...Point / Nature-Nurture Nature versus nurture is an issue that has been hotly debated for many generations. Because my family life was so disconjointed I have often wondered on what side of the argument my own personality formed. The thought that the way I am is because of genetics has always been a concept I struggle to accept as I lean more on the nature side of the argument as I see my personality formed more by the happenings in my life. I have recently met a few of my siblings for the very first time and found that we couldn’t be more different than if we were unrelated completely. Some professionals air on the side of nature some on nurture and some believe it is a complete combination of them both. Of the people who believe in nature, they believe that we are who we are because of our genetic makeup, while those who believe in nurture believe it is all in the experiences we have had in our lives, and last but not least the professionals that believe in the balance of the two believe that we have some hard wired elements to our personality while others are learned by our experiences. Pro-nature is based off of inherited traits that a person is born with. Pro-nurture means a person can develop traits through experience and one’s environment. Pro-nature perspectives concentrate on the genetic information with claims of that a person with certain genetics will be better than the next and come out on top. Pro-nurture perspectives...
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...Nature or Nurture? Personality is the particular combination of emotional, attitudinal, and behavioral response patterns of an individual. It is the sound total o the multi-dimensionality of an individual. It is the sounding of one’s upbringing as a person. Personality is the reflection of how we are cared by our family, friends, government, society, etc. There are two factors that affect personality. These are nature and nurture. Many of us would try to look deep into ourselves and try to answer these following questions. Which is the most significant, nature or nurture? Which of the two most change my personality as a whole? What am I really? Nature is the genetic or biological component of an individual. This means that a person’s nature comes from its predecessors and the attitudes comes from its parents. Genes play a greater role in determining key personality traits like social skills and learning ability than the way we are brought up by our parents. Genetics were most influential on people's sense of self-control and also affected their social and learning abilities and their sense of purpose. Nurture is the social and environmental factors that affect the individual. This means that the environment affects how a person thinks and do. There are many people in this world wherein they where affected by the changes in society. Maybe it is because it is needed so that they can fit in or maybe they need it to be socially compatible with others. Behavior can be non-genetically...
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...Being yourself, being who you are. When you hear those two lines you may think they mean the same thing but do they? Think about it, you were born into this world a tiny little baby with no ideas, or preferences, but as you grew you developed a personal identity, but did it really develop or was it in you to begin with. Such questions are what leads to the great debate of nature vs nurture. If you believe you were born already with a personality, then you take the side of nature. on the other hand if you believe that your personality developed based on influences in your life beginning when you were a child then you believe in nurture. Two totally different theories, both which are believed to make us who we are. Nature, the more scientific theory of the two, is the belief that hereditary traits found in our genes make us who we are, believable but not very convincing when we consider the theory of nurture. Human beings learn new things everyday, as soon as we come in to the world, our learning process begins. As a newborn baby, we slowly learn and adapt in order to survive in a new environment which is unlike that of our mothers wombs, our first environment in which we first grew, adapted to and developed in. The home environment parents and siblings play a huge role in determining personality. Influences from outside the family are also very important to the development of ones personality. But everything starts at home. One can't enjoy snowboarding or...
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...What is the nature versus nurture controversy? In your opinion, is nature or nurture a more important determinant in human behavior? Why? Provide support for your answer. As we all know, nature is the biological genetics which individuals inherited from their parents, and nurture is known as the environment in which we're raised. The nature-nurture controversy is a classic research between behavioral psychologists in which they did find “the source of the creation of human personality” (Genes and behavior, “n.d.”), including physical and behavioral traits, and given out a question: “What is the main influence on human - their genetics or their environment?” (Nature vs. Nurture Examples. “n.d.”). It's commonly known that people have a few particular physical traits as their parents by sharing the same DNA. But where do people find their interest for other behaviors like the preference of reading specific kinds of book, or their natural abilities? That's what the nature versus nurture controversy tackles (What does "nature versus nurture" mean?, “n.d."). Some scientist claim that nature plays an important role in this issue. For example, in a theory of attachment, Bowlby shows us the “views the bond between mother and child as being an innate process that ensures survival” (“Bowlby, J., 1969”). In addition, Chomsky also claims that “language is gained through the use of an innate language acquisition device” (“Chomsky, N.,1965”). However, other scientists opposed that environmental...
