The Research And Career Of Robert Plomin

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.

Many psychologists agree that nurture play a greater part in the development of a human being. Studies such as those performed on monozygotic twins (identical), who share the same genetics and those performed

“Trying to separate out nature and nurture as explanations for behavior, as in classic genetic studies of twins and families, is now said to be both impossible and unproductive” (Levitt, 1). Social scientists have declared the nature-nurture debate to be unnecessary. Similarly, scientists feel that such debate is not only unhelpful, but also outdated. From geneticists’ perspective, nurture and nature interact to influence

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.

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).

We learned that the child temperament is not only a result from environment (nurture), but also heredity (nature). The parenting style of Suzy’s parents would be an example of

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

Dr. Robert Best’s lecture here at Winthrop was on the topic of genetics. The question at hand was, “Can your parent’s behavioral characteristics be passed down through genetics?” Genetics are essentially the blueprints to each and every one of us. Our characteristics are coded by our genes, however, do genes affect every aspect of us? When looking at the common book, The Glass Castle, it seems apparent that certain traits like intelligence and creativity can be passed through genes, but not necessarily affect behavior and personality.

Twin studies are a vitally important tool for dissecting the nature versus nurture argument. Twins provide a naturally occurring experiment and they are most likely the best indicator of determining whether biology effects traits and psychopathology in human beings. Researchers are seeking circumstances involving twins providing evidence of known variations in the extent of genetic similarity or environmental stability. The key factor in utilizing twin studies to determine biological basis for personality differences exist among identical twins and fraternal twins. These studies provide data among the individuals that are genetically identical but yet, display visible differences that may be attributed to environmental differences. Additionally, researchers used such studies involving

The claim of the day was that genetic factors play a strong role in human development that genes alone can determine certain human behavioral characteristics. Plomin focused on behavioral genetics in the 21st century. He discusses quantitative genetics and molecular genetics along with three different directions for genetic research such as developmental genetics, environmental genetics, and multivariate genetics. The greatest need for quantitative genetic research going beyond heritability is asking how much genetic factors are important in behavioral development. The three different directions of

As humans, we are social beings. However, some of us are more social than others. Research shows that temperament does seem to be related to genetics, but to what degree? Kagan (2008) argues that children are born with a physiology that makes them biased toward a particular type of temperament (Shriner B., & Shriner M., (2014). An example of some being more social than others, me and my oldest son are very sociable people, while my youngest and my husband are not as sociable.

Evolutionary/genetic perspectives do not generally account for the biological mechanisms between genes and personality.  Theorists use biological processes in an attempt to fill in the gap between personality and genetics by inferring, theorizing and researching biological links with behavior. Anatomical approach examines functions of various structures of brain.

This paper is going to discuss the Nature vs Nurture debate. There will be history of the debate, where it is presently and where it may go in the future. We will look at the beginning of the debate, the battle that started with Descartes and was pushed further by BF Skinner, Bandura and Piaget. We will further look at Bandura and Piaget and look at Social learning theory verses biology. Interviews with a sibling set of sisters, one adopted and one biological separated by 4 months in age will show us how being raised in the same environment will over shadow biological beginnings. The Nature vs Nurture debate will be discussed in

Is behavior learned? It is inborn? What of aggression, intelligence, and madness? There is a crucial relationship between the behavior of humans toward their own kind and the view of life they hold. Interest in behavioral genetics depends on wanting to know why people differ. According to Jack R. Vale, in Genes, Environment, and Behavior, recognition of the importance of hereditary influence on behavior represents one of the most dramatic changes in the social and behavioral sciences during the past two decades. A shift began toward the more balanced contemporary view that recognizes genetic as well as environmental influences on behavior. Behavioral genetics lies in its theory and methods, which consider both genetic and

Some psychological models assert that a proportion of our personality is inborn and permanent (Hollander, 1971), that a psychological core at the center of our personality gives us enduring, inner characteristics. Hans Eysenck (1965) suggests that our motivation and emotion are related to biological differences in brain function and proposed that 75% of our personality is based on genetic influence and 25% on environmental influence. Research by Peter Whybrow (1999) on identical twins separated at birth examined how their different environments shaped their personalities. He found that around 40% of personality should be credited to genetics, with 60% determined by outside factors.