nature) and environmental (nurture) influences place significant impact on human development. In fact, Pinker (2004) submits that behavior is the result of a complex collaboration among inheritance and environmental factors in human development, ultimately supporting that nature-nurture work collectively (Pinker, 2004).