Nature Vs Nurture Essay

How did your temperament flourish? The phrase nature and nurture relates to the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities as compared to an individual's personal experiences in causing individual differences, especially in behavioral traits. This debate is basically deciding if your genetics have more effect on you or society. Hereditary and environmental elements both frame identity. Identical twins are different in many ways. Personality changes over time. Studies have also shown that nurture is more dominant than nature in shaping personality. Nurture is definitely extra dominant in molding your identity.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is one of the most diagnosed mental disorders today, and can often be closely linked to concurrent symptoms or disorders including physiological, behavioral, other anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse. (Merino, Senra & Ferreiro, 2016) (Cacioppo & Fregberg, 2013, p. 688). GAD most notably produces symptoms of excessive worry and anxiety related to non-specific risks, which often leads to functional decline both socially and professionally (Roberge et al., 2015). GAD reveals instances of links to biological origins such as heredity and biochemistry, as well as, ties to an individual’s cognitive development and socioeconomic environment (Cacioppo & Fregberg, 2013).

This theory creates an issue, as it only looks at nature’s impact as the root cause of phobic disorders and relishes in not accounting for environmental causes, which are posed by nurture. This aspect of nurture which is ignored can be questioned in the twin studies as although Torgersen found that identical twins who share genes are 5x more likely to share an anxiety disorder, it is unclear whether it is the nature of the genetic makeup which causes the disorder, or the nurture of the twins, as they would have both gone through the same things in their environment causing the contamination effect. This is further highlighted through the diathesis stress model formed by Di nardo et al which provides a much more

In my personal opinion nature and nurture both had a role in my depression and anxiety disorder. At the end of eight grade I started to get very sick. My gallbladder had stopped functioning properly. I went back and forth to different doctors and the hospital. They would tell me that it is all in my head. We finally found a doctor that believed me, and he ran test on me. It wasn’t in my head, it was really happening to me.

Science with all its marvels and wonders continues to press forward making extraordinary breakthroughs. Psychology plays a key role in many of sciences steps forward, each branch of psychology focusing on a specific techniques and theories. In the document the center of attention is surrounding the application of clinical psychology, this branch of psychology is unique as it all realms of an individual’s issue. Specifically speaking, anxiety is the psychological disorder that is under review through the processes of a clinical

The article “Social Anxiety, Chemical Imbalances, and Brain Neural Pathways and Associations” addresses various mental/ cognitive causes of anxiety. Although this source focuses mainly on social anxiety, the statements that are addressed are similar to numerous other subtypes of anxiety. This source states “Chemical imbalances exist because the neural pathways systems of the brain sometimes lead to emotional pain [anxiety] and irrational conclusions” (Social Anxiety, Chemical Imbalances, and Brain Neural Pathways and Associations 1). A simplified definition of a neural pathway is what connects the brain to our nervous system. This means that anxieties are caused by neural pathway systems improperly functioning, which leads to chemical imbalances

The disorder typically begins in childhood, and the National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 3.7 percent of 18 to 54 year olds in the United States have social anxiety disorder, with women diagnosed twice as often as men (1). Although researchers are not completely sure of the biological basis of social anxiety, some believe that its basis may lie in the amygdala, a small portion of the brain that controls fear response. NIMH scientists have also found a possible genetic component: through research on mice, they have found a gene that relates to fearfulness (1). Additionally, hormones may play a role, specifically fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone levels in women (4). Environment may also be important, as people with social anxiety may learn the behavior from watching and patterning those around them (1). Treatment may include the use of medications such as selective seretonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), monamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and beta blockers specifically for "performance phobias." Individuals may also benefit from behavioral therapy, which involves gradual exposure to feared situations (1).

