nature and nurture Flashcards
What is the difference between nature and nurture?
Nature- behaviour is a product of inherited, innate factors
Nurture- behaviour is a product of environmental influences
What does heredity mean?
Process of traits (physical and psychological) are passed from parents to their offspring
Refers to genetic inheritance
What does environment mean?
All influences that are outside of the human body
Includes people, events, cultural and historical influences
What does interactionist mean in this debate? (2)
Process of nature and nurture working together, rather than in opposition to eachother
This debate is concerned with the relative contribution that both influences make to human behaviour e.g. personality, intelligence
What is nativism?
What do they assume?
Extreme nature position
Natavists assume the characteristics of human species is a product of evolution
Any indiviudal differences are due to each persons unique genetic code
According to nature, how are certain physical characteristics determined?
What has this led to?
Biologically determined by genetic inheritence e.g. eye colour, hair type, diseases -these functions of genes we inherit
Speculation as to whether psychological characteristics e.g. intelligence, ae also “wired in” before we are born (nature refers to pre-wiring)
What is empericism?
What do they assume?
Extreme nurture position
Empiricists assume that at birth, the human mind is a ‘tabula rasa’ (blank slate), this gradually filled as a result of experience
According to nurture, how are psychological characteristics and behavioural differences emerged?
Result of?
Through infancy and childhood
Results of learning -its how you are brought up that governs psychologically
How is interactionism used in general psychopathology?
What does this suggest?
In psychopathology both a genetic pre-disposition and environmental trigger is needed to develop a mental disorder -diathesis stress model
This suggests individuals may inherit a vulnrebility to certain health conditions, but the actual manifestation of these disorders depends on exposure to specific environmental stressors
What have behavioural genetics enabled in psychology?
What’s 2 ways this can be done? (studying heredity)
(AO1)
To quanitfy the relative contribution of nature and nurture regarding specific psychological traits
Studying relatives who share the same genes, but a different environment e.g. adoption studies
Studying heredity is comparing the behaviour of twins, who can either be monozygotic or dizygotic -twin studies support the rule of behaviour genetics (psychological traits are heritable), however suggesting envioronment must play a part too
List the approaches from nature (top) to nurture (bottom)
Biological
Psychodynamic
Cognitive
Humanistic
Behaviourist
Give a psychological example of nature
Heart and breathing rate increases when stressor is detected
Pupils dialate
Fight or flight mode biopsychology
Give a psychological example of nurture
Authoritarian personality is developed in result of harsh parenting
Leads to hostility in a child
This hatred is displaced onto others who are weaker and can be used to explain why people are prejudice
Give a psychological example of interactionism
Diathesis stress model to schizophrenia
Nature- ‘schizogene’/polygenic
Nurture- stress e.g. shizophrenogenic mother
One weakness of a pure nurture stance is that its subject to environmental reductionism
PETF
E: E.g. learning theory of attachment reduces the complex phenomena of attachement to just the role of stimulus responses bonds and foods -too simplistic for such complicated human behaviour that is likely to have a range of influences e.g. comfort, social norms
T: Not a realistic explanation of human behaviour
F: Interactionist approach, where multiple factors are accounted, would give a more truthful account
One weakness of a pure nurture stance is that its subject to environmental determinism
PETF
E: E.g. family dysfunction explanation of schz states you are going to develop schz no matter what and you are doomed into developing a mental illness
T: Very pessimistic view of human behaviour, ignores the role of free will
Gives the individual no scope to overcome their mental illness or control their own destiny
F: This doesn’t align with the aims of therapy, which states individuals can overcome their illness
One weakness of a pure nature stance is that its subject to biological reductionism
PETF
E: E.g. genetic explanation of OCD reduces the complex phenomena of mental illness to the role of genes
Too simplistic for such a complicated human behaviour that is likely to have a range of causes
T: Not a realistic explanation of human behaviour
F: Interactionist stance is better
One weakness of pure nature stance is that its subject to biological determinism
PETF
E: E.g. genetic explanation of shcz satates if you have candiddate genes like PCM1, you are going to develop schz, no matter what, you are doomed
T: Too pessimistic, ignores role of free will
No scope to overcome mental illness
F: Doesn’t align with the aims of therapy
One strength of nature is that there’s research support
PET
E: Twin studies showing higher concordance rates for MZ (48%) than DZ (17%) twins in schizophrenia
T: ^ credibility
One strength of nurture is that there’s research support
PET
E: Psychologist found that the environment is very influential in causing OCD as it was more severe in patients who had experienced traumatic events in their lives, especially when it was more than one event
T: ^ credibility
One strength of interactionism is that there’s research support
PET
E: Pyshchologist investigated the hippocampal volume of London taxi drivers brains
They have to complete a test of knowledge of routes in London (learning -nurture)
Found that the hippocampal volume (nature) was larger in taxi drivers, in comparison to non taxi drivers
T: ^ credibility
One implication of nature and nurture standing alone is niche picking
PET
E: =theory that people choose environments that complement their heredity
As children grow, they seek experiences and environments that suit their genes e.g. extraverts deliberately engage other sociable, outgoing people, choosing to go out to social events like clubs
T: provides evidence for the interactionist approach demonstrating the idea that nature and nurture doesnt stand alone, they interact
