Role Of Heredity And Environment On Human Behavior

One of the oldest debates in the history of Psychology is about Nature versus Nurture. Today, we know that both play a significant role in human’s life. Some people believe that it is genes which affects our way of life and some people believes that it is none other but our environment that greatly influences our lifestyle and some believe that both has tremendous impact on one’s way of life. Indeed in certain cases both our nature (our genes) and our environment roughly play an equal role in human life.

The biggest controversy in psychology today is whether genetics or one’s environment plays a role in the behavior of the individual. Psychologists have researched and developed different theories to explain the reason for the way humans think and behave. The behavior of individuals is either inherited or learned. In my opinion, I believe that nurture plays a big role in the individual’s behavior. Kendra Cherry states, “Nurture refers to all the environmental variables that impact who we are, including our early childhood experiences, how we were raised, our social relationships, and our surrounding culture” (1). People have become who there are because of the environment they were exposed to in their childhood years. The behavior of people is influenced be the environment that surrounds them and can changed many times through one’s lifetime. People have different personalities a person’s

A controversial topic still to this day is whether or not environmental and outside factors play a bigger role in a person’s development or genetics. Many psychologists have founded theories around childhood development, such as, Erikson, Bandura, who believe it’s the social interactions that really help to shape one’s growth. However, there are some who see both sides, such as, Freud, who provides evidence that it can be both, genes and nurture. Based on the information of many psychologist’s research, the most prominent make up of a person’s development, personality and behavior is based on nurture rather than nature.

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).

“You inherit your environment just as much as your genes.” (Rich, 2015) In 1869, the phrase “nature vs. nurture was coined by an English polymath named Francis Galton. There are two sides to this debate, each with their own pros and con’s. Nature is the side that argues that the DNA and genotype humans are born with determines who they are and what personality and traits they will have throughout their lifetime. Whereas the nurture side of the debate argues that humans are born with sponges as minds, and through interactions and experiences while we grow, the knowledge and understanding of life is gained and this is how our personalities are sculpted. Many people have studied this debate through multiple schools of thoughts; each with their own arguments to which side they believe prevails. Yet, to this day, there is no proof to say which side of the debate if correct. Based on the psychological, sociological, and epigenetic schools of though, it can be validated that when it comes to the nature vs. nurture debate, nurture will always prevail and remain most relevant.

The classic debated topic of Nature versus Nurture has been and will always be a quarrelsome subject in the scientific world. Meaning, the issue of the level to which environment and heredity sway behavior and development in a person. Nature can be defined as, behaviors due to heredity. This means the behaviors is based on the inherited makeup of an individual and is an influence of the growth and development of that individuals’ all through life. On the other hand nurture is causes of behaviors that are environmental. This Intel’s the influence is from the individual’s parents, siblings, family, friends and all other experiences that individual exposed to during life. However, these concept of ideas supports the inborn genetic framework,

Theoretical Propositions: The question of why people are who they are and why they behave the in the way that they do was asked. The researchers wanted to understand if people develop into who they are primarily from factors in the environment or because of there genetic makeup. In the second half of the 20th century most psychologists agreed in the theory of behaviorism, human behavior is caused only by factors in the environment. This study would answer the common “nurture vs nature” question that many people still ask today.

In psychology, it has long been debated whether nature or nurture influence human behaviours more extensively. This has captured the interest of many psychologists as determining an answer can improve society. For instance, if it is proven that nurture significantly impacts human development greater than nature, we can nurture children to abstain from violence and drugs, resulting in a decrease of crime in society. Nurture refers to the environmental factors and thus the experiences and upbringing of people were studied to see how it affected their development. For example, the Zimbardo Prison Study, Harlow’s Monkey Experiments, and Genie are all exceptional examples of how nurture affects cognitive development and behaviors. Conversely, nature refers to the genetic factors that affect human development. To support this argument that genetics play a more significant role in human behaviours and development, psychologists focused on studying siblings and children. More specifically, The Boy With No Penis, the Jim siblings, and Sandra Scarr’s observations were studied to further understand the heritability of certain behavioral traits and the undeterring quality of nature. By examining these experiments and studies, a possible answer can be reached.

Our environment and our upbringing is a major role on how we behave in our life.

As many people have begun to pay attention to formation of personality, the debate over nature vs. nurture has raged for a long time and this issue is still controversial. However, as shown the

Drosophila Melanogaster first became an interest in the early 1900s when Thomas Hunt Morgan began his research on the fly’s sex inheritance and came to the conclusion that our genes are carried in our chromosomes which gives us our phenotypes. Morgan like many other scientists chose to experiment with the Drosophila because they are easy to work with. The flies are small in size, have a short life span, and can easily create hundreds of progeny. About 70% of dieses that humans encounter can be easily traced to a similar case that can be found in the fly’s genome, which is why scientists choose to work them (Ren 2014). Drosophila is also important because it plays a big role in how we understand the basic concepts of genetics and how

As a Congolese Proverb once said “A pretty face and fine clothes do not make a character”, yet the truth in this quote remains a mystery. Appearance is in nature and character is nurtured. Which one is more dominant on the other is a question waiting to be answered. The widely explored nature vs. nurture debate is best examined by looking at, hereditary implications, environmental factors and their interdependency.

The heredity-environment debate has existed for decades aiming to determine what exactly it is that creates the nature of each individual. Is behavior caused by acquired, genetic and biological traits or is the environment responsible for affecting us to the point of creating our personality. This debate is an ongoing one.

The nature vs. nurture debate is one that has persisted throughout generations of scientists and neuroscientists. Some believe that all aspects of human behavior and human functioning are strictly hereditary, passed down from the parents through genetics. Others believe that the environment has a much greater impact, and can determine one’s personality and intelligence. However, this issue is not as black and white as it might appear. While genetics might have more power than the environment, it is my belief that both are equally important in the shaping of one’s personality and behavior.

Throughout history, our society’s socialization, or lifelong social experiences, has been debated upon quite vigorously. It is quite evident that we all obtain certain characteristics and abilities through heredity factors, but many still argue that this is not the only explanation for how our lives are determined. The argument of nature versus nurture is still being discussed by many, although both have been seen to have an impact on our life experiences.