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...Essay: Is it that each person’s attitude nature or nurture? Some people believe that the attitude of each individual depends in our environment, they develop what they see. And some of them believe that the attitude of a person is nature or what we call inborn attitude. But if you ask me if where of the two I believe, I’ll choose NURTURE because every person have a talent but this talent is not enough we need to develop more, that talent need a proper guidance of their guardian, trainer and etc. to make that talents perfect to the eye of other people. In this situation big possible that this person has a talent but need to develop. I have a childhood friend, she’s a girl who’s name Lea, actually she has a boyfriend but the time has come their relationship was end. The girl cried, got hurt, she didn’t know what she’s doing. Two years later after she’s moved on, she became a Lesbian as a childhood friend I asked her why did you do that? Why did you choose to become a Lesbian? She answered, because first I can’t accept that me and my boyfriend was broke up, so I thought wisely that if I’m become a Lesbian I didn’t get hurt again like before. So I think it’s good to me and I did. Second, I saw many Lesbians that their always happy with their love one’s so I just go with there. Anyway I think one of the reasons why some people adopt the attitude to their environment was from the parents or guardians if they guide seriously their kids they can’t adopt the attitude...
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...The historical debate regarding nature and nurture has been going on for years and is still unresolved. Many theorists believe what we have inherited and our genes, makes us the way we are and how we develop. Other theorists believe it is the way we are brought up and our experiences, that make us the way we are and how we develop. Physical The way we look can be argued to be mainly due to nature. The genes we inherit from our parents make the basis of we look. For example, people often say ‘Don’t you look like your father/mother?’ Genetic inheritance can determine our eye colour, whether we have straight or curly hair or how tall we will be. We can also inherit certain disease which can seriously impact on our health. However, we can make decisions on how we look and change our appearance. There are many different cosmetic procedures available to alter our appearance. How we live our life and the choices we make can also have an impact on how we look. For example, eating junk food and not exercising can lead to obesity. The environment we are brought up in and the experiences we have, can influence our health which contributes to physical development. An example of how nature and nurture affect our physical development is; we may carry genes that increase our risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but if we eat a healthy diet and get sufficient exercise, we may not develop the disease. The genes for characteristics we inherit are called genotypes. The actual express of these...
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...because of what we experience in life and others would argue that we are predestined because of our heredity. Both parties have piled up plenty of evidence to support their theory. Genes are the basis of our lives and as we grow the environment influences how our genes react and program our brains. “Genes are designed to take their cues from nurture. The more we lift the lid on the genome, the more vulnerable to experience genes appear to be. Ridley explains easily that genes are not puppet masters pulling the strings of our behavior (a common misunderstanding), but are puppets at the mercy of our behavior” (Mysterud). Nature vs. Nurture is still an ongoing controversy that psychologist cannot come to an agreement on. Nature deals with the inheritable factors while Nurture deals with the environmental factors that we grow up around in. Nature via Nurture by Matt Ridley explains that nature and nurture are both important factors that make a person who they are and who they become. Genes are the nature part of the human beings where we learn, how we think, and how we act. Ridley writes: Spradling 4 “Human nature is indeed a combination of Darwin’s universals, Galton’s heredity, James’s instincts, De Vries’s genes, Pavlov’s reflexes, Watson’s associations, Kraepelin’s history, Freud’s formative experience, Boas’s culture, Durkheim’s division of labor, Piaget’s development and Lorenz’s imprinting. You can find all these things going on in the human mind...
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...Describe the basic elements of the nature-nurture controversy. The amount of influence that genes have on personality verses the influence of learning experiences is not only related to genetics but also psychology. The debate of nature- nurture controversy has been studied for over 130 years and is still being researched. “After studying many prominent English families, Galton concluded that intelligence is inherited- that nature, not nurture, is responsible for intelligence” (Wood, Wood, & Boyd, 2005, p. 278). Nature refers to an individual’s innate qualities. Genes is considered nature, the physical and personality traits determined by ones genes will always stay the same. The coding of genes determines an individual’s traits such as eye color, hair color, and height. Nurture refers to personal experiences. This refers to ones childhood and how they were raised. This debate will always be controversial. An individual’s traits are predetermined by their genes but life experiences are what shape a person. There have been many research studies completed regarding this debate with no conclusive results. Discuss what is controversial in the nature- nurture debate. Nature versus nurture is one of the most frequently debated issues among psychologists. The term was created by a British researcher Sir Francis Galton who studied the role of genes in intelligence. The debate is about the importance of an individual’s inherited qualities versus personal experiences in determining...