The personality trait anxiousness seems to have a genetic component, because individuals with that have different biological and behavioral variations of the serotonin-transporter-linked-promotor region (5HTTLPR) genotypes indicate that it’s the cause of differential biological stress reactivity. “Susceptibility to stress may have biological roots, especially in the serotonergic system” (Petersen). Different people becoming anxious and reacting to stress differently because of a genotype shows that there’s a strong nature component. One of the parts of the brain that anxiousness can affect is the amygdala, which signals aggression and fear. “Cognitively changing the meaning of emotional stimuli effects evoked responses in the amygdala and other brain areas” (Mocaiber). So trait-anxious individuals sometimes unconsciously change the meaning of a stimulus to an anxious context. Not only are they succeptible to making stimuli a threat, Mocaiber also claims that they can be “abnormally sensitive to threat-related stimuli.” This makes sense that anxious people see more things as threats and can spot an actual threat very easily.

This type of Anxiety Disorder has a direct correlation relating to social situations. A person experiencing this disorder has a chronic fear of other people’s perceptions of them. They are especially likely to avoid any situation where they are being observed by others such as giving presentations or activities that must be performed in front of an audience, large or small. In extreme circumstances where social anxiety disorder exists, a person will avoid social situations all together and will become a “hermit” in their own individual abode. This disorder is impairing to one’s normal life functioning because it often affects a person’s ability to perform the essential duties in a work environment. It also deters them from engaging in typical conversations because the fear of being embarrassed or judged is so extreme (Fleming, 2012).

According to Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach (2015), anxiety is defined as a “negative mood state characterized by bodily symptoms of physical tension and apprehension about the future” (Barlow, 2015). Anxiety is a set of behaviors, such as looking worried, anxious or fidgety, or a physiological response in the brain that is reflected by increased heart rate and muscle tension (Barlow et al., 2015). Within the spectrum of anxiety disorder, there are many disorders that are classified under anxiety, such as panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In regards to this essay, the anxiety disorders of obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic

The issues pitting nature against nurture are exceptionally significant for the gamut of discoveries that attribute an increasing proportion of traits and behaviours to one's genetic makeup. The resulting variety of physical shortcomings and limitations in each person has, for centuries, been countered by endeavours to improve or interfere where necessary, and every individual is consequently the product of a delicate middle path of balance between the two.

Through observation of other studies, it was noted that the septohipocampal axis neurons were as the article mentioned, “activated when anxious behavior was induced by stress in mouse models” (Neith, 2014). The article goes on to point out that the LS is relatively near the hypothalamus and is thought to inhibit neurons in this region as well as the paraventricular nueuculus or PVN. As it turns out the PVN is well known for its control over the release of the stress hormone cortisol.

One common theme in mental disorders (MD) is the alteration in the stress related brain system via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. HPA axis is involved in regulating the immune system, mood, energy, digestion and temperature. It is pivotal in responses to distress, stress and damage. Activation of the stress system through the HPA axis causes central behavioral and peripheral changes that improve the body’s ability to maintain homeostasis (Tsigos and Chrousos, 2002). The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is the chief pathway that responds to stress. The principle hormones involved in the HPA axis are corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and glucocorticoids (mainly cortisol in humans and corticosterone in rodents). Research suggests one possible biological link between stress, anxiety and depression may involve a corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) receptor (Magalhaes et al., 2010).

Anxiety is the body’s normal reaction to stressors and occurs in various degrees by everyone. It is a healthy, protective response when experienced in moderation, however, when anxiety is experienced in excess, it can become an impairment to an individual’s normal functioning. According to SAMHSA, “Anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive fear or anxiety that is difficult to control and negatively and substantially impacts daily functioning”(2014). There are many different types of anxiety disorders ranging from Generalized Anxiety Disorder to specific phobias. The new

Social Anxiety Disorder is explained as “the fear of being judged and evaluated negatively by other people, leading to feelings of inadequacy, inferiority, embarrassment, humiliation, and depression leading to avoidance of social interaction.” (Richards). While this anxiety disorder is seen all over the world, it seems to be extremely prevalent in American culture. It is currently the third largest psychological disorder in the U.S. (Richards), and tpercentage of people with this disorder is larger than the majority of other cultures, especially non-European countries (Lewis-Fernández). The purpose of this paper is to look at Social Anxiety Disorder from an evolutionary standpoint to examine what it is about U.S. culture that causes so many people to experience this mental illness.