Issues and debates: nature and nurture

Question 1

what is nature?

Answer 1

.the belief that our characteristics are given to us innately, through genetic inheritance

Question 2

what is nurture?

Answer 2

.the idea that we are born as ‘blank slates’ and our characteristics are the product of our upbringing and experiences

Question 3

What is an interactionist approach?

Answer 3

.belief that combining both nature and nurture is best to explain behaviour

Question 4

what is the diathesis-stress model?

Answer 4

.behaviour is caused by a combination of a vulnerability (diathesis) usually genetic or environmental as well as a trigger (stress/stressor) usually environmental or biological

Question 5

what is an example of a diathesis-stress model?

Answer 5

.genetic vulnerability to OCD (diathesis) is only expressed if combined with a trauma (environmental trigger)

Question 6

how does family studies support nature?

Answer 6

.researchers have found a link between genetic similarity and concordance rates.
.siblings have higher concordance rates because their genes are more similar than cousins who have a lower concordance rate because there’s less similar genes

Question 7

how can family studies be used to support nurture?

Answer 7

.the higher concordance rate in siblings compared to cousins could be because siblings have greater similarities in how they are raised

Question 8

how can twin studies be used to support nature?

Answer 8

.identical twin (MZ) concordance rate is higher than non-identical (DZ) and the only difference between groups is genetic similarity

Question 9

how can twin studies be used to support nuture?

Answer 9

concordance rate for MZ twins is never 100% meaning it’s not solely down to genetics and there must be some other factors