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...Since the beginning of recorded time one has been told that ‘you have your mothers eyes’ or ‘You’re tall like your father’ and it has been accepted that humans inherit their appearance traits from their parents, however where does one get their talent for hockey, their intelligence, or their habits; does one learn these from their environment or were they programmed by genetics? Well this brings to light the age old debate of nature vs. nurture. The Nature and Nurture debate stems into many areas that make humans what they are, with one of those factors being their religion, and when examining religion it is found that nurture trumps nature in shaping the beliefs of oneself. Since the Ancient Egyptians and even before (Mesopotamians) religion and spirituality have existed, there has been a consensual acceptance that there is a God, and when one closes their eyes for the last time, they become one with God, or in some cases; the devil or the ‘netherworld’. Through those times and the times of the Catholic church according to world renowned psychologist Dr Olivera Petrovich; “Religion has become the natural state-it is now hard wired by families into babies brains, it is atheism that is learned”. She bases the mantra of religion being parental based on a study of four hundred B.C. children of different faiths, and many aged four-six Japanese children. When asking all of these children about their faith they all without any guidance from their parents say they believe in God;...
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...Nature Verses Nurture The discussion on the importance of heredity and environment in human development is not new. The nature verses nurture question has been debated for years (Psychology). Nurture side of the debate considers all the environmental influences on an individual after conception. While the nature side of the debate focus on nature that which is inherited, or know as genetics. The nature verse nurture discussion has been a part of the history of psychology that goes back to Francis Galton. Galton was influenced by the book, The Origin of Species written by his cousin, Charles Darwin. The Origin of Species has been criticized for over simplifying two theories of why a lifestyle of wealth, education and privilege seems to be passed on to biological children. Galton takes credit for the phrase in his English Men of Science: Their Nature and Nurture, first published in 1874. In this book he states that nature and nurture are, "a convenient jingle of words, for it separates under two distinct heads the innumerable elements of which personality is composed. Nature is all that a man brings with himself into the world and nurture is every influence that affects him after his birth” (p.12). It is thought that how one is nurtured is what controls the psychological aspects of child development and the concept of growth applies to the biological facets of human life. When infants bonds to the individual(s) bestowing love and affection, she/he has received, she/he...
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...D1: Evaluate how nature and nurture may affect the physical, intellectual, emotional and social development for two stages of the development of the individual. Therefore you should select two stages, not necessarily in sequence. In order to evaluate you must consider the extent to which both nature and nurture influence the development of the individual. You could conclude by deciding which, if either, is the most influential. You should refer to research evidence in your evaluation. 50+ years Subject A is an elder lady who lives at home with her son and three grandchildren. She also has dementia; a syndrome associated with an ongoing decline of the brain and its abilities. This includes problems with: memory loss, thinking speed, mental agility, language, understanding and judgement. In her situation, nature can have a negative effect on her physical development due to her disorder meaning that she can’t do much for herself. Things like cooking, showering or going shopping influences her development negatively as she can’t do anything herself. As dementia is something that is inherited, it may have been developed from her parents or something that runs in her family therefore it is hard to overcome which are the physical effects on her development. Intellectually, due to old age or just getting older, developing something like dementia, is also seen as a nurture. Someone else in the family may have had dementia which therefore increased the chance of someone else developing...
