Nature vs Nurture

Question 1

Nature

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Nurture

Answer 2

Our environment, upbringing, and life experience determines our behaviour, we are nurtured to behave in certain ways

Question 3

Nativism

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Empiricism

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Heritability

Answer 5

How much of the variation of a specific trait in a particular population is the result of genetic variation among individuals in that population

Question 6

Environmentality

Answer 6

How much variation of a specific trait in a particular population is the result of the environment

Question 7

Phenotype

Answer 7

The interaction of genetic and environmental factors that result in a person’s physical appearance, traits, and behaviour

Question 8

What is the nature nurture debate

Answer 8

To what extent are our abilities and attributes a reflection of nature and nurture

Question 9

What is the classic nurture theory

Answer 9

Behaviourism

Question 10

Explain the degree of maturity

Answer 10

In various species the young differ in their degree of maturity when they are born

Question 11

What are precocial species

Answer 11

The young are physically mobile from birth or hatching

Question 12

What are altricial species

Answer 12

The young are more helpless and are not mobile from birth or hatching. They are dependent o their parents for food and safety

Question 13

What cognitive skills do infants have early in development

Answer 13

• Imitate
• Look longer at surprising events
  Show early communicative behaviours

Question 14

What is face preference

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Reid study

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Heritability estimates refer to..

Answer 16

Population - tells us nothing about individuals

Question 17

Heritability estimates do not..

Answer 17

help to identify the specific genes involved in a particular trait

Question 18

What do heritability estimates depend on?

Answer 18

The environment. If the environment is highly similar for everyone, then heritability estimates will be higher

Question 19

Nurture - adoption studies

Answer 19

• 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)

Question 20

Why is poverty hard to measure

Answer 20

Varies across countries

Question 21

What is absolute poverty

Answer 21

Refers to limited access to food and clean water

Question 22

How many children live below the poverty line in the UK and the USA

Answer 22

One third to a quarter

Question 23

Mani - poverty and cognitive capacity

Answer 23

• 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

Question 24

Genotype environment theory

Answer 24

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

Question 25

What are the three types of gene-environment effects

Answer 25

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

Question 26

What does this model suggest about cognitive development?

Answer 26

The parents environmental influence should be greatest early in development. As parents influences will decrease with age.