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Nature Vs Nurture Essay

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Some may say that man is born intrinsically evil while others would argue that evil is a trait developed and learned. Is it nature or simply nurtured? This is one of the oldest disagreements in psychology history: “Nature versus Nurture”. Nature, in other words, innate knowledge is basically behavior, culture, and personality that are inherited through genes and biological factors. However, nurture which is acquired knowledge is more based on external factors like one’s environment and experience. This popular and ongoing controversy is argued by those who believe knowledge is instinctive, attained and both based on common causes.

There are many reasons to why the “nature” theory is argued for. The first reason is that mental health is affected …show more content…

The first cause that is part of the “nurture” theory is also mental health. In order to discover if one has psychopathic tendencies, he/she does a positron emission tomography scan. After James Fallon, the neurologist, did the PET scan, he discovered he had the brain of a psychopath. However, due to the fact that he grew up in a nurturing and loving environment, he was able to become a successful adult in which simultaneously even prevented him from developing full traits of a psychopath(“Nature vs. Nurture”, 2015). Yet another cause also common in the “nature” theory is how the external environment affects one’s behavior. Infants are the perfect example of this. An infant only forms an attachment to someone in return for the love and attention she/he has received (McLeod, 2007). Another supporting idea is the fact that children tend to imitate people who play an influential and important role in their life -usually the parents. Thus, the son would learn from the father and begin to copy who he has made his role model and the same relationship occurs with the daughter and the mother (Lippa,2005). Thus, based on the findings above, the “nurture” theory contradicts with what those who support the “nature” theory believe

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