Nature Vs Nurture Research Paper

“Twins have been the heart and soul of the nature versus nurture debate for over a century” (Plicher 1). Scientists and psychologists believe that because identical twins share 100% of the same genes, that studying twins, would benefit in proving the theory. Twins that are separated at birth end up living in different environments. Because they grow up differently, scientists and psychologists are able to analyze the genetic and environmental influences that shape the twins personalities. Even though the discussion of the nature versus nurture topic has not yet been proven, some feel nurture wins. The study of twins contributes to the debate of nature versus nurture and whether the environment or genetics affects the development of personality.

"Twins have a special claim upon our attention; it is, that their history affords means of distinguishing between the effects of tendencies received at birth, and those that were imposed by the special circumstances of their after lives." says Sir Francis Galton, 19th century behavioral genetics pioneer. Researchers have used twin studies to try to figure out the genetic backgrounds of an abundance of traits, from determination to intelligence to bizarre to alcohol dependence.

The Minnesota Twin Registry started in 1983 and its goal was to establish a registry of all twins born in Minnesota from 1936 to 1955 to be used for psychological research.., T.J. Bouchard, working in conjunction with the University of Minnesota, started exploring the similarities and differences in characteristics like personality, career interests, and a variety of personal interests between identical twins who were reared apart. Research was conducted on twins from all over the world. The Minnesota Twin study gave scientists a new insight of the role of nature vs. nurture on human development and personality; it was the hope that twin studies would be able to tie genes to specific behaviors. From the study, we understand that twins who were separated at birth and raised in different families

The theory to this study was that if you take two people with exactly the same genes, separate them at birth, and put them in completely different environments, the behavioral and personality characteristics that they share as adults can only be explained through genetics. Participants in the study were specifically monozygotic twins who were separated at birth, lived apart from each other for a significant span of their lives, and reunited as adults. Each twin underwent a series of tests and interviews individually so that it was impossible for them to influence their answers.

Parents who dress their twins up in the same outfits or get them the same set of toys does not contribute to twins who have the same traits. It shows that a common environment does not give much impact in developing personalities. Mischel (1981) has also attested to this issue saying that genes and glands are different, but social learning plays a dramatic role. People develop vast differences through the stimuli they face in their daily life. Despite being reared in the same environment (their home), both twins could have had different sets of friends. Thus, going through their school years having different experiences and facing different challenges. As a whole they will have completely different hobbies and interests.

According to Begley, identical twins are not always identical in behavior just because of genes. Some studies show that when twins are given different circumstances, for example, different educational opportunities, different results are obtained. One example in Newsweek showed one twin may grow to be a professional pianist while the other twin was not at all musical even though the twins were both raised in a musical environment ("Heredity" 69). Twins have different interest from each other, and express them in individual ways.

It is the popular saying that identical twins share much more than superficial physical characteristics that seems obvious and glaring both in nature and traits. Formed from a single egg that divides at an early point in gestation, identical twins have what may be the most intimate of all possible human relationships. They often are attracted to the way of life like same careers, enjoy the same style and type of music and same sports, like or dislike the same foods, pursue the same interests academically and recreationally, and find themselves aroused by similar emotional stimuli.

Psychologist Nancy Segal, who specializes in twin research was quoted saying, "recent twin research showed the genetic contribution to happiness and stability are about 50% and 80% respectively, while life events have only a transitory effect on happiness" (1999.) Segal's conception is not directly concerning human intelligence, yet, if her statement is in fact true, it substantiates some importance of heredity. It also indicates that heredity certainly does have a notable effect on a person. In general, twin studies support the nature side of the debate. If environment (or nurture, for that matter) didn't play a part in determining an individual's traits and behaviors, then identical twins should, theoretically, be exactly the same in all respects, even if reared apart. But a number of studies show that they are never exactly alike, even though they are remarkably similar in most respects.

Psychologist Michael Bailey conducted a study that examined the likeliness of homosexuality in identical twins versus fraternal twins. The significance of studying identical twins versus fraternal twins is that identical twins share the same DNA, while fraternal twins “share just half of their genes” (Ghose). Bailey found that if one identical twin was gay then there was a 50 percent chance of the other also being gay. On the other hand, the likeliness in fraternal twins was reduced to 20 percent. At first, some people may question why the likeliness was only 50 percent in identical twins when they share the exact same genes. In response to that, Michael Abrams explains that there are, in fact, traits that are not always shared in identical

The nature vs nurture debate is one that naturalists and empiricists love to have. The naturalists are on the nature side of the debate; they believe that a person's development is primarily influenced by their genetic traits. The empiricists, on the other hand, side with the nurture part of the debate; they believed that a person's development is mostly influenced by the environment they are raised in. Most modern psychologist, however, don’t take such radical approaches. They instead accept that a person’s development is influenced by a mixture of both nature and nurture, although there is still debate over which plays a larger role (McLeod). In my life, both nature and nurture have played key roles in my development as a person and who I

In 2012, an article was written about a research study of identical and non identical twins. Identical twins seemed to have very similar personalities, while non identical twins did not. Researchers believe that personality traits are caused by genes and not social environments. Because identical

Siblings, both biological and adopted, are a prime example of how environment is the supreme factor in determining traits and behavior. Siblings share similar genes and/or environments which provides an ideal and objective base for research (Cool, "Twins, Nature and Nurture"). Separated siblings with a similar genetic makeup are no more likely to have similar personalities with one another than with anyone else. Research conducted by Nancy Pedersen and her colleges on 99 separated identical twins, when compared to an equal number of identical twins that were raised together, showed that separated identical twins had less identical personalities than twins brought up in the same environment (Pedersen, p.950-957). Twins separated at birth had

In a twin study, identical twins are compared to fraternal twins. If something happens more often in identical twins, then that behavior is influenced by genetics. A 1991 study showed that if a gay man had an identical twin, the twin would also be gay 52% of the time while a 1993 study showed that if a lesbian woman had an identical twin, the twin would also be lesbian 48% of the time. If the twins were fraternal instead of identical, the percentage drops to 22%. The significant differences in these percentages show a genetic component to sexual orientation.

As many religious folk hold the same opinions based on religion, siblings who are as similar as identical twins may also be greatly affected by what one or the other decides for their own life. Also, we do not know how these people were chosen for this sample. It is possible that the twin homosexuals who were observed for the experiment were chosen based on their similar sexual preferences.

To test their hypothesis, they conducted twin studies through a daily, 10-item online questionnaire over the course of one month (30 days). Twins were chosen through an earlier “Twins Early Development Study” (TEDS) conducted by Plomin and others, who had previously affirmed the status of the twins and had sufficient prior data on the sample subjects. The results, after some correction, were separated based on sex and degree of relation