nature vs nurture Flashcards
what is nature side of the nature nurture debate
early nativists e.g. Rene Descartes (1596 - 1950) argued that human characteristics are innate and the result of heredity
who would contrast early nativists ideas
Empiricists e.g. John Locke argued that the mind is a black slate at birth upon which learning and experiences write
this view later became an important feature of the behaviourists approach
what is the heritability coefficient
is used to assess heredity as a numerical figure ranging from 0 to 1 which indicates the extent to which a characteristic a genetic basis ( 1 = entirely genetically determined)
the general figure for heritablity in IQ is around 0.5 across multiple studies in varying populations Plomin 1994)
what does the heritablity coefficient of intelligence suggest about
suggests that both genetics and the environment are important factors in intelligence
why is there different levels of the environment
the concept of nurture and environment influences in psychology requires further clarification as “the environment” is such a broad and all- encompassing concept
therefore, Richard Lerner (1986) identified different levels of the environment
what are the different levels of the environment
these may be defined in quite narrow pre- natal terms, e.g. the mother’s:
- physical
- psychological state during pregnancy
- or more generally through post- natal experiences such as the social conditions the child grows up in and the cultural and historical context they are part of
why is it is impossible to answer the nature-nurture debate
nature - nurture is impossible to because - Lerner suggests- environmental influence in a child life begins as soon as it is born (perhaps even earlier)
nature - nurture are so closely interviewed their practically and theoretically, it makes little sense to try to separate the two
why has the focus of the nature-nurture debate shift
it is very difficult to tell whether high concordance rates are more the results of shared genetics or shared genetics or shared upbringing
Therefore, the focus of the nature-nurture debate has changed in recent years, and psychologists are now more likely to ask what the relative contribution of each influence is in terms of what we think and what we do
what are some examples of how nature and nurture interact to influence our behaviour
the interactionist approach
diathesis-stress model
epigenetics
what is the interactionist approach
this is mentioned in attachment
the approach suggests that attachment patterns between an infant and its parents are often the result of a “two-way street” in which the child’s innate temp will influence the way its parents respond to it and their responses will, in turn, affect the child’s behaviour (Belsky and Rovine 1987)
what is the diathesis-stress model
this is a model of mental disorder which emphasised the interaction of nature and nurture tend to be the most persuasive
The diathesis-stress model suggests that psychopathology is caused by biological/ genetic vulnerability (the diathesis) which is only expressed when coupled with a biological or environmental trigger ( the stressor)
Pikka Tienarie et al (2004) found that in a group of Finnish adoptees those most likely to develop schizophrenia had biological relatives with the disorder and had relationships with their adopted families that can be classed as dysfunctional
what is epigenetics
it is a process that happens throughout life and is caused by interaction with the environment
aspects of our lifestyle and the events we encounter from smoking and diet to pollution leave epigenetic “marks” on our DNA
these marks tell our bodies which genes to ignore and which to use, and in turn, may go on and influence the genetic codes of our children, as well as their children
Epigenetics, therefore, introduces a third element into the nature vs nurture debate: the life experiences of previous generations
who did a study to support epigenetics
Brian Dias and Ferry Ressler (2014)
what did the study entail
They gave male lab mice electric shocks every time they were exposed to the smell of acetophenone, a chemical used in perfume
As behaviour would predict the mice showed a fear reaction as soon as the scent was presented
The mice’s children also feared the smell even though they had not been exposed to acetophenone before or received any shocks - so did their grandchildren
