Nature-Nurture Debate Flashcards
what is the nature nurture debate?
3
the argument as to whether a person’s development is mainly due to their genes or environmental influences
it is now accepted that the two processes of nature and nurture do not just interact but are inextricably intertwined
it is no longer really a nature nurture debate at all, but an interactionist approach
define nature
3
behaviour is the product of innate factors and influences that are either biological or genetic
heredity is the process by which genes are passed from parents to their offspring, usually referring to genetic inheritance
refers to abilities present at birth but also to any ability determined by genes such as secondary sexual characteristics which appear during puberty or conditions like Huntington’s disease which are usually only apparent in adulthood
examples of the influence of nature
2
genetic explanations
evolutionary explanations
genetic explanations
5
family, twin and adoption studies show that the closer two individuals are in terms of their genetics, the more likely it is that both of them will develop the same behaviours
this has been applied to schizophrenia, addiction and criminal behaviour
for example, the concordance rate for mental disorders such as schizophrenia is about 40% for MZ twins (who have identical genes) and 7% for DZ twins (who on average share 50% of their genes)
this demonstrates that individuals with more similar genes tend to be more similar in their behaviours
this suggests that nature has a major contribution to disorders such as schizophrenia
evolutionary explanations
5
evolutionary explanations are based on the principle that behaviours and characteristics that promote survival and reproduction will be naturally selected
this is because such behaviours and characteristics are adaptive and therefore the genes for that behaviour will be passed on to subsequent generations
for example, Bowlby (1969) proposed that attachment is adaptive and innate because it means that an infant is more likely to be protected and thus more likely to survive
attachment also promotes close relationships which could foster successful reproduction
therefore, attachment behaviours are naturally selected which can only be done through genetic mechanisms, suggesting that this behaviour is genetically determined
define nurture
3
behaviour is a product of environmental influences
the environment is everything that is outside the body, which includes people, events and the physical world
includes the physical and social world, may be more widely referred to as ‘experience’ — which may include effects of an infant before birth such as a mother who smokes
examples of the influence of nurture
3
behaviourism
social learning theory
other explanations
behaviourism
3
in the 17th century, philosopher John Locke described the newborn infant as a blank slate on which experience is written
this was the view adopted by behaviourists who assume that all behaviour can be explained in terms of experience alone
Skinner used the concepts of classical and operant conditioning to explain learning — for example, attachment could be explained in terms of classical conditioning (food is associated with the mother who feeds the baby) or operant conditioning (food reduces the discomfort of hunger and is therefore rewarding)
social learning theory
3
Bandura’s view is a little less extreme than traditional behaviourism
he also proposed that behaviour is acquired through learning but added the new dimension of vicarious reinforcement
he also allowed the idea that biology had a role to play in behaviour — for example, he acknowledged that the urge the behave aggressively might be biological but the important point is that the way a person learns to express anger is acquired through environmental influences (direct and indirect reinforcement)
other explanations
4
there are a number of other psychological explanations that fall onto the nurture side of the debate
for example, the double bind theory of schizophrenia suggests that schizophrenia develops in children who frequently receive contradictory messages from their parents
a mother may tell her son that she loves him yet at the same time turns her head away in disgust
such conflicting messages about her feelings prevent the child developing an internally consistent construction of reality, which may lead to symptoms of schizophrenia
explain the interactionist approach to nature nurture
4
with reference to the nature-nurture debate, the interactionist approach is the view that the processes of nature and nurture work together rather than in opposition
they are no longer independent, they’re actually interdependent and entwined
this makes adaptive sense because we inherit certain behaviours through heredity but we are also influenced by the environment which ensures that each of us makes maximum use of our innate qualities
nature affects nurture and nurture affects nature
how does nature affect nurture?
