B1. Nature/Nurture Debate Flashcards
What is nature?
Physical characteristics which are biologically determined by genetic inheritance.
What is nurture?
The influences that an environment has on an individual including social and environmental factors.
Give examples of biological physical characteristics ?
Eye/hair colour
Straight/curly hair
Weight/ height
Life expectance
Skin pigmentation
What nurture factors influence our behaviour?
Education
Parenting styles
Social class
Diet/exercise
Environment
Religion
What is maturation?
Characteristics and differences not observed at birth but which emerge later in life
What theories are associated with nature vs nurture?
Gessell’s Maturation theory
Bandura’s Social learning theory
What did Gesssell look at?
Arnold Gesell looked into children’s biological maturation around the 1940’s – 1950’s.
What did Gessell develop?
He developed the ‘normative approach’ by observing large numbers of children to find the skills and abilities that most children had in each age group.
What were Gessell’s findings?
Identifying norm’s or milestones for each developmental aspect.
A child moves through the sequence at their own pace.
Development was predetermined and that the environment had little influence.
If a child experiences delayed development then the issue is one of heredity rather than the child’s environment.
A child should only be taught to complete tasks when they are physically and mentally ready to do so. Teaching a child to do something that is in advance of their developmental age would do them more harm
Give some positives of Gessell’s study
Developed social ‘norms’ – these are still used today.
The study was conducted over a LARGE number of children.
He used new and innovative methods to conduct his research.
Give some negatives of Gessell’s study
Did not consider individual differences.
Did not consider cultural differences.
Gesell believed that ‘norms’ or ‘ milestones’ were desirable
What does Bandura’s Social Learning theory focus on?
Bandura’s social learning theory focuses on the environmental influences children learn from including imitation and role modelling.
What is Bandura’s theory based on?
Banduras theory is based on observations of learning occurring through observing the behaviour of others.
What is the sequencing for social learning theory?
- Attention
- Retention
- Reproduction
- Motivation
Describe attention (sequence)
The child notices the behaviour of another person.
Describe retention (sequence)
The child internalises the action/behaviour by remembering what they have observed.
Describe reproduction (sequence)
The child the child reproduces the behaviour not necessarily straight away but when the opportunity occurs.
Describe motivation (sequence)
Depending on the outcome (positive/negative) reinforcement children will either repeat or not the behaviour.
What is positive reinforcement?
The behaviour is repeated because of personal satisfaction (intrinsic reinforcement) or rewards (extrinsic reinforcement).
What is negative reinforcement?
The behaviour is not repeated to avoid an adverse experience such as lack of satisfaction or to avoid being told off.
Give examples of positive reinforcement
Star charts
Certificates
Praise
Awards
Give examples of negative reinforcement
Remove behaviours
Replace with another behaviour
Ignore behaviour
What did Bandura base his theory on?
Bandura based his theory on a famous experiment using a Bobo doll in which he demonstrated that children learn and copy aggressive behaviour by observing adults behaving aggressively.
What does the stress-diathesis model explain?
Explains how stress caused by life events (nurture) can interact with an individuals genetic vulnerability (nature) to impact on their mental well-being.
What is genetic vulnerability?
A vulnerability to disorder through abnormality of the brain or neuro-transmitters.
E.g. if your mother suffered with depression you could have a predisposition to depression.
What does the theory suggest?
This theory suggests that some people have a certain biological or genetic predisposition to a psychological disorder. This is called diathesis. However, some people have protective factors that can stop them getting the mental illness.
Is stress nature or nature?
Nurture
Is diathesis nature or nature?
Nature
What is stress?
Traumatic events in a persons life e.g. relationships, culture, abuse.
What is diathesis?
a predisposition or vulnerability to mental disorders due to an abnormality in the brain.
What is nativism?
This is when someone believes that the influence of development is INNATE.
That children have inherited skills, abilities and behaviours.
Who studies Nativism?
Gesell
Bowlby
Chomsky
What is nature vs nurture?
Some theories believe that there is cause to mix the 2 theories and suggest that behaviours. Children will learn in stages, however they can be helped throughout the stages to develop new concepts.
Give examples of the nature vs nurture debate
Piaget
Stress-diathesis model
What is empiricism or behaviourism?
This is when someone believes that a person’s behaviour is solely influenced by their environment and nurturing.
Who agrees with empiricism/behaviourism?
Bandura
