Issues And Debates - Nature Vs Nurture

Question 1

What is the nature vs nurture debate?

Answer 1

The nature vs nurture debate - the degree which human behaviour is determined by genetics/biology (nature) or learned through interacting with the environment (nurture)

Question 2

Who are the 2 examples of famous people in the nature vs nurture debates?

Answer 2

Descartes
Locke

Question 3

What was descartes?

Answer 3

Nativist - nature side

Question 4

What was Locke?

Answer 4

Empiricist - nurture side

Question 5

What did the nativists believe?

Answer 5

• human characteristics are innate
• This includes some knowledge
• Behaviour is the result of heredity

Question 6

What do empiricists believe?

Answer 6

• the mind is a blank slate at birth upon which learning and experiences writes
• Behaviour is the result of the environment

Question 7

What is the nature explanation of behaviour?

Answer 7

Behaviour is caused by innate characteristics: psychological and biological characteristics we are born with so all possible behaviours are said to be present from conception
Behaviour is therefore determined by biology

Question 8

What is the determinist view of nature and behaviour?

Answer 8

Deterministic view - all behaviour is determined by hereditary factors, the inherited characteristics or genetic make up that we are born with

Question 9

How can you asses nature?

Answer 9

The heritability coefficient is used to asses heredity
Numerical value from 0-1
1 is entirely genetical
0 is entirely environmental factors effecting it

Question 10

What did Plomin find?

Answer 10

Plomin (1994) heritability for IQ is around 0.5 (meaning that there is an environmental effect)

Question 11

Who found that the heritability rate for IQ is around 0.5?

Answer 11

Plomin

Question 12

Who suggested that there are different types of environments?

Answer 12

Lerner

Question 13

What did Lerner suggest?

Answer 13

He suggested that there are different types of psychological/physiological/social environments

Question 14

Give some examples of different types of environments?

Answer 14

• the mothers physical state during pregnancy
• Social conditions
• Cultural and historical context

Question 15

How can nature effect nurture?

Answer 15

The environment can influence the expression of genes (phenotypes)

Question 16

What can be used to support the interactionist approach?

Answer 16

Diathesis stress model

Question 17

What is the Diathesis stress model?

Answer 17

This model suggests that Psychopathology is caused by a biological/genetic vulnerability which is only expressed when coupled with an environmental trigger

Question 18

What evidence is there for the Diathesis stress model?

Answer 18

Evidence of this: Tienari (2004) - Finnish adoptee study
• found that finish adoptees are more likely to develop schizophrenia if they had a biological relative with a history of schizophrenia and had a relationship with their adoptive families which were defined as dysfunctional

Question 19

What is epigenetic?

What could this include?

What does this do?

Answer 19

This is the impact that our environment has on our genes
This could include smoking or breathing in more air pollution, life style
These environmental interactions leave marks on our DNA, and tell our bodies which genes to ignore and which genes to use which can cause genetic mutations

Question 20

What are the applications of the nature side of the nature vs nurture debate?

Answer 20

Drug therapies can be developed to treat behavioural or psychological problems that have a physiological origin
Eg. SSRI’s can be used to treat depression - Chlorpromazine, Clozapine and Risperidone, Ritalin - ADHD

Question 21

What are the applications of the nurture side of the nature vs nurture debate?

Answer 21

If behaviour does change to environmental influences we need to consider how we adapt our environment
Eg we can reduce criminal behaviour by: reducing aggression around children

Question 22

What is the main disadvantage from the nature vs nurture debate?
Explain these fully on the next FC labled Nature - Nurture

Answer 22

Extremist views

Question 23

Nature

Answer 23

Nativists suggest that “anatomy is destiny” - has led to horrific discrimination and fails to challenge negative stereotypes - eg sexism

Question 24

Nurture

Answer 24

Behaviour shaping … you could try to control and manipulate citizen by reinforcing desirable behaviours and punishing undesirable behaviours

Question 25

How does the Nature side hedge its bets?

Answer 25

It recognises epigenetic (especially in aging people)

Question 26

What other theory can be used as an interactionist theory?

Answer 26

The Temperament Hypothesis

Question 27

What is the temperament hypothesis?

Answer 27

temperament hypothesis: the theory that we have innate characteristic that influence behaviour

Question 28

What are the supporting studies for nature?

Answer 28

Piaget
Chomsky

Question 29

Explain how Piaget’s theory supports nature

Answer 29

• Piaget- children’s thought processes change at predetermined age-related stages.
• Changes in age are related to changes in behaviour:
- Sensorimotor (birth – 2 years)
- Pre-operational (approx 2 – 7)
- Operational (approx 7 – 11)
- Formal operational (approx 11+ years)

Question 30

Explain how Chomsky’s research supports nature

Answer 30

• Chomsky maintained language is the result of innate cognitive structures in the mind.
• Biologically based inborn brain mechanism
  -Children are predisposed to make sounds and understand grammar.
• This does not happen from birth but language skills develop rapidly after a certain period of time which is evidence for this theory.

Since language acquisition follows the same pattern in all children it is more likely to be genetic

Question 31

What 2 studies can be used for evidence of Nurture

Answer 31

Little Albert (fear acquisition)
Zimbardo (social roles)

Question 32

Explain the study of Little Albert

Answer 32

A child (around 18 months) had a metal bar struck behind his head whenever he reached for white fluffy animal (hamster?). This lead to him developing a phobia of white fluffy things whenever he saw them. This extended to Santa Claus and rabbits.

Question 33

Explain Zimbardo’s experiment?

Answer 33

He investigated social roles within the constraints of the SPE. He showed that both wardens and prisoners would conform to their expected social roles showing that nurture effects behaviour (because nurture can be defined as effects on behaviour)