(i.e. how do genes influence our environment and experiences)
2
Plomin et al (1977) identified 3 main ways in which genes may exert an indirect influence on our environment…
- reactive interaction
- passive influence
- active influence
reactive interaction
3
genetic factors create an infant’s microenvironment
for example, a child who is genetically more aggressive might provoke an aggressive response in others and this response becomes part of the child’s environment and affects their development
the child is reacting to genetically influenced behaviour
passive influence
3
parents’ genes determine aspects of their behaviour
for example, a parent with a genetically determined mental illness creates an unsettled home environment
in this case, a child’s mental disorder could be due to indirect passive effects
active influence
3
Scarr et al (1983) called this niche picking
as children grow older they seek out experiences and environments that suit their genes
research shows that the influence of genes increases as children get older, which is due to niche picking
how does nurture affect nature?
(i.e. how do our environment and experiences influence our biology)
MAGUIRE ET AL (2000)
4
studies on plasticity demonstrate that life experiences can shape our biology
for example, Maguire et al (2000) studied London taxi drivers and found that the brain regions associated with spatial memory were bigger in the drivers compared to the control group
this is because the hippocampi had responded to increased use during their time as taxi drivers
our environment affects how our genes are expressed
how does nurture affect nature?
(i.e. how do our environment and experiences influence our biology)
BLAKEMORE ET AL (1970)
5
Blakemore et al (1970) worked with kittens to show how experience affects innate systems
the kittens were given large collars that restricted their sight and they were raised in a circular drum with either only vertical or horizontal stripes
when they were introduced to the real world at age 5 months, they no longer had the ability to see lines of the opposite orientation
their innate visual system had been altered through experience
our environment affects how our genes are expressed
how is the nature nurture debate political?
3
underlying the nature nurture debate is a political subtext
the contrasting concepts of human nature have tended to correlate with contrasting political ideals
such political agendas mean that arguments for or against nature or nurture may be as much founded on political beliefs as on scientific evidence
what is ‘nature’ politically linked to?
3
nature has been linked with 20th century eugenics who advocated and enforced selective breeding, such as the Nazis
if nature determines behaviour then the human stock can be improved by selective breeding
many countries, particularly the US, have practiced selective breeding by sterilising thousands of people deemed ‘feeble minded’
what is ‘nurture’ politically linked to?
3
nurture is popular with people who believe that any human trait can be altered with appropriate changes in social institutions
this has led to equally brutal regimes under leaders such as Stalin in the Soviet union and Pol Pot in Cambodia
these regimes believed that you could engineer the behaviour of others through conditioning so that they behaved as you wished them to behave
x3 evaluation points
nature and nurture cannot be separated
diathesis stress
epigenetics
(can also use examples of how nature affects nurture and how nurture affects nature OR can mention the negative political implications of adhering to either extreme side of the debate)
EVALUATION
nature and nurture cannot be separated
5
the psychologist Donald Hebb said that asking whether nature or nurture was more important is the same as asking whether the length or width of a rectangle is more important when working out the area
in other words, it is a meaningless question as they both contribute equally
a classic example of this is the disorder phenylketonuria which is an inherited disorder that prevents the amino acid phenylalanine being metabolised, resulting in brain damage
however, the condition can be detected at birth and the infant can be given a diet devoid of phenylalanine so that brain damage can be averted
therefore, as prevention can be achieved through environmental manipulation, this condition is neither simply determined by nature or nurture, it is determined by both
EVALUATION
diathesis stress
7
the diathesis stress model is a conceptualisation of the interaction between nature and nurture
this is often used to explain mental disorders such as phobia of schizophrenia
a diathesis is a biological vulnerability, such being born with certain genes that predispose a person to developing a disorder
however, research has shown that not everyone with those genes does develop the disorder
expression of the gene depends on experience in the form of a stressor which triggers the condition
therefore, a person’s nature is only expressed under certain conditions of nurture
demonstrates that the two processes are so closely intertwined and cannot be separated into a debate
EVALUATION
epigenetics
6
epigenetics refers to the material in each cell of your body that is like a set of switches to turn genes on or off
epigenetic material is altered by life experiences such as nutrition or stress, these experiences control the switches and most importantly the switches are passed on to subsequent generations
this explains why cloning does not produce identical copies
cloning involves placing the genetic material from one individual into an egg that has no nucleus, the egg should then grow into an identical copy of the cloned individual
but this does not happen because epigenetic material is affected by the environment and experiences of an individual in their lifetime
this demonstrates that genetics and the environment are much less separate than was previously thought
