nature nurture debate Flashcards
family , twin and adoption studies suggest that behaviour can be inherited from our biological parents genes , concordance for mental health disorders are
higher for MZ twins who share 100% DNA than for DZ twins who share 50% DNA , this indicates that nature has a strong contribution to the disorder
some behaviours are believed to be evolutionary adaptations caused by genes that were naturally selected and passed on through generations , this might be because they added survival or increased reproductive success for example
our preference for fatty food is believed to be adaptive ; fat would have helped aided our survival in the environment of evolutionary adeptness when food was scarce
behaviourists believe that all behaviour is learned through classical and or operant conditioning for example
attachment is explained by pairing the mother (NS/CS) with the milk (UCS) until a stimulus response link is learned and attachment occurs
bandora placed emphasis on the observation and imitation of significant role models in shaping behaviour in SLT , he believed jay some behaviours may be
innate such as aggression but that direct and vicarious reinforcements were important in determining if and how aggression was expressed
the nature nurture debate has changed to acknowledge that nature and nurture are inextricably linked , psychologists are now likely to
ask about the relative contibutions of nature and nurture to explain behaviour this is the interactionist approach
a weakness is that Hebb argued that separating nature from nurture to explain behaviour was impossible and that both are equally important , this is demonstrated by genetic diseases that can be controlled through diet , PKU is
a genetically inherited disease (nature) that can lead to brain damage if left untreated , however it can also be managed by avoiding a specific protein (nurture) enabling those with the disease to live a normal life
another weakness is that a diathesis is a biological vulnerability that predisposes someone to a disorder , for example
a faulty SERT gene predisposes someone to have OCD
however faulty genes don’t always lead to disorders , the disorder will only develop if something stressful in the environment occurs thus the diathesis stress relationship emphasises an interactionist explanation of behaviour between nature and nurture
another weakness sis that a persons genes (nature) may affect their environment (nurture)n. reactive gene environment interaction refers to when a genetic characteristic causes other people to respond in the same way, therefore creating a similar environment everywhere you go , ‘ niche picking ‘ is
when a child seeks out people and environment that suit their genetic characteristics , ie an ‘ adrenaline junkie ‘ will seek excitement and pick similar people to have exciting experiences with
another weakness is that a persons life experiences (nurture) can affect the structure and workings of the brain (nature) for example Maguire et al shows that
intense learning required to pass the ‘ knowledge exams ‘ increased the grey matter in the posterior hippocampus
