Issues And Debates: Nature And Nurture Flashcards
What is the nature argument?
The belief that behaviour is caused by innate characteristics, the physiological / biological characteristics we are born with, therefore behaviour is determined by biology (deterministic view - all behaviour is determined by hereditary factors), all present behaviours are from conception, genes provide the blueprint for all behaviours to emerge with age or be present at birth
What is the heritability coefficient?
It’s used to assess heredity, numerical figure 0 - 1, indicating the extent to which a behaviour has a genetic basis. 1 = entirely genetically determined, IQ = around 0.5
What is the nurture argument?
The view that an individuals behavior is determined by the environment (e.g. mothers physical state during pregnancy), the situations they are in, the things they get taught, what they observe etc. depends on external influences not genes. (also a deterministic view - proposes all behavior is the result of interactions with the environment) (behaviorist theories are also nurture theories)
What did Descartes believe (1596-1650)?
He was a nativist. He believed that human characteristics are innate, including some knowledge. Behavior is the hereditary
What did Locke believe (1632-1704)?
He was an empiricist. He believed that the mind is a blank state at birth upon which learning and experience writes. Behavior is the result of the result environment
What is the diathesis stress model (interactionist)?
Psychopathology is caused by biological / genetic vulnerability (tendency to suffer) which is only expressed when coupled with an environmental ‘trigger’
What are epigenetics (interactionist)?
Changes in our genetic activity without changing out genetic code. The environmental interactions leave marks on our DNA, and tell our bodies which genes to ignore and which to use. (E.g. smoking, life style, pollution)
What is the interactionist approach?
The view that behaviour is often a result of the interaction between nature and nurture. For example, an individuals characteristics may elicit particular responses in other people e.g. temperament, sec differences, aggression
Problems with both nature and nurture
Both are too reductionist and deterministic and it’s difficult to control variables
What did Dunn and Plomin (1990) suggest?
Suggested that individual differences means siblings may experience life events differently, e.g. age and temperament, monozygotic twins raised together do not show 100% concordance rate
What is niche picking?
The idea that people create their own ‘nurture’ by actively seeking environments appropriate for their nature, influencing their development and well-being.
What is constructivism (support for interaction)?
Constructivism is an interactionist learning theory that acknowledges both biological predispositions and environmental influences interact to shape an individual’s development. While it emphasizes the role of experiences in learning, it doesn’t completely undermine biological factors, instead it recognizes that genetics and the environment work together to influence how individuals construct their understanding of the world.
What are some difficulties concluding the debate?
Nature and nurture cannot be separated, as environment has an impact even before a child is born, so now psychologists focus on what contributions of each influence are. Are twin studies concordance rates due to biology or shared environment?
