Nature Vs Nurture

Question 1

What is nature?

Answer 1

The genetic makeup of a person

Question 2

What is nurture?

Answer 2

The upbringing of the person

Question 3

Give examples of cases of nature?

Answer 3

• Bouchard’s twin studies
• Bruce Reimer

Question 3

Give examples of cases of nurture?

Answer 3

• Isabel, “the chicken girl,”
• Oxana Malaya
• Genie

Question 4

What was Bouchard’s twin studies

Answer 4

• He researched identical twins who were separated at birth and raised apart and Bouchard discovered that as adults they were similar
• Oskar and Jack were raised in alternative backgrounds one as a catholic in Nazi Germany and another as Jewish in the Caribbean
• Bouchard found that they had similar behaviour, likes, dislikes and personalities which aren’t taught to others implying that it is part of their genetic makeup

Question 5

Who was Isabel?

Answer 5

• She was sound in a chicken coop when she was 10
• She couldn’t speak, express emotions or use the toilet in response to imitate the chicken’s behaviour
• She was physically malformed due to lacking malnutrition not because it was in her genetics
• Due to her lack of nurturing, she never managed to regain these skills

Question 6

Who was Oxana Malaya?

Answer 6

• When she was 3, he began to grow up with her family’s dogs as her parents were alcoholics leading them to abandon her
• She began to imitate their behaviour by walking on all fours, barking and using her mouth to drink as she was socialised to behave this way
• After she was found aged 11, she managed to successfully learn how to walk and talk properly

Question 7

Who was Genie?

Answer 7

• She was locked in her bedroom strapped to a potty for 13 years by her own father depriving her of human contact
• This resulted in her being unable to walk and talk as well as other life skills
• Her father did this as he believed she was mentally retarded however it was later discovered she had no mental disabilities but she did have a lack of neurotransmitters because of the lack of stimulus in her life
• She was discovered at the age of 13 which is past the age of primary socialisation and development so despite trying to learn how to speak gain in institutional care, she failed

Question 8

Who was Bruce Reimer?

Answer 8

• Bruce’s penis we destroyed in a childhood operation so a TV child psychologist suggested to his parent to raise him s a girl call Brenda to test if gender identity was a form of nature or nurture
• This worked for a while but she started wanted to play with traditionally boy’s toys
• She tried to attempt suicide at 13 as she was unsatisfied with her identity
• This pushed her parents to tell her the truth so she started living as David
• David eventually got married and adopted 3 children
• However, his childhood experiences traumatised his life and sense of identity so much, he was pushed to suicide at 38