nature nurture debate Flashcards
1
Q
what is the interactionist approach
A
- a way to explain the development of behaviour in terms of a range of factors including both biological and psychological ones
- factors dont add together but combine in a way that can be predicated by each one separately
2
Q
diathesis stress model
A
- suggests behaviour is caused by a biological or environmental vulnerability which is only expressed when coupled with a biological or environmental trigger
- a person who inherits a genetic vulnerability for OCD may not develop the disorder but combined with a psychological trigger this may result in the disorder appearing
3
Q
epigenetics
A
- a change in our genetic activity without changing the genes themselves
- caused by interactions with the environment
- aspects of our lifestyle (smoking, diet, trauma) leave marks on our DNA which switch genes on or off
- epigenetic changes may go on and influence the genetic codes of our children and their children
- introduces a 3rd element into the nature nurture debate- the life experiences of previous generations
4
Q
nature
A
- inherited influences or heredity
- nativist such as Descartes (1596 - 1650) argued that all human characteristics are innate
- psychological characteristics like intelligence and personality are determined by biological factors the same way physical characteristic like eye colour and height are
5
Q
nurture
A
- the influences of experiences and environment
- empiricists like Locke (1632 - 1704) argued that the mind is a black state at birth which is then shaped by the environment
- important feature of the behaviourist approach
- Lerner (1986) identified different levels of environment
6
Q
measuring nature and nurture
A
- concordance provides an estimate about the extent to which a trait is inherited (heritability)
- a figure of 0.01 means genes controviertre nothin to indidivuald differens
- 1.0 means that genes are the only reason for individual differences
7
Q
what is concordance
A
the degree to which 2 people are similar on a particular trait, represented by a correlation coefficient
8
Q
what is heritability
A
the extent to which a trait is inherited
9
Q
what is the heritability of IQ
A
0.5
10
Q
Adoption studies (AO3)
A
- useful as they separate the competing influences of nature and nurture
- if adopted children are found to be more similar to their adoptive parents this suggests the environment is the bigger influence
- if adaptive children are more similar to their biological parents then genetic factors dominate
- meta analyses of adoptive studies found that genetic influences accounted for 41% of variance in aggression
- shows how research can separate the influence of nature and nurture
HOWEVER - research suggests that this approach may be misguided, nature and nurture are not 2 entities that can be pulled apart
- according to Plomin (1994) people create their own nature by actively selecting environments that are appropriate for their nature
- a naturally aggressive child is likely to feel more comfortable with children who show similar behaviours and will choose their environment accordingly
- their chosen companions further influence their development
11
Q
Epigenetics (AO3)
A
- in 1944 the nazi blocked the distrubution of food to the dutch people and 22,000 died of srtarvation
- susser reported that women who became pregnant during the famine went on to have low birth rate babies
- twice to develop schizophrenia why they grew up compared to typical adult
- supports the view that life experiences of previous generation can leave antigenic markers that influence the health of their offspring
12
Q
real world application (AO3)
A
- research suggests that OCD is a highly heritable mental disorder
- Nestadt et al (2010) put the heritiabilty to 0.76
- understanding can inform genetic counselling because it is important to understand that high heritiabilty does not mean the disorder is inevitable
- people may receive advice and prevent the disorder
- shows that the data is not just theoretical
