The Nature-Nurture Issue

The nature versus nurture is an issue that has been a long and hotly debated topic for over many generations. In defining the difference between nature and nurture, nature is “behaviors that occur in all like members of a species” and are inherited in behavioral development, whereas nurture is behavioral capacities that are acquired through learning (Pinel, 2011).
In terms of the flaw with attempting to determine what degree of behavior is attributed to nature and to what degree is attributed to nurture, is that both of these perspectives play a role in how and why a behavior is exhibited. Some of the behaviors that an individual may exhibit can be linked to that of an animal or through primal instinct, which leads the behaviors that are based on nature. However, we should consider that with the primal fears we have as children, like being afraid of the dark, are no longer exhibited in an individual when he or she is an adult. This change in behavior can be contributed to experience over time, the nurture perspective agrees with an experience’s influence in behavior (Pinel, 2011). It is appropriate to separate the contributions of genetics and experience, when measuring the development of difference among individuals, as genetics is something that is inherited and cannot be easily controlled, whereas an experience is something that can be controlled. While both factors affect an individual’s behavior, these factors are comprised of different combinations that cannot be judged, as the combinations are endless. An individual’s behavior is more than likely to be restricted or controlled by consequences that he or she feel as a result of their experiences or actions. References

Pinel, J. (2011). Biopsychology (8th ed.). Allyn & Bacon,