...Nature versus nature has always been a heated debate in the scientific community. Nature is considered the biological aspect such as genetics or hormones while nurture is considered learned behavior in an environment. Per Baumeister and Bushman (2014) learning and instinct are crucial components in this dispute and individuals can learn to be aggressive or to restrain aggression. One example I have is nature and nurture in terms of how I grew up. When I was born my parents were in their late teens and still well into their peace, love, and happiness phase. I was always told to let anger roll off me like rain off an umbrella. I was taught aggression is unnecessary and that I should embrace turning the other check and being the bigger person...
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...Nature Vs Nurture Karen Quave PSY 330 G May 6, 2013 According to the article this study aimed at investigating the contribution of polymorphisms shown to moderate transcription of two genes involved in serotonergic neurotransmission to the development of violence and to test for gene-environment interaction relating to adverse childhood environment. (Reif, Roster, Freitag, Scheider, Eujen, Kissling, & Retz 2007) Each person was assigned to either a violent group or a nonviolent group. High environmental adversity during childhood was associated scientifically with violent behavior while 45% were violent and 30% were nonviolent people that carried the low-activity, short MAOA allele. (Reif, Roster, Freitag, Scheider, Eujen, Kissling, & Retz 2007) Violent behavior was somewhat less common in older subject years and people with a history of drug abuse were more violent compared to those without a history of drug abuse. . (Reif, Roster, Freitag, Scheider, Eujen, Kissling, & Retz 2007) The major findings of the present study are MAOA genotype and adverse childhood environment independently of each other increased the risk for later-life violent behavior and the 5HTT polymorphism was associated with violence in a gene-environment-dependent manner. . (Reif, Roster, Freitag, Scheider, Eujen, Kissling, & Retz 2007) Violent behavior observed...
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...Genetic Explanation of Aggression: Aggression is known to be influenced by genetics. Everyone inherits certain genes from their biological parents, these express as specific traits and characteristics. This includes everything from your eye colour, susceptibility to certain diseases, and aggressive tendencies. Some psychologists even believe there is a specific aggressive gene. Genetics are biological, however the explanation does acknowledge the interplay between nature and nurture, a hard and soft approach to determinism. We cannot separate genetics from the environment as it is a crucial part of evolution. Experiments have been conducted on mice whereby they have altered the gene receptor for the neuro-transmitter serotonin. They ‘knocked out’ the gene in the mice. With this a ‘knockout mouse’ was created and put in a cage for 2 weeks to establish its territory. Later when an intruder mouse was introduced, the knockout mice were found to be significantly more aggressive than another control group. This suggests this gene receptor is responsible for the aggression As this was completed in a scientific, lab environment, the results are highly reliable. However there are difficulties generalising from animal experiments to human behaviour. Humans have rational thinking and mice do not. The animal ethics guidelines state that the ends must justify the means. Later research tested rats in the same way, and they found humans don’t have the same gene. Therefore, the...
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...Effect of the Media on Aggression in Children. Media is of importance to many people for many reasons, including entertainment and escapism. The mass production of televisions in the 1950’s has led to a phenomenon previously unheard of, with statistics showing that as of 2013, 79% of the world has at least one television set per household (TVTechnology, 2013). It therefore stands to reason that children may have easy access to media that may not be age appropriate. Is it accurate to assume, however, that media can cause aggression in children? The Oxford dictionary defines aggression as: “feelings of anger or antipathy resulting in hostile or violent behaviour”. This definition depicts a narrow view of aggression, with the assumption being it will often manifest physically, this view does not take into account varying types of aggression that can be equally as harmful, such as verbal and psychological abuse (persistent abuse to the point of anxiety or stress). It should also be noted that aggression is a form of anti-social behaviour, a concept that varies culturally, for example one study concludes that Western cultures are far more likely to resort to physical violence, whilst Eastern cultures would more readily resort to verbal abuse (Andreu et al, 1998). The most interesting aspect of aggression, particularly in children, comes from the debate of Nature/Nurture. The debate is the belief that all behaviour can be explained in one of two ways. Nature states that biological...
