Nature

Question 1

Nature

Answer 1

• Innate characteristics are referred to as nature and these can be anything present at birth as well as abilities which mature at key developmental stages in life such as crawling and walking
• Nativists believe that heredity is everything and behaviour is explained by the influence of genetics and heredity

Question 2

Genetic Explanations

Answer 2

• Influence of nature falls at one end of the spectrum
• One area where this is highlighted is the study of mental illness and evidence from derived family, twin and adoption studies

Question 3

Example of Genetic Explanations

Answer 3

• Many studies revealing that as genetic relatedness increases so do shared characteristics and the statistical likelihood of similar behaviours
• Concordance rates for monozygotic twins with schizophrenia is around 40% on average but only 7% for dizygotic twins which implies that as genetic relatedness increases the greater the contribution from nature
• Eysenck suggested that extravert, neurotic personality traits which are linked to criminal personality were innate and mainly due to the type of nervous system we inherit from our parents

Question 4

Evolutionary explanations

Answer 4

• Behaviour or characteristics that are useful for survival and reproduction will be naturally selected.
• If behaviours enable survival they are adaptive and the genes responsible for such behaviours or traits will be passed to the next generation and so on.

Question 5

Example of Evolutionary explanations

Answer 5

• Bowlby theory of monotropy illustrates how behaviours that promote survival are passed on.
• His claim was that infants will attach to one special individual as this decreases chances of survival and forming healthy relationships in later life.
• The ability to form strong healthy relationships in adulthood will promote successful reproduction and genes that favoured the infant will be passed on to its offspring