Nature vs Nurture Flashcards
Nature
our genes determine our behaviour. Our personality traits, preferences, and abilities are in our inherent nature. We genetically inherit physical traits, personality traits, intelligencce, and preferences from our parents
Nurture
Our environment, upbringing, and life experience determines our behaviour, we are nurtured to behave in certain ways
Nativism
The view that many skills are native or hardwired into the brain at birth. Infants are born with hardwired knowledge because such knowledge confers an advantage to survival
Empiricism
The view that humans are not built in with core knowledge or mental content, instead all knowledge and mental content results from learning - tabula rosa
Heritability
How much of the variation of a specific trait in a particular population is the result of genetic variation among individuals in that population
Environmentality
How much variation of a specific trait in a particular population is the result of the environment
Phenotype
The interaction of genetic and environmental factors that result in a person’s physical appearance, traits, and behaviour
What is the nature nurture debate
To what extent are our abilities and attributes a reflection of nature and nurture
What is the classic nurture theory
Behaviourism
Explain the degree of maturity
In various species the young differ in their degree of maturity when they are born
What are precocial species
The young are physically mobile from birth or hatching
What are altricial species
The young are more helpless and are not mobile from birth or hatching. They are dependent o their parents for food and safety
What cognitive skills do infants have early in development
- Imitate
- Look longer at surprising events
Show early communicative behaviours
What is face preference
Fantz - very young infant prefer to look at faces compared to non faces
Infants are known to look around the edge or periphery of an object more
Faces contain a lot of information around the periphery so infants may look longer at faces because there is more to look at
Could be innate or developed by building attachment to caregiver
Reid study
Reid recruited 39 expectant mums and fetuses in 28-40 weeks of pregnancy
Lights were moved along the uterus to test whether the foetus could follow them
Lights were in two configurations; face like (inverted triangle) and non-face like (upright triangle)
Researchers used 4d scans to assess infants turning their head around
Foetuses turn their head towards face like stimuli significantly more than non-face stimuli
Heritability estimates refer to..
Population - tells us nothing about individuals
Heritability estimates do not..
help to identify the specific genes involved in a particular trait
What do heritability estimates depend on?
The environment. If the environment is highly similar for everyone, then heritability estimates will be higher
Nurture - adoption studies
- Schiff et al
- Studied 32 children adopted prior to 6 months of age by upper class middle families with average an iq of 110
- Each of the adopted child had a sibling that had remained in their biological parents home. Biological parents were of socio-economic status
- Iq was measured when the children were between 6 and 14 years of age
- Mean IQ of adopted children was 109 (above average)
- Mean IQ of siblings with biological parents was 95(below average)
Why is poverty hard to measure
Varies across countries
What is absolute poverty
Refers to limited access to food and clean water
How many children live below the poverty line in the UK and the USA
One third to a quarter
Mani - poverty and cognitive capacity
- Indian sugarcane farmers cognitive performance was studied over the plant harvest cycle
- Prior to the harvest, farmers tend to experience poverty
- After a successful harvest, farmers have more resources and money
- Mani et al found that
- Farmers cognitive performance was diminished prior to harvest when compared to their cognitive performance after the harvest
- It was concluded that poverty itself could reduce cognitive capacity, perhaps because poverty related concerns consume mental resources
Genotype environment theory
It proposes that your gentoype (genetics) and your parents genotypes influence which environments you encounter and the types of experiences you have
In other words, genes drive experience and how a person organises their world
What are the three types of gene-environment effects
Passive - bio parents provide both the genes and environment for the child. Decreases with age
Evocative - temperamental characteristics evoke responses from others. Remains constant
Active - children seek out environments consistent with their genotype. Increase
What does this model suggest about cognitive development?
The parents environmental influence should be greatest early in development. As parents influences will decrease with age.