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...the influences of nature and nurture on the personality of humans. What is nature and nurture? Nature is referring to your genetic background, or what is passed down from your parents. Nurture refers to what you learn throughout your life. Does nature or nurture form and create your personality? Nature, as defined by psychologists, is your genetic background. When you are born, you obtain certain genes and traits from both your mother and father. Some psychologists believe that this is what forms your personality. Science has discovered that these coding of genes forms your eye color, hair color, nose size, and other physical traits. In a recent experiment, scientists found fraternal twins that were separated at birth. The twins went on to...
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...Nature vs. Nurture Over the years there has been a pretty big debate over nature verses nurture and which one plays the larger role in human development and how they act. Nature is the genetics or hereditary influences of a person; basically nature is the genes you are born with that can’t be changed. Nurture is experiential or environmental influences that you develop over time after you are born, such as how your parents raise you which gives you a large variety to how you will act as you develop. The question is which one of these two determines what kind of person you are. Im going to try to give a better idea of the difference in nature and nurture. Lots of people believe nature plays the larger part. A person’s genes can determine whether a person is predisposed to a disease or illness for example people who are born with genetic disorder such as Down syndrome have trouble with information processing. Their mental hardware, which are cognitive structures including different memories where information is stored, and their mental software, which are organized sets of cognitive processes that enable people to complete specific takes like reading sentences, playing video games, or hitting a baseball. These things will ultimately effect the way they grow up and the way they see and do things. A person who is affected with those types of diseases shows how nature can directly effect the development of an individual. A new technique called developmental genetic analysis...
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...In the documentary Raising Cain programmed by PBS, host Michael Thompson debunks stereotypes found with boys. He explores the emotional development of boys in the United States, consulting with various psychologists, social activists, researchers, and educators in regards to issues young males encounter. The documentary provides researches about boys with their inner workings, dispelling a number of common misconceptions and highlight programs that bring out the best for boys. As an insightful film, it particularly would apply for anyone who parents developing boys. So what makes a boy, a boy? Is it nature or nurture? The nature aspect for boys refer to all of the genes and any hereditary factors that influence physical appearance and personality...
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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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...Gender Identity Paper Gender is determined at the time of conception. Gender Identity is defined as a personal conception of oneself as being male or female. Gender Identity issues can arise from several reasons and present in many different ways. Hormonal imbalance in the human body can cause an individual to question their true gender. The human body produces hormones which act as “chemical messengers” to try to regulate certain bodily functions like metabolism and growth. These hormones are produced in the endocrine system which includes the adrenal, pancreas, pineal, pituitary, and thyroid glands and manage things like puberty, growth, and physical changes. Hormones help the body maintain homeostasis or a state of balance within the body. When the body produces to much or to little of a hormone it can cause both physical and emotional problems. What are the interactions between hormones and do these interactions affect determination of gender identity? Hormones are responsible for sexual dimorphism (phenotypic sex differences) in the structure of the body and its organs. For example, hormones affect the internal sex organs, including genitals, and secondary sex characteristics that can operate to influence a person's behavior. Thus some research indicates that hormones are responsible for the gender makeup that acts as determinants of feminine and masculine traits. In addition, hormones affect behavior by interacting...
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...Carrie C. Professor Debbie J. ENG122 May 1, 2011 Development of a Child’s Temperament Temperament is a set of in-born traits that organize the approach of a child to different situations in life and governs the personality of the individual. Temperaments appear quite stable from birth and are characteristics that are neither good nor bad but how the child receives them determines whether the child perceives them as such. It is very important that parents and caregivers understand the temperament of a child so that they may devise a way to manage the traits of the child and avoid blaming themselves or the child for natural occurrences which they have no control. This knowledge may also be important for parents to understand how their children may respond to certain situations or anticipate activities that may pose great difficulties for their children to handle, thus the ability to design a method of assisting the child who attempt those activities. It is worth noting that early development may determine the future personality of an individual although it may not be necessarily the main determinant. Thomas and Chess first brought about the theory of temperament by identifying nine traits which have so far been classified to form three groups of temperament which are: difficult to easy, slow to warm, or cautious (Oliver, 2002). This research paper aims to explore the different factors that influence the development of temperaments in a child. Carrie 2 It is known that...
