Lesson 4: Nature Or Nurture Debate

Question 1

What is the nature-nurture debate?

Answer 1

• possible that behaviour is governed by nature and by nurture
• the nature nurture debate is about the relative contribution of each of these influences in deterring an individuals behaviour
• nature side of the debate assumes that heredity, genes, hormones etc. are more important
• nurture side assumes that the environment and a person’s experiences etc. are more important

Question 2

Nature

Answer 2

• rooted in the nativist theory that knowledge and abilities are innate. this does not only refer to abilities present at birth but to any characteristic determined by genes
• the biological approach offers many genetic explanations for behaviour, the concordance rate for a mental disorder,, such as schizophrenia, in monozygotic twins is 40% but for dizygotic twins is only 7% (Joseph, 2004). The closer concordance rate for individuals with the same genes show that nature is a major cause of mental disorders.

Question 3

Evolutionary explanations

Answer 3

• based on the principle that a characteristic that promotes survival, and reproduction will be naturally selected because it is far more likely to be passed on to subsequent generations.
• Bowlby (1969) proposed that attachment is adaptive because it means an infant will be. More likelY to be protected and therefore more likely to survive. Attachment also promotes close relationships which would foster successful reproduction.

Question 4

Nurture

Answer 4

• rooted in the empiricist theory that knowledge derived from learning.
• environmental influences are acquired through interactions with the environment
• this includes both the physical and the social world and is often referred to as experiences. Prenatal environmental influences are part of nurture, for example whether a mother smokes during pregnancy.

Question 5

The behavioural approach

Answer 5

• assumes that all behaviour can be explained in terms of experience alone. For example, it claims that babies attach to their mothers because they associate them with the pleasure they get from food.

Question 6

Social learning theory

Answer 6

• studies have shown that behaviour such as aggression (Bandura, 1963), is learnt through observing the behaviour of others (nurture) but does acknowledge that the urge to behave aggressively is biological. The important point is that the way a person expresses anger is acquired through environmental influences.

Question 7

Double bind theory

Answer 7

The double bind theory (Bateson et al.1956) suggests that schizophrenia develops in children who frequently receive contradictory messages from their parents, for example, if a mother tells her son she loves him but at the same time turns her head away in disgust. Such mixed messages about her feelings prevent the child from developing an internally consistent construction of reality.

Question 8

Weaknesses of nature-nurture debate

Answer 8

• Research suggests that the nature-nurture debate has become a meaningless distinction and there is a growing body of research which highlights the importance of the interactionist approach. There is supporting evidence for the interactionist approach for example Maguire et al (2000) investigated the hippocampi volume of London taxi drivers’ brains. She found that this region of the brain was larger in taxi drivers in comparison to non-taxi drivers. Consequently, Maguire concluded that driving a taxi (nurture) actually had an effect on the size of the hippocampi (nature) demonstrating the importance of the interaction between nature and nurture.
• Another weakness is that it is difficult to separate nature and nurture. For example, when looking at influence on genetics on schizophrenia, twin studies for examples, the participants have shared genetics but also shared environments as twins are usually brought in similar ways e.g. wearing the same clothes, going to the same school therefore it is difficult to distinguish between the effects of nature and nurture on behaviour.

Question 9

Weaknesses of the nature-nurture debate

Answer 9

• The idea of epigenetics adds a third element to the nature-nurture debate. Epigenetics refers to a change in our genetic activity without changing our genetic code which is caused by interaction with the environment. Aspects of our lifestyle, and the events we encounter - from smoking to diet to pollution and war leave epigenetic marks on our DNA. Epigenetics introduce a third element to the nature-nurture debate: the life experience of previous generations. Dias and Ressler (2014) gave male lab mice electric ry time they were exposed to the smell of acetophenone, a chemical used in perfume. The mice showed a fear reaction when the smell was present. However, even the mice’s offspring showed fear of the scent as well as their grandchildren.
• a person’s nature can affect the nurture they receive. Scarr and McCartney et al (1983) found that as children get older they seek out experiences that suit their genes. The influence of genetics actually increases as a child gets older.