Nature/Nurture

Question 1

What is nature?

Answer 1

The extent to which our behaviour is due to biological processes that are innate and in born within our bodies, including genes, hormones and brain structure

Question 2

What is nurture?

Answer 2

The extent to which the environment is responsible for our behaviour. This includes upbringng, positive and negative experiences in our life and the environment we surround ourselves in

Question 3

What is interactionism?

Answer 3

Believing the interaction of nature and nurture causes our behaviour

Question 4

What is epigenetic modification?

Answer 4

Influence of environmental factors on our genetics - triggering inactive genes to be active

Question 5

Are personality explanations in social psychology nature or nurture and how?

Answer 5

They focus on the type of character that is more or less likely to be prejudiced and therefore account for the nurture side of the debate

Question 6

Is Adorno et al (1950) nature or nurture?

Answer 6

Claims that authoritarians have often experienced harsh upbringings with little affection, they are harsh to those below them due to frustration from childhood - nurture

Question 7

How do intergroup dynamic theories like RCT and SIT come from nurture?

Answer 7

They look at situational conditions that cause conflict - zero sum, number of authority figures etc

Question 8

How can agency theory be due to nature?

Answer 8

Being an agent to an authority figure might have evolved due to it being survival trait that has allowed protectionin groups

Question 9

How is Milgram’s work on the nurture side of the debate?

Answer 9

Suggests that situation affects obedience and that less pressure from authority figures results in less obedience so as the situation changes so does obedience

Question 10

How is momentum of compliance nurture?

Answer 10

Demonstrates that as task complexity and intensity increased, the teacher in Milgram’s experiment became committed to the experiment and felt duty bound to continue

Question 11

How is proximity due to nurture?

Answer 11

When the participants had to hold the victims hand on a plate to receive a shock, there was less obedience as the situation had changed.

Question 12

How does the status of authority side with nurture?

Answer 12

Obedience levels dropped when the experimenter appeared as an ordinary man. The same procedure in a less prestigious setting led to reduced obedience.

Question 13

How does personal responsibility side with nurture?

Answer 13

In a variation study where participants had to sign a contract that stated they were taking part of their own free will and had no legal responsibbility obedience fell to 40%

Question 14

What side of the debate is cognitive psychology on?

Answer 14

It assumes we are born with the hardware to have the capacity to perform functions such as remembering which is nature but that experiences affect how we process information and whether we rehearse it or not - nurture

Question 15

How could reconstructive memory be interactionist?

Answer 15

It describes how we all represent knowledge as schema, these are universal mentsl constructs (nature) but the contents of which are affected by our experiences (nurture)

Question 16

How has EWT highlighted the role of nature and nurture?

Answer 16

Cues in the environment at the time of an event need to be present during recall to improve accuracy (nurture). Theory of trace decay believes that memories are a physical trce in the brain that can degrade over time (nature)

Question 17

How are episodic and semantic memories on the nurture side of the debate?

Answer 17

They are shaped by our experiences as episodic memories are recalled better in the same time and context

Question 18

How does HM reflect nature?

Answer 18

Received brain damage after surgery to try and treat his epilepsy which caused damage to his medial and lateral temporal lobe = affected memory

Question 19

How does biological psychology reflect nature?

Answer 19

Proposes that aspects of human behaviour are biologically determined as genes programmes for behaviour to provide an adaptive advantage for individuals who possess them. Leads to genes being passed on. e.g aggression

Question 20

How doesn’t biological psychology ignore the role of nurture?

Answer 20

Because the brain continues to develop throughout life and its structure is affected by experience, showing how nature and nurture are interactive

Question 21

What is an example from biological psychology of the influence of nurture on the brain?

Answer 21

Research has shown that those given an enriched environment have greater cortical density than those in a poor environment showing how nurture affects biology

Question 22

What has post mortem studies shown that supports nurture in biological psychology?

Answer 22

That better educated people have more dendrites on the nerve cells than the poorly educated

Question 23

How to twin studies in biological psychology reflect an interactionist view?

Answer 23

Gottesman and Shields found a 42% concordance in mz twins for schizophrenia but as it wasn’t 100% there is clearly an environmental influence

Question 24

How does the use of recreational drugs in biological psychology reflect an interactionist stance?

Answer 24

Taking a drug is a choice and it is something that is synthetically produced (nurture) but taking the drug affects brain chemistry leading to euphoria which is due to neurotransmission (nature)

Question 25

What did McGuire et al (2006) find that supports nurture’s influence on biological psychology?

Answer 25

Established differencces in the hippocampul areas in London taxi drivers comapred to matched controls showing how lifestyle contributes to changes in brain structure

Question 26

How does the environment cause the release of hormones?

Answer 26

When stressed, testosterone, cortisol and serotonin are released leading ro aggressive behaviour

Question 27

What side are learning theories on for the most part?

