nature / nurture

Question 1

briefly outline the nature / nurture debate

Answer 1

relative contributions of heredity and experiences to behaviour

Question 2

what side of the debate are nativists and explain their theory

Answer 2

• nature side
• we are born with pre-programmed behaviours as a result of heredity
• Descartes suggests human soul is already equipped with an understanding of key concepts
• evidence of support from evolutionary and biological theories

Question 3

what is meant by heritability

Answer 3

extent to which a characteristic can be attributed to being inherited

Question 4

give examples of the nature side of the debate from research

Answer 4

• genetic explanations eg. schizophrenia and OCD

- evolutionary explanations eg. Bowlby’s survival theory by attachment

Question 5

what side of the debate are empiricists and explain their theory

Answer 5

• nurture
• suggests we are born with no drives and we learn everything from experience
• Locke argued we are born as a blank slate and experiences write on this to make us into who we become
• evidence support comes from the behaviourist approach

Question 6

give examples of the nurture side of the debate from research

Answer 6

• behaviourist approach eg. types of conditioning

- SLT eg. aggression learnt through vicarious reinforcement (Bandura)

Question 7

what does relative importance mean

Answer 7

• debate is impossible to answer because as soon as you are born you are experiencing environmental factors
• it makes little sense to separate the two
• now more likely to seek the relative contribution of each influence on thought and behaviour

Question 8

explain the diathesis-stress model as an evaluation for this debate

Answer 8

• genes for a behaviour exist but they must be triggered by stress/trauma from environment
• this suggests cause of behaviour comes from both sides of the debate
• can be seen in OCD - psychopathology

Question 9

explain epigenetics as an evaluation point of this debate

Answer 9

• change in genetic activity without changing genetic code
• lifestyles and experiences leave epigenetic marks on DNA
• marks tell our bodies which genes to ignore or use
• marks stay in genes and can be passed down generations
• life experience of ancestors cause a nature and nurture interaction

Question 10

explain constructivism as an evaluation point for this theory

Answer 10

• people create own nurture by seeking environments that suit their behaviour
• eg. a shy child would associate with people who have similar behaviours
• ‘niche building’
• will have an effect on their own behaviour
• evidence as to why it’s illogical to separate both influences of behaviour

Question 11

what is meant by the interactionist approach

Answer 11

nature and nurture are linked so researchers study how they interact and influence each other

Question 12

explain how the relative influence of genes can be investigated

Answer 12

• identical twins share 100% of the same DNA so if behaviour was purely based on genetics they should be the exact same - but they’re not, so the environment must play a part
• if measured similarly they would have a high concordance rate
• adoption studies