Evidence for nature vs nurture (13)

Question 1

What are 5 methods of investigating the effects of nature and nurture on brain development.

Answer 1

• animal experiments
• twin studies
• cross-cultural studies
• newborn studies
• brain damage studies

Question 2

How do animal experiments contribute to the nature/nurture debate?

Answer 2

• can study the effects of different environments on the brain development of animals in the same species
• can genetically modify animals to lack a certain gene and raise animals which have and are lacking the gene in the same environment.

Question 3

How do twin studies contribute to the nature/nurture debate?

Answer 3

• can study identical twins raised separately
• can study identical and non-identical twins who were raised together, this acts as a control to cancel out the influence of the environment

Question 4

How do cross-cultural studies contribute to the nature/nurture debate?

Answer 4

• different environments across cultures
• scientists study the brain development of people from different cultures
• can measure what is likely to be nature and what is likely to be nurture

Question 5

How do newborn studies contribute to the nature/nurture debate?

Answer 5

• newborn’s brains haven’t really been affected by the environment
• can see which functions newborns have inately

Question 6

How do brain damage studies contribute to the nature/nurture debate?

Answer 6

• can study children with brain damage to see how they develop compared to children without brain damage.
• if a characteristis still develops it’s likely to be due to nurture