The Effects of Nature or Nurture on Early Human Development Essay

To begin this essay, it is essential to define some key terms. The Nature-Nurture debate argues whether our behaviour is as a result of our biology (such as our genes or neurochemistry), or if our behaviour arises from learning from others. For the purpose of this essay, a bully is defined as “a person who uses their strength or power to hurt or frighten people who are weaker” (Oxford Student’s dictionary, 2007). It is essential to investigate why bullying occurs and how to prevent it as bullies as well as their victims are likely to develop mental health problems. Children and adolescents who bully often develop increased levels of negative mental health outcomes in adulthood, as shown in Copeland, Wolk & Angold et al’s (2013) study; 9.4%

At the center of the issues of what influences child development, would be the controversy between nature versus nurture . Nature and nurture are two major influences on development. Over the years there had been a lot of researches , for nature and nurture and the influence on children’s development that has been known for the lead census of the developmental and psychology that shoes the importance of both genetics and the environment. (Monographs of the society for Research in Child development, 2007). Even though nature versus nurture does play a big role in child development , nurture seems to be just a little bit

A child develops through its whole life. They can develop; physically, linguistically, intellectually, socially and behaviourally. “Physical development is the way in which the body increases in skill and becomes more complex in its performance” [Meggitt, 2000, Page 2]. Twenty five days after conception; the body of the chid has developed immensely from the small fertilised egg. Up to birth the foetus mainly develops physically however once the child is born the child then begins the long process of development. Not only do the gross motor skills and the fine motor skills develop on the baby, but the sensory development also widens on the child.

One of the most enduring debates in the field of psychology is the controversial idea of nature vs. nurture. Throughout the endless history of the debate, no clear conclusion has been met, only hypotheses have been formed. At the center of the debate, human behaviors, ideas, and feelings are being determined, whether they are learned or inherited. Determining physical traits, such as eye color or hair color, are simple because they are hereditary traits. The idea of having a certain personality, intelligence, or ability is under discussion because scientists cannot determine if these traits are learned, or predetermined by genes.

     Through time, psychologists have argued over whether only our genes control our behaviors in life or if the environment and the people surrounding us have any effect in our lives. This is called nature versus nurture. We do not know what dictates our behavior, or if it is a combination of both. One question is, if genes control our behavior, are we really responsible for our actions? I think that if we can make choices we are responsible for our actions. While or genes influence various aspects of our personalities, there is no denying that our environment has some effects too. Our genes make us, but our experiences and our surroundings shape the way we behave

Language Development: Baby will make a lot of noises, often happy sounds and when they are distressed and upset they need to hear a familiar sound such as a mums voice.

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,

1) Use the example of feral children to construct an argument in the nature versus nurture debate.

Nature has a profound affect on human development for various reasons, however, nurture most significantly affects the people we become. In the video clip, a set of twins who had been separated for 20 years realized they were scarily very alike, for example, they used the same toothpaste, married someone with the same name, named their pets the same thing, and their lab testings were identical. There are a large amount of preferences and biological similarities that can be attributed to nature, but nurture has a greater affect on personality than nature. Babies respond to external stimuli that they are presented with which ultimately is one of the most significant factors that sculpt who someone grows up to become. There are three types of

The Developing Child tells the viewers a brief history of the Nature vs. Nurture debate. Jean-Jacques Rousseau stressed the nature side of our personalities, believing it is nature alone that makes us how we are. English physiologist, John Locke believed children start off as blank slates and that they are completely shaped by their environment and thus held to the nurture side of the debate. This video has much newer ideas and experiments than those of Rousseau’s and Locke’s and because of that their thesis is “while biological factors provide the capabilities, environmental factors see if they are reached”. Babies know and think much more than was previously thought. Babies can turn their eyes and heads immediately recognize mother’s voice,

I believe that nature and nurture both play a crucial role in early development. Naturally, we are genetically predisposed to certain diseases but we won’t develop all those diseases. Nature also sets the foundation for our physical characteristics which does affect how we will be perceived throughout life. Additionally, as we grow the environment will also shape us as individuals. As stated on page 70, we humans are not locked into an unchangeable physical body or unchangeable social system; both can change and each exerts an influence on the other.

The nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest issues in psychology. The debate centers on the relative contributions ofgenetic inheritance and environmental factors to human development. Some philosophers such as Plato and Descartes suggested that certain things are inborn, or that they simply occur naturally regardless of environmental influences. Other well-known thinkers such as John Locke believed in what is known as tabula rasa, which suggests that the mind begins as a blank slate. According to this notion, everything that we are and all of our knowledge is determined by our experience.

If I were to categorize these three influences on a child's outcome it would go, parents, peers, then genes. However, I feel like parents and peers go hand and hand in certain situations. I believe what shapes a child's outcome starts at home, in the early ages of a child's development they are grasping for knowledge and affection from their parents. So if the parents are influencing their child to be independent and responsible at a young age before they reach the point of having a mind of their own, they will choose whether they take or engage in some particular peer behaviors. This reminds me in psychology where we learned about nature vs nurture. You will always be surrounded by peers and whether you realize it or not you will take on

Nature versus nurture is a commonly debated topic in the scientific world. For example were all child molesters abused as children themselves or are their genes or other factors to blame for their bad decisions? Genes seem to determine much about children, such as eye color and height, but do they also determine behavior and overall health, or is the environment the children were raised in to blame? For example, when a child is misbehaving, is it the parents responsibility to take the blame for their offspring's behavior due to how they have chosen to raise their son or daughter, or is the child's genetic makeup to blame for their faults? Can a child's environment override the genes a child is born with?

Nature vs. nurture has been discussed by philosophers in the past and by scientists most recently. Philosophers such as Plato argued that all knowledge was inherited through your parent and when you were told something you didn't learn it you were just reminded of it. Aristotle however argued that all humans were born with a blank slate and built on it with influence from there environment. In the 1700's the empiricists and the internalists took over the argument. They fought through letters explaining there point of views and denouncing the others. This leads to Pavlov coming up with the idea of behaviorism in the early 1900‘s. Behaviorism became the new wave of Psychology and influenced a lean towards the nurture side. It was