Issues And Debates: Nature Vs Nurture Flashcards
What is nature
Psychological characteristics are inherited
• Heritability coefficient: is used to assess heredity
• It’s a numerical figure ranging from 0 to 1.0
• It’s an indication to the extent a characteristic has a genetic basis
• 1 meaning it’s 100% genetic
• General figure for IQ is 0.5
• Suggesting both genetics and the environment are important in intelligence
Nurture
Psych characteristics that are shaped by environment
Isn’t due to genetic makeup
We are born with a blank slate and we learn how to behave with the environment we are in
Relative importance of heredity and environment
• The nature-nurture debate is impossible to answer
• Environmental influence occurs before the child has even been born
• Realistically the two are intertwined together and we shouldn’t be trying to seperate the two
• Very difficult to do this for example twin studies
Twin studies why do we look at my
Mz share 100% same genotype
And often share the same environment
Bc of this we can look at the relative contribution of each influence in terms of what we think and do
The interactionist approach - attachment
Attachment:
• You have seen how attachment patterns between an infant and its parents are a result of a “two way” street
• A child’s innate temperament will influence the way parents respond to it
• Their responses will in turn affect the child’s behaviour
• Nature in a real sense creates nurture
Interactionist approach in diathesis stress
Diathesis- stress model:
• Models of mental illness which emphasise the interaction of nature and nurture to be more persuasive
• Psychopathology is caused by a genetic vulnerability which is expressed when coupled with a biological or environmental trigger (the stressor)
• For example schizophrenia
The interactionsit approach. - epigenetics
Refers to a change of our genetic activity without changing our genetic code
• It’s a process that occurs throughout life and is caused by interaction with the environment
• Aspects of our lifestyle such as smoking will leave epigenetic marks on our DNA
• These marks tell our body which genes to ignore and which to use
• This in turn may influence the genetic codes we pass onto our children
• This introduces a third element into the nature nurture debate: the life experience of previous generations
The Interactionist approach - epigenetics research support
Ressler (2014)
• Gave mice an electric shock every time they were exposed to a smell of acetophenone
• The mice showed a fear every time they smelt the scent (behaviourists)
• The mice’s children also displayed a fear of the scent and so did their grand children
Forensics - nature nurture
Nurture -Eysenck linked to the role of socialisation to Criminal beh
Criminals as children were not taught to delay gratification and have have had pro criminal attitudes instilled in them
High extraversion and neurosisicsm scores mean it’s difficult to condition beh so more likely to act antisocially
Nature - mirror neurons - Keysers 2011
Research suggests that APD can experience empathy but more sporadically then a normal person
Schiz - nature nurture and interactionsit
Nature -dopamine hypothesis - excess da in mesambolic reward pathways leading to positive symptoms
Nurture Double bind theory - Bateson 1972 - In a double bind situation is given 2 contradictory signals by another person
Eg semone hugs you then tells you they hate you - children receiving mixed messages are more likely to develop schiz
- theyre trapped and cannot seek clarification
- getting it wrong means withdrawl of love
- created an understanding if the world which is dangerous and confusing
- leads to paranoid delusions and disorganised thinking
Interactionsit - tienari - supported role of family and genetic
Phobias - nature nurture
Nurture - 2 step process proposed at 2 step model
1) phobias aqquired by classical conditioning
2) continued through operant cond- little Albert study - Watson and raynor
Nature - phobias acquired due to a survival adv evolutionary links eg it increased survival to be afraid of snakes and stay away
OCD nature nurture interactionsit
Interactionist - diatheis stress
Note - do forensics or relationships walster - matching hypothesis
Implucations of nativism amd empiricism
Nativists - anatomy is destiny our environment has little impact of our behaviour its very controversial in terms of intelligence and race
Right wing - intellenge based on bio which leads to race superirority
Empiricists - beh can be changes by altering environment, beh shaping has practical application in therapy however you cannot completely ignore an individuals biological makeup
Shares vs unshared environment
Twins sharing the same environment is a big problem when trying to distinguish between nature vs nurture
• Psychologists then look at twins reared apart
• But they still tend to share the same environment (other family members bringing them up)
• May have shared the same environment for some of their life before being raised apart
• Sample sizes tend to be small so difficult to generalise
Constructivism
Genes and the environment interacting is elaborated by constructivism
• People create their own “nurture” by actively seeking environments that are appropriate for their “nature”
• For example an aggressive child will seek to be around other aggressive children.
• This environment then affects their development
Genotype - environment interaction
• Scarr (1983) put forward a theory of gene-environment interaction that includes three types:
1. Passive interaction- the parents genes influence the way they treat their children
2. Evocative interaction- the child’s genes influence and shape the environment they grow up in
3. Active interaction- the child creates its own environment through the people and experiences it selects
Highlights the complex and multi-layered relationship between nature and nurture
