Nature Vs. Nurture : Psychology And Biology

The purpose of this research paper is to analyze the multiple ways how nurture and nature affects the human’s behavior, sexuality, and predisposition to some diseases.

1. Some people have argued that the Johns Hopkins psychologist used this opportunity as an experiment to test his nurture theory of gender identity. What are the expected results of this experiment, assuming that the nurture theory is valid?

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.

3. Based on the nature theory homosexual behavior in men and women can be related to hormonal imbalance. Sexual orientation is determined by the early levels (probably prenatal) of

Evolutionary psychologists have focused on Darwin’s principle of natural selection to explain the fact that genes interact and adapt to their surroundings. Their theory shows that in order to protect and promote the species’ survival, the genes interact resulting in individual personality traits, such as impulsivity and aggression. They further attempt to expand on this theory by saying that our genetics predetermine our mate selection and gender differences in sexuality. This fuels the debate concerning why we choose our mate, and whether or not the way we are raised will determine if will be heterosexual or homosexual.

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.

A pattern emerges where the scholarly literature exploring this topic is largely focused on males. Reason being is that it appears that males are the sex who are predominantly homosexual in their orientation (LeVay & Baldwin, 2012). However, the sensitivity within the discourse of sexual orientation arises when it is debated upon whether one 's sexual preference is innate at birth, hence a force of nature or biology, or if it is a result of culture, nurture or environmental factors (Emmanuele et al., 2010). Furthermore, an experimental design will be proposed to further examine this topic. Comparing the three chosen studies, it is evident that a biological and endocrinological perspective does account for sexual orientation (Kraemer et al., 2006; Manning et al., 2007; Miller et al., 2008). Of the studies that currently exist on this topic, data shows that prenatal testosterone levels are indicative of sexual orientation (Kraemer et al., 2006; Manning et al., 2007; Miller et al., 2008). This paper addresses a topic that is relevant in today 's society; a topic that has, for the most part, been written off as having any scientific roots (Emmanuele et al., 2010). This paper counters that belief and in reading this essay, it will be evident that biology and endocrinology have a much stronger influence on sexual orientation than previously thought.

Another research suggests that sexual orientation is impacted by a gene or genes found on the X chromosome. Though genetic tendencies for homosexuality may be passed from mothers to their children (Rahman & Wilson, 2003). During human evolution, homosexuality was developed to minimize competition between males for a limited number of potential female mates (Schulling, 2004).

Do people have control over their sexual orientation? Many people believe they were born without a choice. In other words, some people believe they were predestined to be homosexual. Homosexuality is defined as the romantic/sexual attraction between members of the same sex. Currently, the cause of homosexuality has not been determined although many speculations have been made. The cause of homosexuality has been disputed for many years. One could argue homosexuality is caused by hormones, genes and/or a type of social deviance. This research paper will offer another alternative. Specifically, it will argue that homosexuality is caused by epigenetics.

Sexual orientation refers to the emotional, sexual, and romantic attraction to men, women, or both genders. It also refers to a person’s sense of identity based on those attractions. In the early years, to be labeled as a gay, lesbian, or bisexual was known to be a mental illness. In recent years, it has been determined that it is a normal aspect of sexuality. Determining how one has this specific trait is up in the air. With homosexuality growing, sexual orientation has been a major discussion in the world throughout the last decade. Some have argued that it has to do with genetics, and some say that it has to do with the environment. This is known as the long-term controversy of nature versus nurture. The controversy discusses which side of the argument affects our behavior, intelligence, development, and personality. Scientists have been investigating and experimenting to find the answer to this debate. There has not been evidence that says one side is 100% the answer.

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

While it is well established that traits such as eye and hair colour are determined by specific genes, the Nature Theory takes this further, attributing some traits such as intelligence, personality, aggression, and sexual orientation to an individual 's DNA. The search for "behavioural" genes is the source of constant debate, one of the most controversial of which is the existence of a "gay gene," suggesting that there may be a genetic component to sexual orientation4. Similarly, can aggressive behaviour and criminality be the result of a behavioural gene? The study of twins has indicated this possibility to some extent as when twins are brought up separately, they show similarities in behaviour and response as if they had not been apart5.

The nature and nature of homosexuality is heavily debated. Some people believe that homosexuality is biologically determined and others believe it’s base on ones environment. This topic can be argue to be base on both nature and nurture. Studies conducted in the past decades support both the biological and environmental aspect of homosexuality.

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

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.