Psy / 280 Human Growth And Development

The nature vs nurture issue has been a controversial argument among psychologist for decades. This argument exposes two different views. One of them emphasizes that our personality depends solely on genetics (nature). On the other hand, the second view suggests that humans “develop through experience” (Myers 2013, SG 6) (nurture).

When one looks to lift themselves over society, then they are unhealthy. Other factors that influence personality and lifestyle development are the family, an individual’s birth order, family atmosphere, family values and parental styles. Perception is key. How an individual views their surroundings and how an individual takes in feedback from that environment will strongly influence how they act and live their life.

Many believe that the environment such as the individuals people associate with, the extracurricular activities people are involved in, the music people listen to, including things shown on tv and video games all influence behavior. Though all of the things listed above are said to be true, and do indeed play a role in behavior. There are major things inside the body that trigger peoples behavioral responses. Those major things are called genes.

In general, one’s environment cannot directly affect one’s genetics within their lifetime. Even evolution, an example of nurture changing nature, often

When we look at the science of human development, the main consideration is how people change over time. In the age old question of nature versus nurture, there are some that believe the characteristics and traits within us are innate, meaning we are born with them. Still others feel that nurturing, our environmental influences like friends, community, schools, media and even parents affect who we are. This is a false dichotomy, it is not which-but how much of each because both play crucial roles in our development (Berger 2015).

Throughout history, we have asked ourselves the age old question, Who am I? Developmental psychologists study the way that we function. All the magnificent ways that are bodies work, the way we think and obtain new information and how these factors change across our life span. These theorists look at how these factors are affected by genetics, culture and experience (Wade, 2008).

Both genetic and environmental factors affect your phenotype. Traits that are primarily attributed to genetics are height, weight, eye color, hair color, and hair texture. All traits are influenced by the environment to some extent. While genetics are primarily responsible for what you will look like, the environment definitely has some impact on your phenotype as well.

The text explains that these influences can be, parenting, education, religion, and our peers (Arrigo & Williams, 2008, p. 52). They come from the environment that one comes from whether that’s from Park Avenue, in New York, New York, or the ghetto in Harlem, in New York, New York, two completely different types of environments with different learned experiences. The culture of people that one socializes with would have a deterministic factor

When one is stressed, one can communicate with a person their in a relationship with as:

It is a question that has been discussed for ages – nature versus nurture, genetics versus experiences, internal versus external forces. The comical meme about disease running in a family, and no one running in a family takes a snapshot of this debate. How much does an individual’s genetics play in aspects of their life such as health and disease, and how much does lifestyle contribute? A synonymous example is how much music comes from the musician compared to the instrument? The answer is in the evidence, from both sides, that piles high because the two factors work together indistinguishably. We should not be asking which affects the outcome more; we should simply see that the two influence each other to come to the resultant.

I think that both environmental and genetic factors influence traits of living organisms. Both hereditary and environmental effects influence organisms and the way they look and act. Traits affected by genetic or environmental factors include sexual orientation, twins (the way they look and act), physical appearance, IQ, and mental illnesses.

Behavior and personality traits are formed mostly by genetics (Wexler 3). As technology improves we start to have a better understanding of traits, environment and mostly genetics have a great impact on such. Genetic influences also bring out genetic-environmental correlations (Wexler 2). Growing up in a house full of others you tend to adapt to your surroundings to a certain point, however eventually that point can only take you so far until genetics have to then take over. Genetics influence development and expression of certain behaviors (Wexler 3). Some environmental triggers will have an adverse physiological effect because of predisposed genetics (Wexler 3). In the past traits and diseases were thought to come

Our genes and environment influence one another, our genetic potential (both good and bad) can be stimulated by our environment. For example, diabetes runs in my mother’s family tree; which means my siblings and I run the genetic risk of developing diabetes in the future. Our individual environment will play key role in determining whether we develop diabetes (stress, nutrition, physical activity, etc.). This concept is known as gene environmental correlation and it is alarming to psychologists because of the impacts it can have to our behavior; mental and psychotic disorders such as depression and schizophrenia can be triggered by a stressful environment.

Many internal and external components collide in order to create individual personalities, behaviors unique to every individual person. The argument of genetic makeup versus environmental influences, however, has researchers working to determine what really defines us. Some say genotypes control the way people think,how they feel, and the ways in which they behave. Others choose to believe that the environment alone in itself is ultimately the determinant for making each individual human into who they are.

Genetics is a true indicator of your biological make-up. Genes are not the only aspect in the biological force and is closely associated with lifestyle factors such as health. What you eat and how active you are can determine specific ways in which you grow emotionally and physically. These biological forces helps to maintain conditions which are essential in order for us to survive, as well as necessities that are being provided. Consider the variation between each human and the rate at which we develop. For example, a young boy with a slower growth rate than his peers may have a delayed rate at which his body is producing testosterone. The amount of testosterone he produces has a direct influence on when the young boy will experience puberty. Even after puberty, your body will continually develop. Many biological forces either have positive or negative outcomes on your body physically. If an individual rarely exercises and