Answer 27

The nurture side such as how environmental stimuli are those that condition us to certain responses (nurture). It occurs based on a reflex/response that is nature.

Question 28

How are OC and SLT nurture?

Answer 28

• oc based on rewards and punishments which are determined by environment
• SLT based on role models - who these are is dependent on environment

Question 29

How might phobias be nature and nurture?

Answer 29

Might come from evolved survival traits or from previous bad experiences, treatments work with nurture by breaking the association of fear and replacing it with a calming one

Question 30

How are behaviours from learning determined by our biology?

Answer 30

We are born with our sex and have gender specific traits like nurturing for females and aggression for males. Cross cultural research shows how gender roles change, in Africa females hunt and males look after children - nurtue

Question 31

How is Becker nurture?

Answer 31

Looks at nurture for causing anorexia rather than a biological cause through investigating the effect of thin role models in the mdeia on eating disorders

Question 32

How is Watson and Rayner nurture?

Answer 32

Show how phobias are conditioned.

Question 33

How is the genetic explanation of schizophrenia nature?

Answer 33

Genes are in born and increase your risk of schizophrenia e.g DISC1, 22q11 depletion = 18% risk, Xq23 variant Kirov et al (2008) found 52%. Synapse pruning

Question 34

How is the neurotransmitter explanation of schizophrenia nature?

Answer 34

Glutamate acts as an accelerator and a brake on dopamine. Born with specific levels of NTs.

Question 35

How is Carlsson (1999) nature?

Answer 35

Supports the role of glutamate and dopamine NTs that you are born with, low levels of glutamative predispose you to schizophrenia

Question 36

How does drug therapy side with nature?

Answer 36

Works on the principle of NTs being the cause of mental disorders, supposed to treat MHDs regardless of environment

Question 37

How does the monoamine hypothesis side with nature?

Answer 37

Depression due to chemical imbalance in the brain (low noradrenaline and serotonin )Isolates depressio to low levels of NTs

Question 38

How do personality differences in schizophrenia and depression side with nature?

Answer 38

‘Big 5’ personality traits that you are born with. High neurotocisim linked to schizophrenia. High extoversion linked to lower risk of schizophrenia. Low extroversion linked to depression.

Question 39

How is social causation nurture?

Answer 39

Poverty, low social class, being an immigrant, living in an urban environment associated with schizophrenia

Question 40

How is Rosenhan (1973) nurture?

Answer 40

The situation you are in will effect how people percieve you. Cannot be sane in an insane place.

Question 41

How is reliability and validity of diagnosis nurture?

Answer 41

Changes in ICD and DSM to accomodate for new disorders habe happened too quick for new genes and NTs to develop. Social norms, culture, subjectivity affect it.

Question 42

How is Brown (1986) on the nurture side?

Answer 42

Found a major life event, low self esteem and having a support network all influenced depression. 91% with onset of depression had a serious life event

Question 43

How does culture reflect nurture in expression of disorders?

Answer 43

Expression of mental illness depending on how it is viewed in your society, seen as a blessing in some cultures

Question 44

How does Williams et al (2013) operate on the nurture side of the debate?

Answer 44

Suggests maladaptive thinking causes depression as CBT treats it. Shows how waiting lists could make it worse

Question 45

How does Bradshaw (1998) demonstrate nurture?

Answer 45

Shows how changing thinking patterns helps reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia

Question 46

How is the cognitive explanation of depression interactionist?

Answer 46

We all have views of self world and future but these are affected by early experiences and triggers that confirm faulty thinking patterns

Question 47

What aspects of child psychology are due to nature?

Answer 47

• Bowlby’s adaptive, social releasers and critical period
• Temperament affects attachment
• Extreme male brain
• Theory of mind - innate ability to understand others

Question 48

What aspects of child psychology are due to nurture?

Answer 48

• Maternal sensitivity - upbringing
• Psychodynamic theory of attachment - IWM, maternal deprivation hypothesis
• Privation and deprivation
• Effect of daycare
• Culture’s influence on parenting styles

Question 49

How do adoption studies show nature and nurture?

Answer 49

Carried out because the environment of adopted children is not the same as their biological families yet they have the genes in common, similiarities with biological family indicate nature

Question 50

How do longitudinal studies show nature and nurture?

Answer 50

Same people are studied over time to look for development patterns. Individual differences are controlled for.

Question 51

How do cross cultural studies show nature and nurture?

Answer 51

Taking samples from different cultural groups to draw comparisons about the similarities and differences betwee them. If a behaviour is found in one culture = nurture

Question 52

What do reared apart twin studies involve?

Answer 52

Looking at mz twins who have been seperated at birth and brought up apart. They are usually brought up in a similar environment. If share characteristics then nature.