nature and nurture

Question 1

what is nature

Answer 1

our behaviour is determined by our biology genetics or other natural influences are mostly, if not entirely responsible for the characteristics pertaining to the personality, behaviour and intelligence of an individual

Question 2

what is maturation

Answer 2

This is the (developmental stages) related to the concept of epigenetics-that genes get “turned on or off “ throughout our lives, sometimes due to the passage of time.

Question 3

what is a good example of maturation

Answer 3

puberty- many biological and genetically determined changes happen then. Just because something is NOT present ‘at birth’ does NOT mean that it ISN’T due to genetics/heredity (a boy doesn’t sound like their dad first but once puberty hits they do)

Question 4

what is nurture

Answer 4

environmental influences behaviour characteristics. all the environmental variable that impact who we are, including our early childhood experiences, how we were raised, our social relationships, and our surrounding culture

Question 5

what does pre natal environment mean

Answer 5

this means before birth (womb/uterus). There are many aspects of the pre-natal environment that can affect us : physiology, cognitively and emotionally. lasting effects on number of aspects of our lives e.g. intelligence later psychological disorders, dealing with stress. THIS is why there is so much emphasis on foetal development as it can affect the development of a child

Question 6

what is post-natal macro

Answer 6

this is after birth on a much larger scale where environmental conditions apply to more than one person
e.g. historical/cultural (where +when we live will have an effect on us) - after you given birth you go on a special diet etc., poverty(overcrowding), individualistic vs collectivist societies

Question 7

what is post natal micro

Answer 7

this is more small scale environment. These are environmental conditions that are specific only to you

Question 8

what is nativism

Answer 8

that all knowledge is innate (predisposed)
that the brain has certain innate structures present which play a role in the creation ok knowledge. Additionally the idea that experience/ past experiences only have a limited effect on the formation of knowledge

Question 9

what is empiricism

Answer 9

that all knowledge of matters of fact comes from experience or needs of validation/ all knowledge comes from our environment or experiences ineffectively born as a blank slate

Question 10

what is interactionism

Answer 10

the theory that the mind is composed of 2 separate entities/mind and body each of which affects the other
environment and genes work hand in hand

Question 11

However, what is the interactionist approach?

Answer 11

is the view that both nature and nurture work together to shape human behaviour

Question 12

reactive gene environment relationship

Answer 12

this innate personality will therefore cause others around you to react to you to react to you differently than those with a different personality e.g. the child is innately easy-going will then make friends more easily than one who is difficult
= differentiated environment is created, that the child will grow up in, due to the reactions of others to innate characteristics that a young child cannot control

Question 13

what is the active gene-environment relationship

Answer 13

with genetically different personalities, one child may then actively choose to undertake certain activities over other possibilities so creating its own different environment from another person
the underlying genetic (inherited) temperament and preferences lead to ‘niche picking’ and ‘niche-building’

Question 14

what is social constructionism

Answer 14

suggests that behaviors that may start as genetic, innate are then given a meaning by others (our environment). This process then shapes the behavior and will alter it
a child gradually learns to modify its genetic biological drives according to the meaning’s and value placed on these actions

Question 15

what is the diathesis stress model

Answer 15

• mental and physical disorders develop from a genetic or biological predisposition for that illness (diathesis) combined with stressful conditions that play a precipitating or facilitating role
  -you may inherit a gene that will give you a predisposition to a particular mental illness but it will take the right environment and stressful situation in order for the gene to be triggered

Question 16

environment conditions turn parts of genes ‘on’ and ‘off’

Answer 16

whilst our genetic potential may be fixed at birth, whether certain genes are activated or not can be influenced by our environment, and in particular by our biological environment ( toxins)

Question 17

spectrum of this debate

Answer 17

nature- one end
inteactionsim- middle
nurture- one end

Question 18

hereditary co-efficient

Answer 18

links to the relative importance of hereditary and environment in determining our behavior. it is a value assigned to how much of a particular behaviour or charcteristic is due to our biology

Question 19

examples to use within this debate

Answer 19

attachment (there is a nature/nurture debate)= between Bowlby the idea that attachment is innate evolutionary adaptive process vs the learning theory of attachment, the idea that attachment is something we learn through a process of association with food and primary caregiver

Question 20

another example to use within this debate

Answer 20

phobias (there is a nature/nurture debate)= the idea of the 2 process model in terms of the acquisition and maintenance of phobias so the 2 process model is a nurture explanation for how we develop phobias. HOWEVER, some phobias aren’t learnt some phobias are there because they’re adaptive for us to happen so this is the nature element e.g. its common to have a fear of heights/ dangerous insects. This is not learnt but inherited because by inheriting these phobias gave us a evolutionary advantage it is through our interests to avoid things that are dangerous

Answer 21

both ideas are deterministic on one hand we’ve got the nature side of the debate saying our behavior is determined by our biology but on the other side we’ve the nurture side of the debate that our behavior is determined by our environment