2.4 The Nature-Nurture Debate

Question 1

When looking at the ‘Nature vs Nurture’ debate, what are the two main arguments in favour of nature?

Answer 1

genotypes - our biological makeup determines who we are. (e.g attachment is adaptive because it aids survival and reproduction (bowlby); it relies on genetic transmission.
evolution - adaptive pressures from natural selection have caused all our behaviours.

Question 2

When looking at the ‘Nature vs Nurture’ debate, what are the three main arguments in favour of nurture?

Answer 2

behaviourism - we’re 100% shaped by experience (e.g skinner) - classical and operant conditioning can explain the formation of attachment.
Social learning theory - our behaviour is learned from others (e.g bandura) - although urges may be biological, we learn how to express them through direct and indirect reinforcement.
environment - our families, friends and school cause behavioural outcomes.

Question 3

define environment

Answer 3

everything that is outside our body, which includes people, events and the physical world

Question 4

define heredity

Answer 4

the process by which traits are passed from parents to their offspring, usually referring to genetic inheritance

Question 5

define interactionist approach

Answer 5

with reference to the nature-nurture debate, the view that the processes of nature and nurture work together rather than in opposition

Question 6

define nature

Answer 6

behaviour is seen to be a product of innate (biological or genetic factors) factors

Question 7

define nature-nurture debate

Answer 7

the argument as to whether a person’s development is mainly due to their genes or to environmental influences

Question 8

define nurture

Answer 8

behaviour is a product of environmental influences

Question 9

summarise nature arguments in the nature vs nurture debate

Answer 9

nature - innate influences which may appear at any stage in life
genetic explanations - MZ twins more likely to both develop schizophrenia that DZ twins (Joseph)
evolutionary explanations - attachment is adaptive because it aids survival and reproduction (Bowlby); it relies on genetic transmission

Question 10

summarise the nurture arguments in the nature vs nurture debate

Answer 10

nurture - the social and physical environment/experiences; we are born as a blank slate
behaviourism - classical and operant conditioning can explain the formation of attachment
social learning theory - the urge to be aggressive may be biological, but we learn how to express this through direct and indirect reinforcement (Bandura)
other explanations, e.g. Bateson’s double bind theory of schizophrenia is based on experience.

Question 11

evaluate the nature vs nurture debate

Answer 11

nature and nurture cannot be separated - like the length and width of a rectangle (Hebb), or phenylketonuria which is genetic but not expressed if given the right diet.
diathesis-stress, a person’s nature (diathesis) is only expressed under certain conditions of nurture (stressor)
nature affects nurture - indirect genetic influences; reactive (ones behaviour changes the environment), passive (parents influence the home environment) or active(niche picking)
nurture affects nature - neural plasticity, as in Maguire et al’s. study of spatial memory in taxi drivers, or Blakemore and Coopers study of perception in kittens
Epigenetics - material in each cell that acts as switches to turn genes on and off, which is passed on to subsequent generations. Explains why MZ twins and clones are not identical