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...‘blank slate’. Locke presented in 1690, Essay Concerning Human Understanding, which argued an originary state of formlessness (R. Duschinsky), whereby the mind is receptive to learning, but experience is the determinant in attaining knowledge. Locke’s behaviourist perspective favours the role of experiential growth (nurture), over genetic predisposition (nature), in the development of human behaviour. This notion is inaccurate, as in actuality, the shaping of human behaviour does not rely solely on learned experience. Human behaviour is in fact a mutual interaction of both genetic and environmental factors, with genetic predisposition playing a substantial role. It was argued by G.W Leibniz that an individual inherently contains the sources of various notions which external objects merely rouse up on suitable occasions. This essay will concur with Leibniz’s philosophy that in fact it is the interplay of individual nature and nurture which drives the development of human behaviour, in particular, antisocial behaviour, to in turn, contradict John Locke’s tabula rasa hypothesis. Antisocial behaviours are disruptive acts characterised by hostility, intentional aggression towards others and destructive behaviour. The behaviour includes repeated violations and definance of social rules and authority, and a reckless disregard for self and others. It is characterised by deceitfulness and theft, and is considered socially unacceptable (D.C Hardy). Researchers have produced convincing evidence...
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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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...Discuss genetic and environmental influences on behaviour. (22) There has been a debate in psychology regarding nature (genetics) and nurture (the environment) and whether one of these explanations alone determine human behaviour, or whether there are other factors influencing our actions. There are two different stances that people take on whether language development is genetic or environmental. Nativists believe that the capacity for language can be classed as ‘innate’. Whereas empiricists suggest that, it is environmental variables that play a vital role in language development. It would be ethically impossible to study behaviour in total isolation in order to determine whether genetics or environmental influences for our behaviour. The closest research recorded, focusing on this case is a girl named Genie (1970); who was socially isolated for the first 13 years of her life, by her father. Genie’s case presented researchers with a unique opportunity. Psychologist James Kent described Genie as a ‘profoundly damaged child’ as it was discovered that she could hardly walk and could only speak around 20 simple words. It was suggested that although she started learning single words. In most cases it is thought that after a few words have been acquired it is then followed by what is called language explosion. However, this never happened for genie her language abilities didn’t improve, and she appeared unable to apply grammatical rules and use language in a meaningful way...
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...Developing a healthy child. 1. Nature versus Nurture: an ongoing debate describing the differences in child development. The prime question of this debate is whether genetic factors or environmental factors determine the development of a child. Nature or genetic factors refers to biological or hereditary genes imbedded in a child. Nature factor determines a child’s physical appearance like the eye color, hair color, height and other traits that are inherited. Nativists or a group of people who believe strongly in Nature, form an assumption that each individual is different due to his individual genetic code. Characteristics that are not observed at birth but which emerge later in life are formed due to maturation. On the contrary, environmental factors or Nurture refers to a child’s daily interactions with various people. The Nurture factor determines a child’s personality which he adapts due to his surroundings. Empiricists or people who are strong believers of Nurture, believe that a human mind at the time of birth is a blank slate or tabula rasa and is gradually formed due to environmental influences. They believe that psychological characteristics and behavioral differences that emerge through infancy and childhood are a result of learning. (Book) * A child’s reaction of a specific behavior and the influence of Nature-Nurture Anger, an emotion characterized by resentment toward someone or something you feel has deliberately done something wrong to you. Anger can...
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...better understand how genetics and the components of personality can be linked with various mental disorders. Scientists, or more specifically psychologists, have taken the general idea of nature vs. nurture and extended their research into how each factor affects an individual. The concept Nature vs. Nurture is essentially your genetics against their environment. However, the majority of scientists have disowned this once popular stance on personality development. One such individual, David Moore, a Professor of Psychology at Pitzer College and Claremont Graduate University in Southern California explained in an interview the faultiness of the nature vs. nurture concept. In comparison he explained the superiority of epigenetics as a substitute way of thinking. “For the longest time, the nature-nurture debate has been cast as a kind of contest between genes and experiences. The thought was that we might have some characteristics that are caused primarily by genetic factors and other characteristics that are caused primarily by experiential factors. What epigenetics is making clear is that’s a faulty way to think about the situation, because it’s not true that genes do things independently of their contexts. Instead, genes do what they do because of the contexts that they’re in. Nature and nurture are always working together to produce all of our traits” (Moore, p. 1). This revolutionary outlook has provided scientists with the ability to not only predict an individual's probability...
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