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...ESSAY: STAGE 1 NATURE VS NURTURE Intro Nature VS Nurture has been a long going debate for many of centuries. Many of people have argued for what side they think is correct. Psychologists such as; Many other studies have been done When in psychology we talk about Nature this means our genetics, what we are born with. Nurture refers to how we have experienced life and how as a child how parents have brought us up. Environmental factors also contribute to Nurture. Many studies have been done in this debate, in the studies there have been twins separated at birth. The twins were moved to opposite sides of the world with completely different family types. When the twins were reunited some aspects of them were the same but things like their beliefs and look on life were different Nature normally refers to our genetics. What we are born with; we may be born with a chemical imbalance causing us to be more depressed then happy or we may have a bad temper. Some genetic mental disease may run through the family such as depression or bipolar. Researcher’s studies people and their relatives because they share most genes so the studies they conduct see whether or not their characteristics are similar. Identical twins have the same genes, so this may be Nature but they usually are treated the same and grow up in the same environment. Nurture is usually the environment we are brought up in; we may be brought up on the streets which can cause us to become aggressive because you had to...
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...Throughout the field of Psychology there are many debates. The most debatable issue is Nature vs., Nurture. This controversial issue seems to find its place in the midst of disagreements battling of theory and experience among Psychologist and Sociologist for centuries. The Nature theory focuses on the genetic development of an individual; what color eyes will you have? Are you musically inclined because your parents are musicians? Will you be good at sports because your father may have been a star athlete? While the Nurture theory main focus is the environmental influence on an individual. How you are raised, way type of family do you come from? Was it Nuclear or Binuclear? Can your environment determine your behavior? I could determine that both may have an impact on an individual, however I cannot agree with either side. How can anyone truly articulate an unbiased decision, and not mention the Creator of all? I believe there are some issues that will remain unexplained, for the purpose that God wants it to remain that way. Genetics at times can be unexplainable, for example the African American couple giving birth to a Caucasian child with blonde hair (Essence, 2010). Many would say that’s impossible, however as we can see it is very possible. Then it’s the story of Liz Murray, who graduated from Harvard although both her parents were addicted to drugs (Abraham, 2010). In 1963 there is an article entitled “A medical accident”; twin boys taken to the hospital for a routine...
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...2014 Nature vs Nurture The nature vs nurture debate has been a raging topic for decades now. It has caused much controversy in justifying human characteristics, especially concerning the defense of criminal behavior. Many people believe that our actions and conduct comes from the genes we possess, and that we are born with a higher likelihood to act in certain ways. Others believe that our behavior is a result of our childhood, and how we are brought up. Extensive research has been done on the nature vs nurture debate. Although both nature and nurture ultimately affect one’s behavioral characteristics, it seems nurture has a much greater impact. So, is our behavior affected by our heredity and genes, or by the environment we grow up in? What is nature? “Nature is your genes. The physical and personality traits determined by your genes stay the same irrespective of where you were born and raised” ("Nature vs Nurture." Diffen.com. Diffen LLC, n.d. Web. 3 Dec 2014). Taking in the consideration of I.Q., studies prove that genetics has a great effect. Adopted siblings have no more similar of an I.Q. than strangers, while blood related siblings have an I.Q. correlation of .6. Twins especially, having an I.Q. correlation of .86 (Nancy,L. Same-Age Unrelated Siblings: A Unique Test of Within-Family Environmental Influences on IQ Similarity. Journal of Educational Psychology. 1997 June; 89(2): 381-390.) DeNoto, 1 Nature vs Nurture The nature vs nurture debate...
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...The psychological debate of nature vs. nurture is one that has been deliberated and refuted for many years. This debate is so controversial because although it is fact that genetic makeup does play a major role in developing a person, the nurture and environment in which a person is brought up in is also an important factor. The nature vs. nurture issue dates back to Ancient Greeks, through the times of Aristotle and John Locke, with each philosopher projecting their own individual thoughts on the matter. Although nature depicts the development of a person in terms of their appearance and certain personality traits, nature and the setting and situations in which a person grows up is more important in explaining the development of a person because ultimately a person is an overall reflection of the environment of which they were brought up in. Each person comes from different backgrounds, religions, and environments, which are all external factors that play a large role in the development of an individual. Diet, stress, prenatal nutrition, peer pressure, and television are just some of the more specific environmental factors that can affect a person. Clearly, there are many more aspects of the nurture debate that contribute to the argument that a person’s upbringing is what will influence their development. For example, NBC reported that in a study where teenagers played violent video games and non violent video games, the violent video games were proven...
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