What Is Nature Or Nurture Debate

For years upon years, people have argued the nature vs. nurture debate. The term “nature vs nurture” has been dated to be used all the way back to the Elizabethan period. To break down exactly what nature vs nurture is, it’s a debate whether prenatal care and home environment determines human behavior, or if that simply relies on a person’s genetics. Personally, I believe both nature and nurture play an important role in a human’s development and behavior. To fully understand my reasoning, I’ll break down exactly what nature and nurture are in this long-standing debate.

Advances in science today suggest neither nature nor nurture is exclusively responsible, but instead an interactive relationship between our genes and environmental influences. The influence that nurture has upon nature is a new and blooming field called behavioral epigenetics.

When examining human development, the universal idea of conflict between nature and nurture often arises. The argument presented by the “Nature vs Nurture” debate is extremely controversial and has been discussed and critiqued for decades. “Nurture” is cited as being a combination of elements from one’s environment and experiences that shapes a person and their life, whereas “Nature” is cited as being a combination of genetic and hereditary aspects that dictates who a person is and will become. The controversy surrounding the argument most directly stems from the differences of views on whether or not nature or nurture affects a person’s life more. Historians, scientists, psychologists, and everyday philosophers have all studied this uncertainty, and many of whom have developed countless theories. Among these is the

One of the main, and most controversial topics discussed in a child’s development is, nature vs. nurture. Nature pertains to genetic influences that a child has inherited from their parents, such as traits, abilities, and capacities. For instance, what color eyes the child may have, how athletic they may be, and even their brain development. Whereas nurture, refers to the environment the child is raised in and how this shapes their behaviors. Such factors can include, the family’s socio-economic status, schooling, parental discipline, as well as whether the child is provided with enough resources. When it comes to nature or nurture having a stronger influence then the other, the answer is both, nature and nurture, influence the outcome of the child. This idea that both nature and nurture, play a part in how the child will develop, is known as the nature-nurture continuum.

One of the oldest, most prominent topics of academic debate is the Nature vs. Nurture argument. Nature vs. Nurture is a largely psychological term, in which the Nature aspect places more significance on genetics and personality; our innate predisposition to various circumstances tell us a great deal more about who we are. On the other side, the Nurture aspect places more focus on our environment and stresses the salience of the majority of what we do in our daily lives have been “learned” We see a wide array of examples of this specific argument in literature, popular culture, and even in our everyday lives. While no one can deny that both sides have extremely valid points, it would be very naive to assume that one had more of a dominant factor;

Through history, the idea of nature vs. nurture has been a hotly debated issue. Nature, or genetics is often believed to be the most important aspect of a persons’ upbringing, as nature is something intrinsic to any one person. However, many debate that nurture, or the care and encouragement of any human life, trumps nature. The earliest evidence and rebuttals of these theories have been honed and developed over time by specific psychologists and educational theorists – all who hoped to prove their own ideas as fact at one time in history.

A debate between psychologist, scientists and philosopher thinkers on the spectrum of ‘nature vs. nurture’ arose concerning human development. In the nature versus nurture debate, the term "nature" refers to the genes we inherit while the term "nurture" refers to our outside environment (Nature vs. Nurture: Twin and Adoption Studies). This debate of ‘nature vs. nurture’ has existed for centuries and up to now it is still a topic of major discussion although at present time. Human development is the scientific study of age-related changes in behavior, thinking, emotions and personality (Boyd & Bee, 2005). In order to understand cognitive, emotional, physical, social and educational growth that everyone experiences from

The nature vs Nurture debate allows us to see if behavioral tendencies, personality attributes and mental abilities are already a part of us before we are already born. Nature is influenced by genetic inheritance and biological factors. Nurture is the influence of external factors after conception, with experience and learning

The significance of nature and nurture has been a prolonged debate that has caused quite a controversy and the discoveries made on this topic have made harder to determine which side is the most crucial. Multiple experiments and research studies have been conducted to prove one is better or stronger than the other and they continue to be conducted. As a species, human beings inherited DNA from our ancestors, but what impacts our actions the most is our environment. The predetermined genes are impactful, but it is what one makes of it that shapes oneself. The path is driven by the human being. The way we carry ourselves out is affected by the choices we make, but the way we have evolved mentally comes from the nurturing of our caretakers.

Very Well Mind has explained the definitions and thought processes of scientists and biologists. Nature refers to all of the genes and hereditary factors that influence who we are—from our physical appearance to our personality characteristics. 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. Biological variables have been seen as one of the biggest nurturing parts of children. However, some things happen naturally, no matter the influence coming from outside sources.

The basic elements of the nature-nurture controversy, debates the genetic or environmental effects of IQ, personality and behavioral differences in humans. Nature describes an inherited trait, otherwise known as the genes, containing the genetic code for each individual born. These genes contribute the physical characteristics, for example: eye color, skin pigmentation, hair texture, blood type, longevity, etc. Genes impose certain diseases, such as Huntington 's Chorea, Breast Cancer, Down Syndrome, and many more. Nurture describes an influence on the individual by the surrounding environment. This surrounding environment includes: parenting, culture, learned experiences, nutrition, exposure to toxins, pollutants and medications. In summary, scholars have been in debate for years over the issue determining the development of an individual from birth to an adult. Are issue of IQ, personality and behavior, inborn or are they learned? Or is it both? The nature-nurture controversy continues still today (McLeod, S. A. (2007).

Society has isolated genetics and the environment into two separate components. When in reality nature and nurture coincide. Both genetic and environmental components influence an individual and contribute to their molding. In my perspective nature verses nurture should not be considered a valid debate. There are too many variables that contribute to an individual’s identity to suggest that genetics or environmental surroundings are the primary force that shapes an individual.

The debate between nature verse nurture theories focus on whither a person’s development is dependent upon ones genetic blueprint or the

Whether raised by parents properly or heavily influenced by the environment, many people debate whether an individual is mostly influenced by genetics or influenced by their environment. A person’s environment can have multiple influences, but the genes passed down by parents play a huge role in developing how their offspring will turn out to be. Being unable to properly test whether certain characteristics of a person come from genetics or the influences of the environment makes this theory very difficult to understand, thus making the topic of nature vs. nurture extremely controversial. The debates always show that nature and nurture contrast but then there may be evidence that suggest that the two are linked and a person is actually an

The nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest issues in psychology. The debate centers on the relative contributions of genetic inheritance and environmental factors to human development.